Winter Studio Notes

Time to breathe clean air

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 seasonal book arts project 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…..

As the season begins to turn I notice the lichen growing on our hawthorns. Our hawthrorns are our protectors in our garden and I visit them often to note all their small changes. They are covered in lichen at the moment and, in certain lights, it glows with a silver hue. This time of year normally sees me gathering greenery and my pressed leaves and dried hydrangea heads but not this year. By being in tune with small seasonal noticing things get stored in our subconscious minds without us really being aware. A week or so after noticing the silvery lichen I was in our island craft club and we were making wooden hanging decorations. I reached for the blue and the silver smiling at myself as these are not my normal colours and certainly don’t reflect my annual Christmas tree decorating. Out the other end came some wooden decorations that I loved but I wasn’t sure why. Mindful that they wouldn’t fit on my tree I began hanging them in my studio until I caught site of the lichen under the moonlit sky just beyond my studio window…….

So, creative connections can come from deep within us and they need time and space to connect. I instinctively trust these sorts of connections and so the embracing of this colour palette began.

More than that though. I built my new studio space after dark with just some lit candles as a guide. I can not over-estimate how incredibly calming this experience was. I felt that the creative process was, somehow, beyond me and I was just piecing things together guided by a different creative force. I believe that our creative spaces should work hard to reflect us as whole people, not just our creative souls. Hours passed, I think, as I took regular breaks and walked away only to return to pick up the story. It was quite late when I eventually finished. Somewhere I had shifted the story to something more familiar and so it became a story of two halves. The main section reflected the lichen and the moonlight. The smaller section was linked with some gold sprayed seedheads nestled in one corner. Beyond that corner the gold began to find its feet and tell a more traditional and familiar story. I liked that that happened as it spoke a whole new truth to me that I didn't understand until the space was complete.

This is my winter studio story -

As the ivy nestled into corners the sense of everlasting wrapped itself around the space. This is familiar and right especially at this time of year. Under the warm glow of the golden light though something was changing. The lichen had brought a new dimension and with it a sense of change fulled by a growing understanding of the importance of curiosity in our shifting world. Lichen is a remarkable plant that has been used forever as a healing plant. He is said to ‘bind’ trees together in temperate woodlands that are such a vital part of the planet we all call home. It signifies that clean air is present and in a polluted work that seems very important.

For the curious mind to breed new thoughts it needs a sense of cleansing and I think that is why this story in two parts works so well. The traditional green and gold that I always reach for remains important as it is part of who I become at this time of the year. I naturally reach for the evergreens. A chain of small events shifted my approach this year and I had enough curiosity to go with it. The second part of the story teaches me the importance of creative cleansing when we take some time away from what we know and trust and step into new creative worlds. My word for 2024 was ‘curious’ and I am now sure my word for 2025 will be ‘cleansing.’ I see this as a process of detoxification whereby I look at all aspects of my life and remove anything that I feel is damaging my spirit. When it comes to my creativity I want 2025 to keep returning to the power of lichen under moonlight. I want my creativity to reflect this deep awakening so my next natural step will be to create an art journal page that I am sure I will share. My creative cleansing journey has begun. I am going to embrace clean air.

Perhaps now it is clear why I believe our creative spaces should reflect who we are and where we are on life’s journey. It is no accident that I turn 60 in a few days time. If I don’t take my chance to breath clean air now when will I do it? It is time. I will keep you posted.

You might also like my Autumn Studio Notes