Earthing....

{Earthing, aka grounding by making contact with the Earth's surface}

I have been finding poetry in an unexpected way, in beautiful words, in music and sometimes them combined with visual arts. They have been helping me find the emotional literacy to deeper thoughts and concepts. I am not always good with finding the words behind what I am feeling but through reading and researching, I am growing in this area. There isn’t a day that passes that I’m not grateful for this beautiful gift.

In trying to piece together who I am, I find myself holding onto everything I’ve ever loved. It’s like I’m searching through the fragments, hoping to uncover the parts of me that went missing along the way.

It’s not just about longing for the past, it’s a deeper quest for understanding and acceptance. Each piece I find, each memory or feeling I cling to, adds another layer to my identity.

What I’ve loved and lost isn’t gone but woven into the very fabric of my being. And perhaps, in embracing these pieces I can move closer to being whole again.

The thought doesn’t make me feel less unique but adds to who I am, showing me how these quiet connections help shape the real me.

by Poetry.ecem

This concept of {earthing} has helped me so much the past few years and walking in this world has been a big part of that and finding a way to creatively play in these spaces and finding beauty in the world around me.

Another thing that has been helping me lately is TaiChi, Swimming Dragon. I have been practicing twice a week since November and it’s helped me move slower and with more intention. We practice for an hour an a half at a time and it’s a strong practice, body and mind. I am usually exhasuted afterwards. I had no idea how beautiful and deep this practice is.

It has helped me manage my discomfort in the day to day nuances of life.

Ai - Artifical Intimacy...

I listened to the new podcast by Brene Brown, Unlocking Us with Esther Perel on the new AI - Artificial Intimacy and the costs of living beyond human scale. In the wake of Ai everything on the rise and the overwhelming feelings we all having about it… especially the fear of the unknown. This was such a beautiful listen and take on the concept of AI. I laughed, I cried and most of all I learnt new things. A necessary conversation and if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, I highly recommend.

Isn’t that accurate, the comment {the costs of living beyond human scale}… It does feel like that, doesn’t it? It really has for me the past 5 years and it doesn’t feel like it’s easing up any time soon.

I tend to always be a little late to all things mainstream. Is it fear… perhaps, but I think on the most part, like in my studio, I don’t outsource any part of my practice because I want to feel authentically connected to everything I put out in the world. From the creation of my work, to how I wrap each parcel, to the cards I write that go with them. I am deeply connected to the experience from start to finish and I am deeply connected to how it will be for you to receive it in the manner in which it is sent.

However, without help can we continue living beyond human scale even for small little practices / business like my own. It’s given me much to think about. How can we do this while remaining authentic in our own voice and style. It is for this reason I still haven’t downloaded chat.gpt and the other AI tools to help me with everyday this and that because I am afraid I might lose myself in it. It’s hard to explain, I can’t seem to find the soul in all things AI. I am finding it equally hard to find the soul or myself in middle of algorithms and formulas of the social media platforms too and finding it harder to post these days. I know I am not alone in this. It used to be a joy and a place for us artists to authentically connect and stay connected but now it feels more lonely and isolating. The algorithms have made it impersonal.

It will always be the connection I am after and it will always be what I am seeking, not only to you but to the self too. I would love to know your thoughts around this and ways you are navigating this new world we find ourselves in.

Open to hearing and learning more.

My one word....

October 2023… Dharamkot (Himachal Pradesh), India

Almost 6 months have passed since my trip to India and looking back I can see the gifts from the challenges. It was a silent yoga retreat and hiking in the Himalayas. It has been one of the most challenging trips I have taken for many reasons. In one of our philosophical teachings, we came across the beautiful word {equanimity} and I realised a lot of the work I have done the past few years has been around this virtue. I can’t thank those enough who have been helping me around this… from the incredible books I have read, podcasts, therapy, yoga, meditation and recently tai chi. I know I still have so much to learn. I have chosen this to be my one word for this year but in all honesty, maybe it will continue to be my life’s word and work.

🙏🏼🍃🐉🧘🏼‍♂️📚🎨✍️

{Equanimity is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by the experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind.}

Autumn in Ireland...

Have you heard the good news…

Ivy Newport and myself will be spending sometime together teaching again in Ireland in the Autumn. What an exquisite time of year and place to share art and yoga and meditation. I hope you will consider joining us again or for the first time. We had an absolute ball the last time and can’t wait to share more sacred moments together and with you.

Here is a glimpse of some of the beauty and sacred moments from our last trip. Creating together in this beautiful little town with the most kind and genuine people, was truly remarkable.

Happy Birthday Riley...

Last week we celebrated this handsome boy’s birthday. He is my constant, my little shadow and where I am, he is. I know we don’t have too much time left together, the days and nights are getting harder. He sleeps all the time now and his comfort and dignity are my priority. His back legs are going and aren’t supporting him so well anymore and he no longer wants to leave the house. Not even to go into our garden anymore and this has been a big shift in his little world. He also won’t come down the back step to greet me anymore when I get home, he waits at the top, throws his head back and howls his hellos. Truly the highlight to every homecoming.

He’s been one of those dogs who seemed to have a soul connection with all of us at different times. The last few years, he has been my dog, that might have to do with him being vulnerable in his old age and he knows I’m the Momma but whatever it is, it has been such an honor having him as my little sidekick. I do believe dogs are the true empaths of the world and he has the most tender heart. He has been the best dog with the biggest soul and I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. As I prepare my heart for what’s coming next, as much as is what is humanly possible, I do know this, when he departs this world, he will be going with a big part of my heart, in fact, all of ours.

Thank you...

Thank you for the messages of love and concern after my last email. The connection meant the world to me and to those locally who popped around with meals for me. Every little bit helped so much, thank you. Happy to inform the bruises have started fading and the body alignment is back in place and taking each day as it comes. So grateful for the support I’ve had to help me recover.

I have managed to get back to Tai Chi this week and one or two yoga sessions, being kind and moving slowly and sleeping when I need.

All very positive… so thank you again.

Much love, Jeanne-Marie

Hello... it's been raining.

I am popping in to say my first Hello for 2024.

It was my plan to tiptoe quietly into 2024 and to stay a little inconspicuous for the next while. Unfortunately, 2024 found me creeping across the threshold and grabbed me by my hair and flung me smack bang into the back of a massive Ford Ranger Raptor 4 x 4 truck to remind me to think again about being so sneaky.

Tongue in cheek aside, it is definitely not how I wanted to start my year, with my sweet mint-green Fiat 500 being written off. I have no words to express how I feel about this big set back. However, that being said, I have to take the good with the bad - I am alive with no broken bones, I had no passengers with me and no one else was hurt except me and my little love bug of a car. I am bruised, a little battered and every part of my body not happy with me right now but on the most part I am good. My heart feels a bit bruised to be honest, which is to be expected. My airbags deployed and gave me a swift upper cut to the nose, lip and chin and I can’t quite figure out what happened to my chest cavity, but laughing and coughing is no fun. Neither is touching my nose so doing my best not to cry.

Thank you to those who have been so kind and for the extra help the past few days, indeed humbling but I am doing my best along with being kind to myself around recovering.

Other than this and that, I am recovering from the burnout I experienced at the end of last year. I went radio silence after my auction as I was really taking the time to look after myself. I push so hard sometimes and I am recognising that I am not always that kind to myself. So many valuable lessons in there for me and I am listening.

My days are quiet and I am filling my time with some film work, lots of walking, some cold water swimming and lots and lots of yoga. I have been learning the quiet practice of Tai Chi called Swimming Dragon which moves slowly and deeply and it’s really helping me find my grounding again. I have been farming mushrooms at home and it’s felt like pure alchemy. I have also been enjoying all the beautiful blossoming trees and bursts of color everywhere the eye can see. Even though the heat has been awful and energy sapping, I do enjoy the visual beauty of this time of year. Autumn will be here soon enough, which is my preferred season of choice and film season will be over and it means I will be moving back into my studio fulltime. I have been stealing moments to paint but still going slowly but I can see some pieces forming in front of me and it does fill my love tank and have been doing some creative play dates with special friends, all very nurturing… oh and lots of coffee moments.

So for now, taking life one moment at a time, one breath at a time.

Wishing you the most beautiful year ahead and no more sneaking around this year but rather dancing into 2024 with no car and all and thank you for being patient with me to return to this space.

Much love, always… Jeanne-Marie

The Quirky Show...

Tonight is my showing night for The Quirky Show.

I know my work can fall into or under the genre of quirky and a little odd at times and I kind of love that. I guess there is an element of that in my nature too and why it tends to come out in my work. I have learnt to lean into it, work with it and find my own peace with it.

To find myself part of this show a few times, always feels a little like home to me and I was thrilled to be included in this year’s show especially for my little clay works. My Soul Bearers still continue to show up on my studio desk and still continue to hold me captive all these years in. They are little story tellers in their own right. From the dramatic tilt of their heads, to their knowing eyes and to their expressive hands…. there is always something going on when they gather together.

I find when I work day to day with them, they are little characters that come to life #inmystudio and keep me company in the weeks preparing for Auction. I definitely move into flow state rolling from one to the next. It’s actually a beautiful feeling. They are rather fascinating to work with because they are always a little weighted in my hands and have this sense of pulling down to the earth. Kind of grounding in many ways. They have such a Mother-Earthiness to them.

Thank you for journeying with me the weeks leading up to my day and for the love and support always. The private messages are like medicine for my soul.

Thank you, thank you, from my heart to yours, always, love Jeanne-Marie

Show begins 3pm ET - see you there.

Beautiful Ireland...

Have you heard the exciting news…

The beautiful Ivy Newport and myself will be returning to the exquisite West Coast of Ireland, the lovely Emerald Isle. It is our heart once again to share our creative passions and ideas with you.

It will be 7 nights and 8 glorious days, an all inclusive creative wellness journey, hosted by The Essence of Mulranny Studio, run and operated by resident artists Lora Murphy and Cheryl Cobern Browne and located in the sweetest coastal village of Mulranny (which means in the Pocket of God). I love that.

I hope you will join us.

Please follow the button as we only have 6 spots left. Space is limited and of course I would love you to join us again or for the first time.

Much love Jeanne-Marie

Completing works...

Pieces coming together…

It is always so special for me to see my works coming together as I start walking towards my auction / sale date. Completing works is sacred ground for me because for many years I had a tendency to start new projects before completing old ones. It became a bit of a habit, a bad one and I have to work very hard with myself to complete tasks. I think this is a very “normal” thing for many artists and Julia Cameron has a section about it in her book, The Artists Way. So I do understand the psychology behind it but it doesn’t make it any less challenging for me to do the work to show up and finish strong. Please let me know if this is also something you struggle with.

I love seeing my completed works along side each other as it encourages me to keep finishing these canvases before I whip out new ones. I do love seeing the story of each body of works unfold together.

I love how these turned out in their frames. Hoping to have three more ready this week for the framers.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

This coming week I’ll be finishing a few more paintings for the show but my main focus will be finishing a selection of my clay works. They are being exceptionally patient with me as I find my way to finish their stories.

I’ll be sharing here a little more frequently as I head towards the Quirk show and beyond. I have a few exciting things coming up in my studio and can’t wait to share more with you.

Much love always, from my heart to yours… Jeanne-Marie

Nature’s Canvas 2023

My dear friend, Tania Bain has rereleased her beautiful nature class again during the month of August and it’s now available in her Etsy store. She found items in and around our forests and painted beautiful faces on them and created the most incredible beings on driftwood, sticks, bark and leaves. Her class was originally on the Jeanne Olivier site but it’s been updated for this year and can be purchased directly from her.

I hope you will join her new and improved class and create with nature and her.

Quirky work for the Quirk Show

I haven’t been part of the Quirk show for a couple of years and I’m thrilled to be included in this year’s collective. As always it’s a wonderful group of artists with delightful quirky art. I think my work is a good combination of quirky and unusual to fit right in.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

I will have a variety of different kinds of works in this collection… from big to small, painting, mixed media and clay. I am already seeing a theme come through and I’ll know soon what the title for this mini body of works will be. Look forward to sharing more with you along the way.

In the meantime, please click below if you would like to join us from mid/end of September. Please remember to click on “going” when your are on the Facebook Events page.

Greetings....

Greetings from a far… and sincere apologies for my radio silence.

Since my auction and auction shipping, I have been deep in admin. Mountains of logistics and paperwork but I feel like I am slowly coming out of it and have been able to start venturing back into my studio. We have had a hard, cold winter, by our standards and it’s been a very wet one. I never complain about rain, I am always grateful for every drop. However, it means I haven’t been able to be in my garden much and this greatly affects my mood. Every year we have a little reprieve and have what we call an Indian Summer in the middle of winter and it’s pure perfection. Everyone, including the plants get excited and think spring has sprung but I usually lasts a hot minute and winter is back on. My garden managed to dry out a bit and gave me some much needed gardening time.

Rain or shine, cold or warm, I have managed to keep walking. It’s very much part of my mindful practice and I find it very grounding. The more I can be in the forest and nature the more grateful I am for each day. I’ve also been doing heaps of yoga since my YTT200 hours repeat last November. I was part of a dedicated yoga practice for the month of June/July to help us get out of bed and up and moving in the cold wet days. It worked!!! It was a beautiful restorative month, a gift to the self whilst moving in a sweet community.

I’m so grateful for this beautiful gift of movement in my life and the gift of walking in this world.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

I’m still working through all my unfinished clay works from a while back, also sneaking in some new pieces. But all in all it’s wonderful to be back in my studio. I am part of the Quirk Auction at the end of September and I have lots of work ahead of me but super excited to have something to work towards.

Solo Show is underway…

We are through our first day of my Solo Show with the amazing Stephanie Gagos. It was a beautiful opening and I am so grateful for the love and support and thank you so much for walking along side me.

I absolutely loved putting this body of works together which is something I haven’t actually done for almost 2 years and to work the last season with intention was amazing for my heart and focus. I absolutely loved my time in studio.

I have called this body of works “The Melancholy of Change”

I found this quote when I was doing this work, with the butterflies and chrysalis appeared in some of my piece… it felt so appropriate.

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy, for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves, we must die to one life before we can enter another.” - Anatole France.

I have felt my own inner shifting after my almost 2 year break and something different emerging from my work. I’m not always aware how cohesive my work is when I am working constantly, from one piece to the next and it’s usually a delightful surprise to find that. However, for this body of works, my cohesion was with intention. I worked with my collection in mind by using similar elements all the way through. In each piece I worked with a specific color palette, specific patterns of design and ephemera elements that would help each piece flow together. My use of green and nature is always a strong focus in my work and this season was no exception. My introduction of Titanum White felt like its own character this season, which I am thoroughly enjoying.

I can’t thank you enough for being here with me after my break and thank you for all the love and support. With much love and gratitude from my heart to yours.

Jeanne-Marie xxx

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

A little series...

I now have 5 of these works in my little series and I’m busy working on my next two as I write this. I am hoping to have a bunch of these pieces available my Solo Auction next month. I have been having so much fun with these works and going back to this style of creative playing has been so good for my heart. I loved the wooden panels so much that I went to my hardware store and bought a big sheet and they cut it down for me and now I have over 20 substrates ready to play.

And I’m fully inspired to keep exploring.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

If you haven’t clicked on “going” yet for my show, please follow the link below and click away.

Counting down the sleeps.

The Catcher of Dreams....

There is an old soul wisdom feel to this little being.

I started with a SealBone Vertabrae that I gained from Annie Hamman’s basket when I visited her last year and I stood whilst making this little one. She seemed to just flow right out of my hands into being and it was fully love all the way. I knew she would be special to paint too.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

I am loving finishing these works at last and being in studio has been filling my love tank for sure. So grateful for so much at the moment.

Solo Show....

I am thrilled to share that my FB Event Page has been set up for my Solo Show, together with the incredible Stephanie Gagos. I am so honored to be working with her again and in this way after some time away. It feels good to be back in this space. My collection is growing and cohesive and I am really excited about sharing this body of works with you. Thank you for the joint excitement with us and beautiful well wishes, that really means the world to me. Please follow the button below and click on going.

Much love, Jeanne-Marie

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

To the Trees I go...

This was one of my favorite paintings from last year and I really wanted to share her in this functional format. I worked with my fabric printers to crop the image that would work with the size of all my pouches and I really loved how it turned out.

Then my dear friend and beautiful bag maker put them together for me again with that gorgeous green shweshwe fabric. She calls it “Jeanne-Marie’s Green”. I have been using this pouch everyday since she arrived and I love it so much.

I’m particularly fond of this one, I know I’m not supposed to have favorites… sshhh.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

Namaste to the yogi within....

Namaste to the yogi within, who accepts that, that we cannot change…

The story behind her precious ears…

When I was in Hermanus with Annie at the end of last year, I found baby seal bones on the rocks when we were foraging. Rough seas must have caused her passing. Annie taught me how to clean the bones and I learnt so much about that. Seals and seal bones have incredible symbolism.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

I used my baby seal hip bones for her mysterious ears. They were so tiny and so perfect and I knew right away that I wanted to use them in my clay. I had also just finished my Yoga Teachers Training for a second time and I knew I wanted to make a Yogi. I have wanted to make one for a long time… and it felt like it could be a special pairing and I think I was right.

I am so grateful to have found my first bones like this. I have other things in mind for the remainder of her bones. It truly feels so sacred to be working with real bones in my work.

I am very humbled by it.

She will be available in my Solo Show at the end of April.

Mixed Media Creative Play...

A few years ago when we moved into our house, I found some pine wooden panels… thin boards. They might have been shelves in a previous life but they weren’t being used anymore. They have just been lying around and sometimes I would use them to work on with my clay but didn’t think about using them as substrates. I prepped one the other day with gesso and collaged it for fun and before I knew my beautiful one on the left appeared.

I loved working on the wood so much… I immediately prepped my new board with some left over paint, gesso and collage and my new one on the right appeared. I can see a theme and cohesiveness appearing in my work again this year. The circular halo’s have reappeared in my work and I’m loving that. Each one unique but similar and of course, nature, always nature. I am not sure I can not allow nature to appear anymore. I feel so connected to some of these elements.

©JeanneMarieArt 2023

The Peace Offering - 12” x 16” Mixed Media on wood

I now have four pieces in my little series and I have them all up next to each other and it’s quite breathtaking seeing them this way. I am so blown away at how similar they are but yet so different. I can’t seem to figure this part out, how each one created separate from each other at different times but yet they still seem to flow together. The alchemy of it all keeps my mind intrigued.

I have two more boards left but I will get some more cut as I would like to continue this little series mainly for my own practice. At the end of last year I started entertaining the idea of continuing this kind of creative play by attempting to do one a week for the play element and to see how I can grow in this medium. So far, I’m a little hooked. I’ll keep the commitment loose and gentle but right now it is holding my attention with so much love and joy. Which is always such a beautiful place to create from… long may this linger with me.

Thank you to those who have reached out to buy these works and tentatively put your names at the back. I will be in touch soon. As some of you know, I will be having an auction at the end of April and will share more about it in the coming weeks. I’ll know soon which pieces will be selected for the Auction floor.

Thank you for the love and beautiful personal messages the last few weeks, it’s helped me remember my “why”. I think last year I felt a little lost to that and having it back again has been such a touching gift.