Happy Anniversary to me....

During my Camino I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of being in Portugal. Hard to fathom how fast it’s all gone. As you can appreciate, it has been a big year in finding my feet and finding my routine. I feel like since I’ve come back from the Camino, I have found more of a flow and there have been some really big shiftings in me since I got home. Somatically, I feel different and I can’t explain why but whatever the reason is, there has been a little more ease and heaps more joy. Which I am so grateful for.

I think I’m starting to build a bit of a community and some routines around that. It’s helped me settle more into my space and body. I always say, when you start bumping into people you know, then you are starting to feel more at home.

I have been making the most of the last days of summer…. here are some glimpses.

Things still continue to come up for me in all things healing and I am still working very hard to stay grounded and rooted in everything I do and stay fully engaged and present. I am still committed to doing the work and I’m so grateful that I still have so much love and support around me.

Thank you, thank you!

I’m still walking a lot and this continues to remain a constant for me. I am also going down almost daily for my cold water swims…. this has been like magic for my soul. The past few weeks I have been working with my Tai Chi - Swimming Dragon Sensei and learning the sequence from top to bottom. There has been a shift in my form and practice and again moving into flow state with this practice. I will continue working with him for the next course and I’m determined to learn the sequence by heart. I have slowed down with my yoga considerably through summer but upped this practice to almost daily. All these beautiful practices have been such a gift to me and how beautiful to have access to so much goodness.

So from my heart to yours, always. Much love and gratitude.

Here is my July to October playlist which has been one of my favorites for this year so far and it is making my heart so happy!

I hope you enjoy it too - don’t forget to put it on shuffle.

Thank you from the bottom of heart...

I can’t thank you enough for the love and support during the Quirk Auction.

Thank you for always showing up with me… before, during and after. It means more to me than you know, even after my long absence. I’m hoping I won’t need to have time away from my studio for sometime.

The shipping… always the shipping. Its never without heaps of grace.

I thought my shipping challenges were over after I left Cape Town but here I am once again relearning. This time has been quite something and navigating this in a foreign language has required patience and humility as I allowed people to help guide me. A massive learning curve for me and I’m so grateful for all the help. truly, THANK YOU!

All in all my gratitude and love is overflowing… so from my heart to yours, always

Jeanne-Marie xxx

Next May… come clay with me!

Come join me in this scared place next May.

We will be building clay sculptures slowly by hand. Together we will explore and absorb this incredible place and incorporate what we find into our works!

Orvieto first stole my heart in 2012 and she still continues to haunt me to this day… always quietly calling me to come back to create with her! It’s pure alchemy for me and I always go home fully connected and engaged with my creative tank full! From creating in the Monastery, quiet early morning walks while the mist hangs low, to the unbelievable history… it’s deeply beautiful in every way.

Orvieto is an artisan hilltop town. It is also the headquarters for the Slow movement, a movement very close to my heart. To have a whole town’s focus being intentionally centred around making things slowly, by hand, is a rare find in this loud, fast-paced world that we find ourselves in! Creating in this collective slow energy is contagious.

Please come join me and our intimate group, working gently and mindfully together in the peaceful rhythms of this sacred town and Monastery.

Much love, always, Jeanne-Marie

Guys.... I walked to Spain

As you know, I just finished my first Camino!

Honestly, one of the most exquisite experiences of my life. Of course, not without challenges but on the most part, it was utterly perfect!

We walked from Porto to Santiago de Compostela, just under 300kms. We had one off day midway but no surprise, we toured and walked so much, it was the same as all our other days. To see a country by foot is next level beautiful. You get to see so much more this way and what blew me away is how much our legs can take. All said and done, I know this… it’s not about your legs… they just get stronger and stronger.

It all comes down to your feet and providing special care for them all the way, is imperative.

I have my eye on a few more epic journeys.

This beautiful pilgrim came at the right time and there have been huge shiftings in me since I got back too but I will share more with you as soon as I can get this administrative week behind me.

Once again, thank you to all those who journeyed with me everyday and even more so to those who were with me for every beautiful footfall. You were in my heart and mind, front and centre.

To my walking buddy, wow, what memories. Thanks Friend!

The Lotus Keeper....

She’s finally finished and I love her.

She measures around 14” x 10” on stretched canvas and she’s ready to hang and ready to go out into the world. She took me on a journey and made me work hard for her presence, even though this is the case, I am always grateful for every lesson I learn with these pieces that challenge me.

She has an incredibly quiet and regal presence about her and working in that energy and space felt a little sacred to me. A little reminder that not all have instant or immediate access to the inner landscapes of our minds and souls. It might take presence, reciprocity and mutual regard to be allowed on the inside. The inner sanctum is sacred ground and to be honored with respect.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - SOLD

I adore the quiet spaces around her and her muted tones. My color palette this season was chosen with intention with a special focus around Venetian Rose. More about my intentions around this body of work closer to exhibition day.

Much love from my heart to yours, Jm xxx

The Saint of the Quiet Magnolia...

… who carries dignity and strength on her back.

Two years ago I attempted to make a Santos Doll in a very traditional way on the cage / stand. I really loved her and although I learnt so much, some aspects of her were problematic. The wire I used to make moveable hands and arms were not the correct. The concept was great but the wire was not. It was an important lesson. I reworked her and I still wasn’t happy with her so she sat in my studio for two years. She eventually crossed the oceans and travelled to Portugal by ship and sadly or fortuitously, she got damaged on her voyage.

I cut away her cage / stand and reworked her hands and one arm. I re-sculptured aspects of her that I wasn’t happy with and kept all the elements that I adored about her and then repainted her.

I am utterly smitten with her unique and special presence.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

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I love that I finished her story here, in Portugal because Santos Dolls originate from Portugal and Spain as far back as the middle ages. They were originally created from wood, clay or ivory and were made and placed on home alters especially for families who didn’t have access to church. Santos meaning Saint, represented the Saints, Mary or Christ and became spiritual companions to people and households. They are sacred dolls. They were traditionally created with quiet, slightly elongated and neutral faces so that they could represent the saint you needed them to be.

I knew I wanted her to represent a quiet peace and strength, I wanted her color to be light and I also knew I wanted to include a magnolia on her back both the color and flower representing purity and sacredness. The Magnolia evolved up onto her head. Magnolia’s represent noble feminine strength and this combined with her crown seem so perfect. Her crown is a piece from an antique tea strainer I had available from a previous project.

Thank you for the messages of love coming in for her.

The Secret Keepers and Silent Witnesses...

The Harvester of Tea and Truth…

I am hoping to have three of these special souls in the Quirk show.

For the past few years I’ve been collecting antique tea strainers on my road trips in and around South Africa and people have sent me some as they knew I was collecting. I found some pretty special ones too and they make the perfect frames and holders for these little Guardians.

It has been a delightful project.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - SOLD

It’s a project and concept I started playing with a while back around the saying… “Spill the tea or T” … meaning share your personal Truth, secrets, or what’s really going on. Then more recently used to mean share the gossip or story. I wanted to use the tea strainer metaphorically… as the vessel that catches the tea leaves (story) and allows the liquid to flow through and catches what must not flow over. In essence, the gatekeeper, deciding what passes through and what remains hidden. Inserting a clay soul into the strainer personifies the tea strainer to that of a Guardian… A Guardian of the Truth.

The Harvesters of Tea and Truth… the collectors of untold stories (they gather but don’t betray). The silent witnesses of truth (they listen without judgement).

It’s clear their role is sacred and important.

Holding my whole heart…

This special wand / talisman appeared on my studio desk this week.

It’s the second piece I’ve made like this. The first one was using a piece of driftwood and this one, I created around one of my baby seal bones from the delicate remains I found on the rocks in Hermanus, Cape Town a few years back. I love honoring these bones this way… repurposing them and giving them new life.

She is a perfect representation of the work I’ll be teaching and sharing in Orvieto in May next year with my hand building sculpture class… combining organic elements like bone, wood, shells, leather, quills and feathers.

I will be teaching a variety of different projects and this will be one of them.

I hope you will consider joining me.

SOLD ©JeanneMarieArt 2025

She was a joy to make from beginning to end and sometimes pieces just flow so elegantly and she was one of them. She is wonderful to hold and has a slightly weighted feel to her. I love that she can stand propped up on her quills.

I am always amazed at the level of vulnerability and tenderness these pieces can evoke and the beautiful lessons I learn from each one. She is made up of organic elements from all over - quills from my folks farm, a seagull feather from my new beach here in Portugal, a seal bone from Hermanus, a leather string from Cape Town and clay from my hands and heart, to yours!

DATES:

may 10th - 16th 2026

Sweet Magnolia

She is finally finished!

Sweet Magnolia is a mixed media fibre art piece.

A miniature acrylic painting on a 2.5” x 2.5” Rooibos Teabag preserved from my 2016 exhibition and body of works, completely incapsulated with a thousand tiny threads and incorporated onto a piece of cotton fabric.

Painting with threads is so calming and therapeutic and a beautiful reminder for me to return to this practice. It has been around six years since I released my threading class and I had forgotten how soothing it is to do this work.

Please let me know if you would like more details about my showing day on the Quirk show where she will be showcased. So looking forward to this online exhibition.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - SOLD

My Painting with Threads class is still available if you want to join in with this mindful practice and nervous system calming technique.

Quirk Online show...

my day : 28th/29th september

Its been around 2 years since I put a full body of works together for an Auction / online Exhibition.

I have forgotten how much work it is, administratively and creatively but I do love it very much. I am a little deadline driven and I am working maxed out, day in and day out to make my deadline. I won’t lie though, it makes me extremely happy. For me, these seasons of intensity in my studio, means I quietly move into flow state and this is a complete place to work from. Every now and again flow state comes around and when it does, it’s a beautiful gift and it’s precious to me.

The way life has been the past few years, flow state has been elusive but I’m glad to find myself showing up and experiencing this in small ways again. I’m hoping that it will continue and continue to mature into my next season and body of works.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

Some of the pieces I have been working on and hoping to finish in the next few days. Some of them have been a joy and flowed and others have been harder but all in all, time in the seat is always rewarding. In between the long studio hours, I’m trying to walk as much as I can and get some movement in and keep healthy.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - Works in progress

I’ll be sharing more as I get closer to showing day and thank you for the love and support already. Please drop me a note if you would like to be added to the FB group / receive an invite.

More soon…

Where the Moth Waits...

From the moment I started this piece, we were fully connected and it was love all the way. She was waking me up early most mornings, calling me to come finish her and I stayed up late with her most nights until her story was complete. I love working this way.

I love all the beautiful symbolism of the Moth, there are so many. Most of all, I love where she is waiting, right on her heart-space with her feelers reaching up to her throat. This is profoundly significant to me and for me.

When I have anxiety, I feel it all in my chest, reaching up to my throat, always in this region and its oppressive and tight. Oddly enough, the new season I’m in, with my nervous system relaxing, there are moments of joy and dare I say, real happiness, that I find the feeling in the same area and it’s expansive and spacious. This has been so interesting to me… the complexity and duality that my heart space and throat being able to hold both these conflicting emotions and responses in the exact same place.

I love that the beautiful Moth is waiting right here… from throat, heart-space all the way down to her solar plexus.

SOLD ©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - 13”×18” Collage Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on an old book cover

When I started this piece it was with half the moth only on the right side of her heart space and I started entertaining the idea of it being on the other side too. I felt it would have been super busy and as you know, I do love quiet spaces. I knew if I brought the wing across, I would have to remove some of the flowers which I did and it worked well. I also wanted the wing on the left side to match and be almost identical and that worked well too.

As you know, she will be available in my next showing, please message me if you would like to tagged for her availability. Closer to the time we will be sharing more actively on FB for tagging.

Thank you so much for the love pouring in about her, it has been so beautifully delightful to know you have loved her as much as I have. From my heart to yours, always, Jm.

I walked to Lisbon...

My friend shared with me recently that she had walked to Lisbon Cathedral before her Camino, for training and to get her Camino passport. I decided to walk in her footprints… what an epic journey and I loved every step of the way.

It was a tough day out though because it was so hot. I had good intentions to leave at 6am but only left at 7am, which meant I arrived in the heat of the day and it was hot as hell.

I survived.

It was still early by Portugal standards and I love being out when it’s so beautifully quiet. The only thing to remember is that WC’s only open at 9/10am in Portugal, so it’s advisable not to have a big cup of coffee before you leave. Due to me leaving a bit later, I had to put the hammer down all the way to Belem to try make up distance in the cooler part of the day. I did take some time out, to photograph my journey though. It was so beautiful. I am doing this route often by train or car but I saw so much more on foot and I loved it. It is absolutely worth the effort. I can highly recommend.

After a little refuel at Pateis de Belem, I stocked up with more cold water and kept trekking. I left Belem at around 12pm and it was scorching hot. As I was mapping out the last part of my route, I discovered that the Cathedral is closed on Sundays. Oopsy, it hadn’t occurred to me to check this fact, it’s a Catholic church in Europe after all, one would assume it’s open on a Sunday. I had to keep going even though I was a bit gutted. I wasn’t going to get my passport but I was going to get my kms and training done.

When I got to to Honest Greens close to the Cais de Sodre station, arguably I could have headed home due to the fact that the Cathedral wasn’t open but I was determined to get there. It was a mental game for me now, the last 2-4km’s were killer. I had my dear friend Sonia (who just did the Camino), my Mom and Corksi talking me to my imaginary finish line. It was so hot and I was struggling with the crowds and heat at the end so the virtual company was so welcome. When I got to the end I sat on the steps by the closed doors for a while to try and compose myself.

Walking to Lisbon Cathedral - 24.5km

Guys, I walked to Lisbon from my apartment. Someone pinch me please.

I now feel good about my pilgrimage that’s coming up and we are going to be okay. We only have one 25km day on our journey… our last day to Santiago Compostela. The other days are more around 20kms. I’ve broken in my new shoes and my new day pack and I’m happy with everything. We have sorted out our route to and from Porto and Spain. Now we focus on keeping healthy and keeping our mileage up.

Counting down the days…

Hello August...

How gorgeous to have summer in August, this is new for me. Now that summer is in full swing, I’m enjoying it so much. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Winter months but I did have a year long stint this past year, which was a bit much. It’s lovely to have some natural vitamin D and wearing all things sleeveless and of course, to be fully immersed in the ocean again. This has me smiling from ear to ear.

I’m not sure where July went but wow that went fast.

My yoga slowed quite a bit this month but I quietly did an online Yoga Synergy, course with Jim, my old yoga teacher from Cape Town. I haven’t done Synergy for a while but it’s a long slow practice so it was nice to be back with this set routine. I didn’t do any Swimming Dragon, Tai Chi this month because my Sensei had surgery and is recovering. I was generally a bit out of sync with some of my local yoga classes too, so here is hoping August will be a little more consistent.

I did however walk a huge amount this month in preparation for my Camino and did a long hot hike last Sunday. One of my longest days walking here in Portugal, we covered close to 25km and my goodness, it was hot. You know me and the heat… I suffer.

I also had my dear friend over from Aveiro for a few days and spent a few days in the Algarve with one of my best friends and her family. These two visits were like medicine for my soul. I am so grateful for these moments. I am also back to my cold water swims and that ramped up in a big way this month. I find the water here pretty mild generally, except this last week, it’s been Cape Town cold. Bearing in mind the chill in Cape Town is due to it being South Atlantic waters. So my last two swims felt like I was back in my old tidal pool back home but I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back to this exquisite practice.

The ocean does something to me… I am healing.

My days are generally quiet and peaceful. I wake early each day and watch the sun rise over Lisbon. I have that gorgeous orange glow every morning. My big windows are wide open and a cool breeze flows in as I brew my coffee. The swallows swoop high and low around my window and greet me each day. I see my church and hear the bells in the distance, little reminders that I live in Europe. I am so grateful for these small gifts each day.

I then head to my writing desk to do my morning pages or my yoga mat for early morning practice.

This couldn’t sum me up more accurately in this season.

I hope I never lose these parts of me…

~

Okay August… let’s go quietly ahead together, we have lots of work to do.

xxx

Three of my favorite songs from July.

#InMyStudio - Painting everyday....

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - SOLD

I am fully back to painting everyday with these glorious back to back days #inmystudio and I do love it so very much. I know it’s the only way I can get myself back to flow state and to work intuitively from one piece to the next and for new ideas to be birthed.. It’s in allowing the spaciousness of my open desk and leaving work out and bobs and bits that actual play begins to happens.

I’m joining Stephanie again at the end of September on the delightful Quirky Show and I haven’t been with this gorgeous group for 2 years and I’m thrilled to be back. As usual I’m a mixture of nerves and excitement. There is something so special when I start completing works for a project and my body of works starts to grow. Seeing each piece evolve together.

I will share my specific showing day and the details for the event as soon as I have them… more soon

21st Sept - 1st Oct 2025

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - SOLD

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As usual, I will have a mixture of works… a few framed miniature artworks, bigger paintings, a few mixed media pieces on wooden board and some clay pieces, in a variety of shapes and sizes. It is always my hope that there there is something there for everyone.

Hope to see you there.

From my heart to yours, always

Jeanne-Marie

Feathers and Bones....

Have you heard my news…

About heading back to my most favourite little town in Italy.

Orvieto, Italy in 2026

A hand building Sculpture Class

in Orvieto, Italy

Using beautiful organic elements together with our PaperClay to tell intutive 3D stories.

DATES: 10th - 16th May 2026

An incredible creative journey, bringing you an experience of sacred clay and art making.

Your week will be filled with exploring your paperclay combined with the art of 3D storytelling.

I will be incorporating organic elements (feathers, quills and bones, shells and driftwood) to each demonstration as well as having a focus on finding and using inspiration from this sacred little village of Orvieto, Italy. I will also be focusing on helping you build stories into each piece, together with hands and gestures to find emotion in each figurine. You will spend dedicated time throughout the week completing each story beautifully with paint and ephemera.

As we slowly meander through the beautiful streets of Orvieto, we will find inspiration and ideas to add to our work and it will end up being a generous resource for months to come. With so much beauty to behold in the architecture of this enchanting town, it promises to change the way you view your artworks.

By incorporating clay, feathers & bones, paper and paint with the elements of architecture and pattern of Orvieto into each piece we create together, we truly will be making storytelling works of art.

Please reach out if you want to journey with me for this time.

Much love always, Jeanne-Marie xxx

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

Together...

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - SOLD

I loved seeing these two pieces together.

If you look quickly they almost look like one painting. I love the way my pieces sometimes organically work together and amalgamate with each other. Every now and again I get to see that happen in front of me. I find when I’m up close and personal with my work, I don’t always get to see the little nuances that you, on the outside get to see and then I get a glimpse and I am always a little taken a back.

It helps me see that we clearly work in rhythms and patterns and how we flow from one to the next. It always feels seperate for me but in these moments, I can see that nothing is by chance. Maybe we are more connected to ourselves and these rhythms than we know or realise and that I get to see it in visual form and with each clay piece, in 3D form.

It feels a bit like alchemy and I love seeing it in action.

Earnestly yours…

I got to spend the weekend with this precious Soul, I so enjoyed her presence.

A few months ago in my one yoga classes, we started our practice off with a little meditation sitting in Seiza (a traditional Japanese sitting style). She was based on this posture and as I was meditating, I knew I wanted to try capture this beautiful gesture in my clay.

Her half wing is from a baby seal bone that I found on the rocks back in Hermanus, a small coastal village in Cape Town which has now been gold leafed and I’m completely smitten with this little detail.

SOLD - ©JeanneMarieArt 2025

To sit Seiza is to show the utmost respect and it also helps clear the mind and keep focus.

It is by no means an easy posture and it can be painful as we get used to it.

#InMyStudio... back at last

My studio time has been a little stop-start with me having guests from back home, I am not complaining at all. I’ve loved every moment of it, it’s been such a gift in my life at this time. First Courteney and Marc and for the past two weeks, my parents. It has been a truly remarkable time for us as a family. I basically camped out at my sister’s place for the duration of the visit so we could do everything together and it was utterly heavenly but more about that in another post.

So of course, I have headed straight back into my studio this week and I am so happy to be back in my happy place. I have been finishing pieces and starting new ones, working with a bit of clay and doing lots of art admin. I couldn’t be happier. Both these pieces are available, I will be doing some weekly shop updates over the next couple of months. I am also preparing for two online exhibits / auctions I have coming up. More about these soon. xxx

SOLD - Becoming Botanical - 10”x20” Stretched canvas

©JeanneMarieArt 2025 - SOLD

Some of my unfinished works can linger with me for so long and with time I’ve learnt to accept this. I can’t force anything or rush it, I have to wait and listen to the quiet whispers of where each piece wants me to go! I am always patient and always listening.

If you have been following my social media pages you will see I’ve been sharing some timelapse videos of me painting… warmups and under-paintings so far. I have not done this for a very long time but it feels really good to be back here and dare I say, I’m having so much fun.

I finally unpacked my film-rig and camera and it’s all set up with my studio lights and I am ready to start filming and sharing again. I am not saying anything formal will come of it yet but for now, I am just mindfully sharing and playing.

It is my plan to share a little something daily or every second day of things I’m working on and progressing with. This week I shared the beginnings of some new pieces.

Keep watching this space!!!

***Pre-Orders now open....

Last week I worked with my South African Art Printers to have more of my fabric images printed off so my dear friend, Jackie can run off my new batch of cross body bags.

Limited edition cross body bags

~ only 10 available ~

I am happy to let you know that the prints have been collected and production is underway.

I have set up Pre-Orders page in my little shop for you to secure your bag.

Thank you for those who have enquired already.

Each bag is handmade and beautifully lined with traditional South African shwe-shwe fabric. The image is a lined and zipped pocket on the front of the bag. The main pouch is made from a beautiful green corduroy fabric on the front and orange on the back with an adjustable soft black velvet strap, with brass fittings.

Bag size - 10.5” x 11”

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

In other exciting news...

Our Camino de Santiago has been booked!

The Camino de Santiago, also known as the “Way of St. James,” is one of the most famous pilgrimages in Christianity and one I have waited years to do.

I have thought about it and spoken about it for years and it’s finally happening. We are doing the traditional and more original route from Portugal to Santiago, spanning over two weeks. I’m nervous and excited. I have been walking extensively the past few years and even more this year and I have been preparing longer distances the past few months and obviously this will increase the next bit until we go.

I love the sacredness of pilgrimages, to journey forward physically and inwardly and this feels significant to be doing this particular one at this time.