Miskawn 1 – A New Painting
‘I walked over the lane to my grandmother’s house, passed fields we used to play in.
A lane that used to seem so long, with fields that ran on, forever we thought.
And a house, that used to hold so many, so close against the mountain.
Only to see,
it was not the lane,
or the house or the fields that were warm and endless and deep, or that held us, so many, and close, against the mountain.
It was you.’
Hello, from verdant and sunny Leitrim. Ireland’s least populated county. We like our space. How many of you have a memory like this of a childhood place?
Miskawn 1 is the second in a series inspired by the landscape of my writing. The goal is something like peace, inspiration, the work of the soul and the soul of place…
Starting a New Creative Project

In my ongoing quest to be deeply immersed in the landscape of my writing, to deep map the familiar, to merge with the soul of this place, to bring writing and art and colour and nature together, to be always creating, and to learn to paint by painting. And bring it all back to my writing, I’m starting a new creative project.

My goal is to create a series of paintings inspired by the mountain. And perhaps I’ll add poetry too.

Mullaghgarve 1 is the starting point. A watercolour inspired by one of my photos. Incidentally, the Irish, ‘Mullach Garbh’ means ‘the rough top.’ And yes, it is rough and it is beautiful too.

This has been the most difficult year of my (almost) 49 years round the sun. Writing, nature and art continue to keep me going. They are my work, my medicine, my escape, my joy, my life. Which even while rough is also still beautiful.

What does your creativity mean to you? What are your creative plans for the week?

xo Jane

Hi Jane, Planting seeds of magic. #ThatCuriousLoveofGreen

Dear Jane, I just wanted to write you a quick note to tell you how much your blog and Facebook presence has helped me reconnect with myself, my creativity, and my writing. You’re magic, and you plant little magic seeds with each of your posts. Thank you for sharing yourself and your journey and inspiring me along the way. Sara. Arizona, USA. 

Dear Sara, I was so happy to hear I’ve helped your path, and now you’ve inspired me, thank you. I will keep planting seeds, I hope you’ll join me. We’ll grow a new world of creativity that everyone can share and feel supported in. Much Love, Jane.

Dear Jane, What Inspired You To Write #CailleachWitch?

Question: Dear Jane, what inspired you to write Cailleach~Witch?

Answer No 73:

I took the energy of the landscape,
my sensitivity to it,
my ceaseless longing for it,
and alchemised it on the page.

I wanted to float away in it,
to be in it,
and stay there.
For a long, long time.
Complete and utter immersion,
annihilation.

That was the dream.
There are people who know what I mean.

Dear Jane – ‘The book keeps gathering steam, brewing up its charms & spells.’ #CailleachWitch

‘As far as Drew could tell the only fast moving thing now was the river that flowed from the mountain.’ 
I’ve made it to Chapter 25, and the book keeps gathering steam, brewing up its charms and spells.
Love, Tamara. 

Dear Tamara, thank you for your latest postcard. A joy as usual. And for taking me on your journey of reading my book. I love to see what words you’ve chosen. And now we’re almost at the end. I will miss your selections. Much Love, Jane.

‘I have come back to things that are impossible to do… apart from painting and gardening, I am good for nothing. My greatest masterpiece is my garden.’ – Claude Monet

And the reviews keep coming too. Like this incredibly thoughtful one from Amazon Canada… ps Please leave a review if you’ve read the book. With enough reviews Amazon will start promoting it to other customers. To Amazon a one word review is every bit as good as one like this. Reviews like this one are most helpful to potential readers, and lovely to read of course. In short, your review matters. Every review matters.

Meanwhile, I read an interesting article this morning EMBRACE YOUR WILDISH NATURE. Those of you who’ve read my book will recognise this central theme. I call it wild nature but it’s the same thing.

“Your wildish nature is your whole self at home in the natural world. It is your empowered, honest self that lives intuitively and in balance with nature.What Is Wildish Nature? Wildish nature is the nature we have abandoned on our quest to conquer nature. Wild nature is. It is what we come from, it is ancient wisdom.”

Read it HERE

Other themes in the book? Agency, power, freedom, the self, identity, belonging, home, society, the sibling relationship, family, culture, the call of the wild versus civilisation. To name a few.

In other news, I’ve been having fun making picture quotes for promotional purposes. Like this one…

‘Honor went to the window, opened it wide as was her habit, whenever the walls closed in. And leaning out into the pitch black she listened. The night was rich and ticking with life that nourished and maddened her. But there it was! Her name again, clearer now. She left the house. Now the wind sang a different tune, turn back, it seemed to say, before it’s too late. But she wouldn’t. She was the haunter now, the hunter, like the moon above her. And this was her terrain…’

This weekend… this weekend I’ll be giving a workshop, reading from my book, and taking part in an author q&a as part of Fright Fest in beautiful, historic, Ardagh. I’d love to see some of you there.

Here’s what we’ll be getting up to… WRITE YOURSELF FREE Taster Workshop – Are you living your creative potential? Is your writing/creative practice the best it can be right now? Have you found your unique voice yet? Your style? For this workshop Jane will be sharing simple and inspiring ideas and exercises towards your next level of writing and creativity. From beginner to fearless. Suitable for all levels and artistic disciplines. No experience necessary to take part. This workshop is based on Jane’s WRITE YOURSELF FREE Creative Writing course, soon to be available as an Ecourse. Get ready to banish all that’s holding you back.

That’s all for now but if you’d like to read more I updated my About Me section this week HERE

I almost forgot! I’m starting a special monthly newsletter exclusively for subscribers. If you haven’t already just enter your email address in the space provided on the home page. The monthly newsletter, my inspiration list, is launching soon. Each month I’ll be gathering my most inspiring finds in one place to share with you. Think of it as life and creativity fuel. A feast of inspiration.

Much Love, Jane. Brewing up charms and spells.

 

 

Dear Jane, I love the vision.

Dear Jane,

This card matches your look, colours, and even the dog sits waiting for his copy. 

I read and pause, re-read certain lines like these:

‘Only the house sighed, only the light shining in moved like waves on the floor.  Still, there was comfort in it.’

I love the vision, Jane, and you saw it through in your world of curious green. 

Love, Tamara

South Carolina.

Dear Tamara,

To pick up where you left off…

‘Their world was shifting, but the seasons wouldn’t, nature wouldn’t. Spring would always follow winter, and summer after that.’

Thank you for bringing me with you as you read.

Love, Jane

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