"The Village Within... "

I finished this piece just before I left on holiday in December and I realized I forgot to share it here.

I actually started this piece in Ivy’s class in Italy in 2017 as a transferred image. I abandoned it as you can tell because 2 years had passed. I kept it because I loved the collage work I had done on the lower part of the piece. When I was sorting through pieces for my auction, I stumbled upon it and I thought it might be time to finish this piece. I love how patient my pieces can be… waiting for me to return and how they come into fruition right when they are meant to. I love trusting the process.

I can so see how my style has changed over the years and I know how different she would have looked in 2017. I love who she is today and I was so grateful to have finally found my way.

I love this theme so much about finding “home”. I want to dig a little deep with this theme, it’s very close to my heart. As someone who moved around so much through my life, home has at times felt like a liminal space and maybe something I have silently been searching for, for as long as I can remember. As I’m getting older, I’m beginning to think more about maybe it’s what’s within vs a physical space.

Painting again...

Gosh I missed it… my brushes, my paints and creating.

I took the most of December off to rest and definitely for the holidays… to rest and be with my family undistracted. It did us all good. I know how good it is for me and my creative process too.

Over the past few years, I have been learning to not fight it but rather work with it. It is our summer months and our longest holiday period because it’s the end of the school and university year and mostly, we are tired. I think not fighting myself about my lack of creativity during this time was sound… I am learning, to read the signs, to understand my creative cycles and to listen and respond accordingly. The beautiful thing is that I’ve come home refreshed and not struggling and I’m feeling so ready to paint….

I’m even excited to back #inmystudio

I am not overwhelming myself with too many plans, for now just showing up and working on old recycled canvases first. It feels less intimidating and a gentle way to start the year.

Looking forward to sharing more… Happy creating.

No frequency...

We had planned this weekend away in the mountains a few months ago and I have to tell you how hard it was for me follow through and go. I felt like we had just got home and we hadn’t even settled down yet, only to pack our bags and head out the door. My heart wasn’t ready. Everything in me wanted to cancel and stay home but we didn’t want to let our friends down.

We followed through with our commitment, and I have to say it was a delightful surprise. Not only was it visually beautiful but the quiet was rather wonderful. I didn’t have this big need to get out of the city because we just got back, but switching off completely from comms was a much needed and delightful surprise. I’m so grateful for the interruption in frequency. I slept a lot. I was more tired than I realised… my first week back to life was a little brutal.

It was a wonderful weekend with friends.

Inspiration...

I found a new artist, to me on Pinterest… Jennifer Pochinski.

I’m so moved by her use of color and texture and of course the beautiful expressive hands.

So inspired.

Starting the year off with love...

We are back home from our holiday and are busy unpacking and settling back in to our sweet little life. We had the most precious time together, just the four of us and I am so grateful for this time we had. It came along at the time when we really needed it the most.

We are feeling rested and ready to start our usual routine. Back to the office for all of us tomorrow. Before life starts and we fully get back into the swing of things, I wanted to pop over and say Happy New Year.

Trusting the start of this year and decade will be kind, precious and your best year yet. I have been thinking so much about the past year and more so, the past decade and I’m so deeply moved by all that has happened. I will unpack that more in the next few posts, but for now…

Sending you so much love for 2020.

Love, Jeanne-Marie

ArtforFires

Oh I’m so sad about the devastation happening in Aussie right now, I know we are all feeling it, the loss, the utter devastation. I know a bunch of us have come together to raise funds for WIRE. Read all about it here.

Thank you Natalie and Kat for all you are doing.

Being so far away certainly makes one feel helpless, but being part of this online community using our art to help just a little, feels precious. Bidding is open on this piece and current bid is on $160 including shipping. If you would like to bid please head over to my Instagram to place your bid in the comments. BIN price is $300 so unless that amount is reached piece will remain available until next Sunday.

Please feel free to DM if you have any questions.

I loved finishing this piece and this cause definitely got me out of my holiday rest to finally start painting again and my first finished piece for 2020. I’m so grateful for that. May it be the start of much goodness.

I will also be including 1 print and 1 block mount print in the next day or two.

Thank you so much for the love and support already,

Much love, Jeannie

Something glorious to look forward to...

We have so much goodness to look forward to this year and this trip is one of them. Our little class is full. We are so thrilled with this news. I know it’s a massive decision and commitment to travel for your art. It’s such a precious time and gift to give yourself for your practice and I can’t express enough the growth that comes from doing so.

I am beside myself to not only be teaching again with my gorgeous friend, Ivy Newport but also to be heading to this incredibly beautiful part of the world. Thank you for all those who have already signed up. I know we are going to have the most remarkable time together.

Please follow the button below to read more about it and would like to leave your name on the waitlist. Sometimes spaces become available.

A little shout out…

My very beautiful and special friend’s lovely daughter, Brittany England hasn’t been well, which has affected her home and living arrangements, as well as her working practice. That must be pretty scary for all of them right now especial at this time of year. I’m so sorry that they are going through this but that being said I’m so grateful they have the answers they need to heal too.

The most incredible part of their story is that they have asked for help. I can’t tell you how much I admire that. I think that’s not easy for any of us to do because we have to admit that we can’t do this alone and I find that so beautifully humble and human.

I’ve been so blown away to see the love pouring in for this beautiful one.

I’m sharing Brittany’s story here on my blog because she’s asked us to keep sharing her story so please feel free to follow the button below to read her story and journey so far and also to help walk along side her during this time.

Thinking about you all during this time and trusting you find sacred rest, beautiful family!

In the day of a life of Courteney…

Corks was turning 21, and in this part of the world, it is a big deal and most who do turn 21 have a celebration. It’s a coming of age party where we get to stop and take stock of how far they have come and officially give them a set of keys to the front door. We know this is symbolic, of course, because she’s had a key for a very long time already but it’s a sweet sentiment.

It is a moment when we acknowledge that she is now legally an adult and can officially make all her own decisions and sign all her own documents. It’s a strange notion and concept and we are excited to move into this next phase of young adulthood and what it will mean for all of us.

When she saw the garden coming together the past few months, she thought it would be lovely to have a little garden party. We haven’t had a party in our home for one of the girls since junior school so this was a biggie. I’m very private in my home and having 40+ people over is a full body experience for me. I wanted to do it for her and I hadn’t seen her this excited about a party before. She was fully in. We put lights up, made beautiful food and reminisced about her 21 years of life. We spent the week before going through years and years of photos of our life and it was beautifully nostalgic… it was wonderfully distracting from the challenges of the month. A mixture of so much love mingled in with sadness and so much joy for the bitter sweetness of time, her time… into a beautiful young woman.

It reminded us about the crazy beautiful life we have all shared together.

We know this, right? Of course we do. Sometimes life gets in the way and we get bogged down by the heaviness that each year brings. Then one day we wake up and we breathlessly notice that 21 years have passed us by. I am so grateful that we took this moment this week to seek, find and remember in our sacred captured photographs what a beautiful life we have lived and shared together. Far from perfect, beautifully flawed and unbelievably messy and complicated.

Yet I am feeling so utterly grateful…. for her and her contagious smile.

Thank you, beautiful girl, for giving me my title of Momma. Thank you for your incredible relationship with your Dad. Thank you for choosing life every single day, holding it with both hands and moving courageously through every moment. Thank you for making me a better person everyday just to keep up with you. Most of all, thank you for just being you!

What an incredible group of people who came over and those who shared words, thank you. The love was tangible. We have had the privilege of having her friends pass through our home through the years and we are so grateful for the role her friends, family and others have played in her life. - most of who have had such a profound affect of who she is today. We know we couldn’t have raised her without you!

Deeply known…

I’ve gone back to her a good few times already.

She keeps calling me back for more details. Well a mixture of finding her story, her details but her quiet spaces too. I love where we have got to together and maybe we still have some places to go but for now we find rest…. well at least until she calls me back for more.

A few Giclee Prints for Sale...

During my Auction, I had a few requests for print options, so afterwards I selected 5 pieces to be professionally scanned and had Giclee prints made. I’ll mostly be offering two sizes this time.

All my prints will be limited.

I have also been working together with my framers who do my block mounting for me so beautifully. So each print has an option for their print to be block mounted, making them ready to hang. However, their factory closes on Friday so my orders for the block mounts will close on Wednesday. So I’ve updated my little online shop with a these prints and block mounts.

I hope you will find something there for you!

Much Love, Jeanne-Marie

Escape to the Emerald Isle

with Ivy and me

I have the best news to share with you…

I will be crossing the oceans once more, to meet my beautiful friend and fellow teacher, Ivy Newport for another exciting teaching adventure. This time to the west coast of Ireland. We had such a ball teaching together in Italy and we knew we wanted to do it again.

We will be meeting in the Emerald Isle where magic, mystery and myth enchant the very soil.

For 7 nights and 8 Days (all inclusive), we will be sharing this creative time, which will be hosted by The Essence of Mulranny Studio, run and operated by artists Lora Murphy & Cheryl Cobern Browne. All located in the quaint coast village of Mulranny! It’s been an absolute dream for me to visit Ireland for as long as I can remember and I couldn’t think of a better way to do that than by creating together with like-minded souls in a place full of rugged beauty, fascinating history and endless inspiration.

Our 8 days will be filled with a good balance of studio time, delightful excursions and cultural experiences. Of course, there will be plenty of free time for stillness, rest and exploration. Creatively, we will journey through art journaling, creative collage, abstract landscapes, portraiture, sketching, mixing paints, combining mediums and MORE!

September 26-October 3 2020

Once again, I hope you will join Ivy and myself on another creative adventure.

Much love, always

Jeanne-Marie

Thank you!!!!!!

No words can express how grateful and thankful I am for the love, support and kindness at my auction.

It is honestly so humbling.

When I work throughout the year like this, I work each piece independently from each other and although there is a kind of theme and I’m usually inspired in clusters. When I’m finished each piece, I pack them away and don’t often pull them out until it’s auction time. I was so blown away at how cohesive my body of works were across the mediums. Like I created them all at the same time. it’s hard to fathom the different influences and seasons in between.

I truly loved this body of works and I felt so connected to it. I can honestly say that a piece of my heart is accompanying each and every package that’s going to their new homes. And once again, all I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU a million times over.

The Bearer of Wisdom...

Wow, I can’t even tell you how much I loved finishing this piece. I realised I hadn’t painted one for a very long time and I have to say I have so missed making these beautiful souls.

I actually made her when I came home from the USA in 2017 and I left her to dry and never got back to her. I decided to take her with me to Italy as an example but also to use in my painting demo of her. So I started painting her there. I packed her in and brought her home to finish and she has brought me so much joy.

I forgot how beautiful painting clay is.

Considering I started her two years ago I can’t believe how much she just seemed to slot right into my current body of works, like she was planned this year. I find that remarkable really.

Her story is that her Birds are the Bearers of Wisdom and they are imparting wisdom in her ear.

Stitched Pouches...

It was always my plan to have at least 3 of these pouches in my auction and I’m so glad I managed to do exactly that. I had to really put my head down and focus to stick to my plan. My very sweet friend, who made the fabric part of my bags for me, Jackie was standing by and really helped me achieve my goals, She was such a gem. These pieces were ready but I needed to finish the frame parts of the image and I was overwhelmed with the task at hand.

1. FlowrsinherHair; 2. Starry, Starry Night; 3. ReignForest

I’m so proud of us for finishing strong and they ended up more beautiful than I could have hoped for.

I am so happy to share that all three are going to their new homes. If you didn’t get a chance to get one at the auction, I’m hoping to have another 3 finished by the end of the year.

It's almost finished....

I am finally starting to see the fruits of my work.

When I look back and think about this project… I had no idea that it would take me this long to gain ground and I absolutely had no idea how hard it would end up being. It has taken so much work but more than anything else, it’s taken immense patience. Maybe that has been the most challenging part of it all. Patience is a virtue.

I am starting to see us having a summer in this space for the first time and that is something I have dreamt about since we moved into this home but have never got quite right. How crazy is that?

Yes, it absolutely has been a game of patience. There have been some things I’ve long since hoped for, like my birdbath and my zen bridge and they arrived last week. I’m giddy with joy with these two additions, not to mention my veggie boxes, my hanging strawberry bush and my granadilla trees. Now I can barely wait for my fruits. We only have a tiny corner left for a patch of grass and that gets sorted out tomorrow and in the next week or so, some outside furniture arrives because in two weeks time, this space will be filled with Corks friends to celebrate her 21st birthday. We haven’t held a party for the girls since primary school, so this is going to be so special time and space for all of us.

My heart is overwhelmed with love for this space, at last. And I just wanted to say thank you for journeying with me as I faced my drought-stricken space of a blank canvas to this peaceful zen garden of quiet that I actually LOVE.

Fresh out of the oven...

It’s been so long since I decorated clay and I must say my evening and process was challenging. I felt out of sorts, exhausted and disconnected to what I was doing and I wasn’t sure I was going to love my plate.

But I always forget how forgiving the clay is and once the color is added (I always end up choosing Cloud Blue), it’s kind of hard to produce anything ugly.

I arrived at the studio and I couldn’t see my plate and she took me back to the ovens and they were busy unloading and mine was still warm. I was instantly in love. The tiny dots that took most of the night to do was so rewarding now fired and I am so grateful for her flawed beauty.

I totally forgot how beautiful and satisfying the outcome is and now… I look forward to going back to make more.

Solo Auction Time...

It’s finally D-Day!!!

And my heart is ready and so are all my works.

Please come and join myself and Stephanie for my Solo Auction that will run from today, 29th October 12 noon EST until the 31st October where we will close off together just before Halloween celebrations start.

Please follow the button below that will lead you to the Facebook auction floor (be sure to click on going) and come join in the fun and crazy beautiful love.

Look forward to spending this time with you.

Much Love
Jeanne-Marie

InMyStudio… PaintingLove

I looked back and saw that I had started this painting at the end of January but I got so overwhelmed by the size of my canvas and my over ambitious undertaking that I abandoned it. As I was prepping for my Solo Auction, I was pulling out my pieces from the year and that one found it’s way forward and I placed it on my easel to remind what still had to be done. After painting “Mother of the Mourning Doves”, I thought I wanted to continue working with birds and that piece definitely inspiring this one.

It’s where this piece started but it isn’t where it ended. I continued working and allowed it to evolve and lead me where it was going to. I was so deeply loving working on wood and working bigger, playing with paint and a theme. Besides their beautiful faces and quirky hands and skinny arms, I so loved the plant details. The halo ended up looking more like an archway and the blue leaf to me reminds me of a stain glass window.

So I called this piece…

“Santa Maria del Fiore”, inspired by the beautiful name of the cathedral in Florence… St Mary of the Flower. I have had various feedbacks about this piece and what people have felt and how they connected with it. From 3 sisters to mother and daughters to seeing Italy in this piece. Maybe it’s a bit of all of it. Maybe they are all one in the same person but separate too and maybe they are still birdlike. All in all very enjoyable and I worked through this piece every single day and that was totally wonderful for me.

I can’t wait to get back to my easel and paint some more. My urge and need to paint is still so strong and although my energy levels have been a bit on the low side and I am working carefully, I’m so loving being here.

Creative Time in Florence

One of the things we got to do in Florence was take a mini-class at a little art school… painting into Fresco (wet plaster).

It was harder than I was expecting and after day 1, I was grumbling a bit and I was wondering if we had made a mistake about signing up for another 3 days of this. But I’m glad we pushed through.

After day one’s awkwardness and discomfort, I have to say day 2 was much better. Apollo, our Italian art teacher gave us a new recipe for our fresco surface (the sand and lime ratio) and our surface was much better and gentler to work with.. It was the first time I had painted with pigment powders and it was a new learning space for me. I have to say I’m a little smitten with the process. After day 2, things had shifted from discomfort to something we were looking forward to. Plus it was a fun way to get us into the studio each day too.

Other than that, it gave us a tiny glimpse into this process and how challenging it must have been to paint this way. All I can say is I have huge respect for what they did. I feel my heart stretched so much more in terms of understanding.

I am so grateful that Ariane and I got to take this journey together and that Jackie joined us on day 4. It was something different to do, maybe a perfect thing to do in a foreign town while traveling. There are always great gifts that come out of putting yourself out there, in uncomfortable situation that promotes growth. We really enjoyed our time with our teacher, Apollo. The art studio was an interesting space, for sure and we meet some new people from class.

My favorite was meeting a really beautiful Jewish lady from New York, we had our lunch together on our last day. I was wearing my Hand of Hamsa earrings and it sparked off a conversation between us. She was 83 and traveling alone in Florence, walking everywhere she needed to go and taking an art class by herself. After her time in Florence she was moving on to Luca to take another class learning to speak Italian. She shared about her years of travel and I was so deeply moved by her absolute courage and the gift of travel she had given herself and her family through the years. She utterly blew me away. This little story will be forever tucked away in my heart. I am so grateful for this brief encounter.

I would imagine this would be a great way to get integrated into a community if you were spending some extended time in a foreign place. I really loved that.