Welcome to my wee corner of Substack. I am a seasonal artist living on the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland. I am the custodian of approximately two acres of land that includes a woodland, a meadow and my wee garden. I offer a place in my seasonal Book Artist Studio for paid subscribers if you are interested and you can read more about that HERE. Grab a cuppa and lets delve into our relationship with the shifting seasons….
We have only been on the road for 3 days as I write this but I did want to try and capture this digital nomad experience as it unfolds and we move through different stages.
We are in a campsite in the Cairngorms National Park spending a few days with our daughter Molly Ella and her partner. The weather has been very kind so far so we don’t feel we have been tested on that front yet. We expect to do a mix of wild and campsite stays during our time away. Maybe if we were a bit younger it would be all wild but we do like a hot shower! We have a couple of portable solar showers on board but are yet to try them. The other benefit of staying in a campsite is wifi and that is useful (but not critical) to this experiment.
Because we are visiting family I hadn’t planned to work these first few days and had pre-recorded things to give me that space at the start of the trip. Being flexible comes naturally to me after years of working as a freelance artist so this is nothing new. We are also experienced van dwellers taking every chance to get a way for a few days. We never tire of waking up, making morning tea and flinging the back doors of the van open to greet the day. This is endlessly captivating and how all our days should begin. Our view these first few mornings has been this line of pne trees with a woodpecker and lots of red squirrels for company.
Moving around this part of the Scottish highlands immediately shifts our sense of scale, space and our place within this spectacular landscape. I think it is important to feel small in nature from time to time to remind us how unimportant we are. This week Sarah Philp published a podcast I was fortunate enough to be in (if not now, when) and in that I talk about our relationship with the natural world. This becomes acute when you inhabit a large space like the Scottish highlands that just fills you with a sense that we are part of something much bigger than us. Those that know my work well will know about my interest in place and space and how they are capable of shaping identity. In the podcast I also talk about the importance of asking ourselves good questions and I include in that ‘what do we want?’ and, more importantly, ‘what do we need?’
Navigating the world out of a van brings this into a clearer view although hubby might have something to say about the number of art supplies we have with us! He would, in fact, probably be right. I already feel that some of the things I have packed I may not use…… don’t tell him I said that though. I like the simplicity of van life. I like that everything seems to take ages to achieve and that that is a good thing. You can’t rush your morning routine or your evening routine and inbetween everything just tumbles out of the day.
I have been a landscape artist for many years and I appreciate just how important it is to sit and stare at open landscapes. It has the capacity to still and quieten our busy minds and that was the case when we went to a RSPB reserve to view the birdlife, other wildlife and the place they all call home. What a place to call home.
Taking each moment as it is intended rather than living within moments is another slight shift on conventional wisdom. I don’t think us humans should be so concerned about living each and every moment. I think we should be more interested in letting moments filter around and through us and taking the time to just sit and stare sets us all on the right pathway. A pathway with endless possibilities and endless joy. Living in a van offers that to us in spades as the mobile nature of our existence makes each day a journey.
I have become preoccupied with micro versus macro worlds and find they both have equal merit. The natural world is my teacher of choice and she never fails to impress. Who doesn’t love a good teacher? Living and working from a van also teaches me how to live within both those worlds in pursuit of perpetual curiosity. Moss kingdoms speak to my spiritual mind that seeks evidence that living things have passed through this space before me and will again, after me. In my world moss is a kingdom that sits quietly on the planet but for which we should be so grateful. The life that moss supports makes it a special part of the planet we all call home. In the Highlands we have encountered a lilac hue to the moorland heather not seen on our island. I welcome that difference as it makes the heather softer somehow and, given the special habitat that it is, there is a place for softness. Ground nesting birds would probably agree with me!
Finally, let us dwell on the concept of planning. Some folk love to plan. I do not love to plan. Therefore living in a van speaks well to me especially if I don’t plan. The minute I overplan the experience takes a different shape and I lose my sense of contentment. My days find me rather than the other way round. I respond to the changing weather and shifting locations with relative ease and that makes van life easier. As I write the only creative activity has been stitching in the evenings for a community project i run back on the island. However, once family time is over I will be working in my sketchbook, art journal and more as I travel. I can’t wait. Working in and around the van helps me to see the world I live in far more clearly and I think that refreshes my creative mind. You might have to be the judge of that.
If you want to follow my small updates head over to my micro blog over on Tumblr and I will pop up here again next week with far more to report and consider.
Will be back soon….Fiona xx
If you would like to support my work you can buy me a coffee and I will probably use the funds for fuel in the van! Thank you. xx
Van life is wonderful isn't it. Life slows down, routines slow down and we're closer to nature.
Love the view you had from your van. x