Thank you cards are back....

I’m happy to say my new Business Cards aka Thank you cards have arrived. I had a good system in place with my printers to have my cards printed off but during the pandemic there were lots of changes and it was no longer just an easy phone call away. Starting from scratch with a different branch felt like a massive mountain to climb and every time I tried to face the reorder - it felt too overwhelming so I would shut it down. Almost a whole year past and I finally pluck up the courage to face my mountain and got my order in and I’m more than over the moon. I’m ecstatic.

I had some new images run off and they are beautiful.

Now my new system of run offs are in place so my next order won’t feel like I’m heading out for an epic expedition but are now once again, just a phone call away.

#HappyDays

MadreNatura (MotherNature)...

It took me a while to find her story in the paint, I’m so grateful when I did. She turned out more beautiful than I expected. I originally thought I would call her Madre del Sacro Cuore - Mother of the Sacred Heart but the more I worked with her the more like Madre Natura - Mother Nature she felt.

I absolutely adore everything about her.

Her armature was made from a spoon shaped shell that I found on my special beach which made the perfect Italian Archway to her soul and I combined that with one of the heart shaped stones I found on the same beach. I have loved incorporating nature and organic elements into my work this past year and I feel it has brought something extra to each piece.

When I go on my walks I find these beautiful natural treasures and I immediately see how and where they can be used and it feels like a kind of alchemy.

This special angel will be in my ComeClaywithMe Collection solo auction later this month.

I will share the event’s page soon.

©JeanneMarieArt 2021

Bags in the testing....

I have been having some new sling bag enquires locally and internationally but I’m all sold out. I hadn’t intended on running off a new batch anytime soon mainly because it’s such a big undertaking but also because things run their course and change is always good. So I’ve been in touch with my suppliers and we have been looking at some new sample options and some new ideas. These were two older images I tested with but this coming week, I have two new samples to check which I’m pretty excited about.

I will keep you posted.

I forgot how much I love this part of what I do.

These added elements to my creative practice are so rewarding too and I have had some renewed excitement this month in this department. All these things are creative energy pulls and administratively demanding but all so worth it when they come together.

In a nutshell what I think I’m trying to say, is that I love what I do and I’m so grateful everyday for my creative daily practice, right down to the admin.

#sograteful

The places in my head...

I have forgotten how much I love painting big and how I love oscillating from big to small and small to big. It is something I’ve always done.

I’m not sure why exactly but I have been avoiding my big canvases since we went into lockdown. Maybe it had something to do with confidence or courage but both have been missing in action as I have been walking circles around these big white substrates since.

I started this piece in November last year and I thought I had finished them early March but they have been calling me back constantly, each time I walk on by and this week I found some courage. They have something magical about them and I love where we ended together this morning. I think I might have said that in March too… oh dear, but I think soon after I shared about them being finished, I knew right away that they weren’t.

SOLD

This piece is 24”x18” big. The extra layers of paint and colors have completed their story so much more and I’m more than happy with their story. This piece was a mixture of playing with the idea of my hanging building earrings that I made last year, combined with my love of Orvieto, that little hilltop village that has stolen my heart since 2012. That sacred place is always on my mind and we were supposed to be there this year, if I am not mistaken but it’s been pushed again. but it goes without saying, I miss it so much and it’s always in my head and always always in my heart.

As for my courage around painting big… I placed another big canvas on my studio floor this week, 28”x20” and before I could overthink it, I grabbed my long bamboo stabilo pencil holder and from a distance started drawing my new piece. I had one of my smaller painting concepts in mind that I wanted to enlarge. I worked all day to cover the white spaces with my first layers of paint. I haven’t done this for so long and it felt so magical… tomorrow I start another big canvas and I’m going to keep going. I’m playing and what could be more beautiful than that.

I’m painting big rusty, for sure and my eye is a little out in terms of my proportions but I’m loving playing and practicing again. My big canvas love tank is slowly starting to fill again.

Hope you have a beautiful weekend and hope to connect again next week.

From my heart to yours, happy weekend.

Tiny does it...

I originally bought these little miniature wooden blocks for bases for my clay works, but I just haven’t got there yet. They have been staring at me for months and I eventually decided to paint them with a primer. I quickly scribbled down a tiny face… I was intrigued. One face turned into two and the rest flowed nicely after that. Filling each side with the tiniest face was so therapeutic. I am so grateful I took this little journey.

I say little because they are tiny but painting small can be as long and complex as painting big. Small doesn’t mean easier. To try capture emotion, story and nuance in such a small space has its challenges but some I rather love taking on. I am thinking about either selling them individually or as a set of four blocks.

Let me know your thoughts.

Much Love, Jeanne-Marie

A free gift...

The other day when I was prepping for my ComeClaywithMe - tutorial workshops, I stumbled across some old footage that I took last year but never put together, because, you know… life happens.

So I thought I would just share it here as a little gift.

TheTruthTeller

This sweet soul was made and finished last year and she was called the TheTruthTeller.

She was one of my first smaller sized works as I had wanted to work towards playing smaller in general. She was made simply around an old fashioned clothing peg which was my armature and it helped me stay within that scale. I absolutely love her form and shape to bits… so simple, a little quirky and her patterns create enough interest to finish her sweet story.

These sweet little souls have this incredible way of teaching me little lessons and often share little wisdoms with me along the way. As for this little TruthTeller, her message to me… was that sometimes working simply is more than enough.

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I hope you loved this little painting gift. Please feel free to ask me anything and thank you for taking the time to visit here.

Much love, always - Jeanne-Marie

Sharing the love...

My beautiful friend, Natalie Eslick is having her birthday today - Happy Birthday Natalie, from my heart to yours… I miss you.

We have been friends for a long time and I can’t remember when exactly we met online but we met IRL too in 2019 to retreat together with Ivy in Italy. We had an absolute ball together all of us.

Well this is a special shout out to her for her birthday but also because she released some exquisite fine art prints of her incredible work this week and I wanted to share the love.

So excited and so proud of you my friend… keep shining.

Miniature works of love...

I filmed my myself painting some of my little miniature works of love and I thought I would share them just for fun. I thought it would be a fun way to share some of the way I find my little souls in the paint.

I paint wet on wet and I love pushing the paint around until someone finally appears. Sometimes it can take super quick and other times super long, regardless of the size.

Music courtesy of BENSOUND - royalty free music

Inspired...

You know I love listening to my literature and I’ve been devouring these awesome works.

I know I’m a bit late to the party but I’m making up for lost time. Some beautiful gems in here. So grateful that my friend Lucy Cooke recommended them to me and I finally took the leap to jump right in. I’m loving them all and I think I’m just going to go back to the beginning when I’m finished.

ComeClaywithMe, still unfolding...

The clay has been such a safe haven to me from last year and well into this year and it continues to bring me so much tranquility. Whether making these tiny works or painting them - they both are doing something for my heart. I am so grateful to these tiny Souls that continue to touch my life.

They continue to flow out of my hands with new love and new stories and I can’t wait to share them with you.

My FebruaryFacesinClay continue to unfold as the last bit of their stories are found in the paint. Oh my, the personalities that come through are so touching. They move me so deeply. As for my darling pendants, that was an unexpected delight. So grateful for so much this year.

Don’t forget to sign up for class.

My little serious one...

She made me dig deep, this little one.

It started out as mixed media play with my beautifully pigmented neocolors and there was much I loved about her. I could tell her face wasn’t fully resolved yet and with me trying to rework an area, I lost my way completely. I found myself scraping back the mess I had made and starting her face from scratch. I was silently freaking out… I’m rusty and problem solving doesn’t often freak me out anymore but last night it felt like a lot. After midnight and working methodically with the tiniest brush I have, I found her new darling little face and I love her even more. I know this familiar ground and I’m no stranger to losing my way and finding it again but I’ve been feeling vulnerable and my eye is a bit out and I know I should always trust the process but maybe last night I needed to a little reminder.

I am so grateful for the new lessons this little SeriousOne taught me and I love her oddness so much.

I am so grateful to my studio and my painting at the moment.

#artheals

Miniature works of love...

Can you tell… I’ve been so deeply moved by these tiny little works of love.

I think they have been just what my soul has needed. They have been small and felt safe and a good place for me to start again and also a good place for me to test new brands of paint and new products. If you have been following my story over the past few years you know my beloved Italian paints were discontinued and although I had lots of stock that has seen me through the past few years, most of that is coming to an end. I’ve been avoiding the inevitable thats having to find a new way forward.

Change is always hard. We tend to stick with what we know and what we are comfortable with. But I’m busy working through my discomfort and finding new products and new ranges. I’ll share more with you as I go.

For now… this is a healing space for me and it’s helping me find my way back home.

I am releasing these tiny works of love on the go. They are affordable and adorable and I hope you will find one that speaks to your heart. Please pop over to my little shop and see if there is anything there that pulls on your heartstrings.

Thanks for the love and support for these tiny loves already.

TheArtofGathering....

When I put them all together this week to take a picture…

I was overwhelmed by their togetherness… the beautiful ArtofGathering.

I miss gathering.

We will never fully understand…

In the midst of me putting together and releasing my Clay Tutorials, ComeClayWithMe, our eldest brother passed away.

I wish I could find the words to tell you what we went through as a family but I can’t, it has felt so intensely and excruciatingly private. I am not sure we will ever fully understand the nature of what this was or is. We are in a world of pain at the moment and I am not sure we will ever really be the same as we grapple to make sense of so much.

It was the first time in a very long time that our whole family found ourselves together in the same place at the same time. How sad but COVID has made these moments impossible, never mind the nature of life itself.

The day after he passed, the five of us privately took a day together to hold each other close in our fragility and utter brokenness. We were mostly quiet, nothing really had to be said because what do you say? We found closeness and thats all we could hold on that day.

Today would have been his birthday.

I pushed hard to get my little tutorials out on time. I’m so grateful I did have these little tutorials to hold my focus and keep me accountable to finish strong for the commitment I had made to you, who had signed up. I feel I need to say a deep thank you to all of you who walked along side me the past few weeks and who have supported me and tiny little workshops. You have no idea how that helped me get through April and some of May too. Thank you too, for allowing me some quieter moments since releasing my classes. Once again, I just needed a moment to rest and recover and catch my breath.

Some days the weight of my soul is too heavy for my body to hold and I think there are many of us feeling like this at the moment in general. I know this is true for my family at the moment. I am struggling with that so much. If you are struggling with heaviness and the weight of these unexplainable moments and seasons that life keeps dishing up - I am with you and sending out love to you too.

All I can say for now… is just one day at a time.

#ComeClaywithMe - Tutorial Workshops

I have about a week to go before my little tutorials launch…

1st May…

is fast approaching and I’ve been working around the clock to get my little tutorial workshops ready for launch day. It’s been a beautiful journey, as it always is. As you know I love putting little classes together as much as I do painting, working with clay or working in my garden. It all feels like it’s own blank canvas and it’s a complete labour of love.

I spend many hours going through each film frame to take out the unnecessary and keep the necessary. Add soothing music in places to help make the over experience, a meditative and beautiful one.

I love every single thing that I do in the overall creative process and sometimes I’m overwhelmed that every single thing that happens #inmystudio comes from my own hands, soul and heart. Every nuance is my own because when you receive it, I want you to know it’s a deeply personal gift from me to YOU.

You have taken time to support and love what I do and why I do it and I want to give you nothing less back. So to all of you who have signed up for these little instalments - from my heart to yours, Thank YOU.

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thank you

Keep watching this space

I have a little gift lesson for all my #ComeClaywithMe signups.

a painting tutorial of my little vanGoghWingedFriend

This will be an ongoing gift for anyone signing up at any time.

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There is still time to sign up…

ComeClayWithMe - Tutorial Workshops

I know I have been working a little differently the last while in providing smaller tutorials as it’s been easier on my body because of the long hours of sitting editing. It is allowing me the space to have breaks in between and offer more often and more doable size lessons for you as well as for me. It also allows you to pick and chose what you are drawn to in a way that is affordable and manageable especially during these times. The tutorials will be available anytime.

Please keep watching my workshop page as I will be continuing to add tutorials this way over the next few weeks.

With so much Love, Jeanne-Marie

Exhale... the wisdom of Riley.

The weeks continue to be challenging and I am trying to find was to exhale -

…long, slow and intentionally.

I’ve been finding a new yoga routine that feels more like home to me as I’ve struggled to get back into a good rhythm after being sick in December and I finally feel like I am finding a new pace.

Now as we move into the cooler months, the mild days are so utterly beautiful and windless and it’s allowing me moments of beautiful quiet in my sanctuary. Every morning Riley goes out and does a little walkabout patrol around the garden, everyday the same and some mornings we watch him… it never changes and in some places he has made a footpath. A tiny Riley one.

Sometimes I do the same walkabout and I find it so soothing for my soul. I can see why he loves it so much. Some days I find him sitting on the stoep listening to the birds, the gentle breeze blowing his fluffy ears and the sun on his face and I can see how much he loves it… sometimes I walk past and say “I love it too boy”.

I think he’s onto something and it feels kind and I’m taking the time to do what he does.

I’m so grateful for this space and that I have a place to exhale.

SignUp Friday...

new class announcement

I have FIVE new tutorials that will be going live on the 1st May 2021.

These bite-size instalments collectively make up a full class together with some bonus material in some of the tutorials. I love working this way and I hope you will enjoy it too. Thank you for allowing me to explore this way of sharing - it has been gentler on my body and soul. It also allows you to pick and chose what you are drawn to in a way that is affordable and manageable especially during these times. Each tutorial will be priced mostly the same and I have also created a bundle package that is largely discounted if you are keen to signup for all of the bite-size lessons.

Please keep watching this space as I will continue to add new Tutorials on the go…

I still have a good few in the works.

Recharging the ol’ batteries…

We had a rough end to 2020 and a tough start to 2021 and we have reached the end of March rather exhausted and still a little on the back foot of life. We found ourselves saying for most of 2020… “ah but you know, it’s 2020.” We just kept rolling with all 2020 was throwing at us and maybe naively hoped that would miraculously change when the year changed… but we are still rolling. How about you?

Quite frankly, we needed a moment….

So we stole that moment away at our beach, devoid of crowds and noise. Big vast open spaces and the sound of the waves constantly moving. We had hoped we could get there sooner but 2021 wasn’t having any of it. But Easter couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you Easter, you have felt like a little gift to us.

We are finally starting to feel some of the relief of the past 6 months and thankfully feels like we might be starting to turn a corner. Even if mentally we are just telling ourselves that. For now we lean into that feeling and embrace all that comes with it. Even in the small joys of seeing Riley so happy on the beach and finding so many LoveRocks on the sand and walking in the beautiful water up to my knees and walking and walking on the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen.

I am so grateful Easter.

TheWaterBearer - I am the vessel

She is the bearer of life, love and wisdom. Water is life and her role in this world is one of offering.

I love how she came about and I so loved sharing her story with Studioworks Academy on Ivy Newports platform. It was a journey of love for both of us and I love these pieces that seem to effortlessly fall out of my hands and into this world. When that happens there is this beautiful moment of flow and I cherish these studio days so much.

She came at the end of a month long journey of working with Clay everyday for #FebruaryFacesinClay and I always find magic happens after repetitive play and repetitive days showing up. It’s one of the reasons why I love daily projects so much. This is always a beautiful reminder that hard work has delightful benefits.

Thank you Ivy for inviting me to share in your April edition, it was a gift to your audience and a gift to me too. I hope you enjoy this lesson as much as I did.

Sending much love, Jeanne-Marie

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“we do the work whether we feel like it or not, and then, without warning, flow can arise”

— Seth Godin, The Practice

Thanks Seth for these beautiful reminders from your brilliant book The Practice - I’ve devoured it this month and I’m on round two for another listen.

What lies beneath....

What Lies Beneath - the hidden labyrinths of our soul…

Inspired by my visits to my beloved Orvieto, Italy. Which is known for its hidden and secret labyrinth of caves and tunnels that lie beneath the surface. So many meanings and thoughts behind that for me.

I love how weighted my clay pieces feel in my hands. They are kind of grounding. It keeps me making more because of how sacred they feel in my hands. I am still loving my driftwood and paperclay play so much and how beautifully organic they look and feel.

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