Sanctuary in a sketchbook
Come find calm, connection, and creative resilience in this special new place
This email is a long one. There is a lot I want to say. You know I can be wordy. If it get’s cut off in your inbox, click on the title to read it in full. I promise it is worth it, PLUS, I really want to know your answer to the question at the end…
Ready? Here we go.
It is finally here. I have been dreaming of it for a year now. And it is ready.
I made us something. I think we all need some respite, right?
There is a lot happening right now.
Globally, locally, and individually.
I am hearing from so many people that they have had a dreadful personal year, and the global impact of multiple ongoing wars, environmental collapse due to human impact, the rich getting richer and all the things is compounding on us in ways I don’t think any of us can really comprehend.
And I get it man, I am right there with you - so much seems pointless in the face of it all right now. I have personally had one of the toughest years of my life. And it does not seem to be settling down, at all.
I feel like I am lurching from one crisis to the next, most days my nervous system barely touches regulation, except, EXCEPT for when I am making art. When I am in that space, I am outside of time and worry and I can just be.
I know, I really know, that even when it is really hard, we have to keep being creative.
We have to make art - whatever “art” looks like for you. Words, sewing, cooking, sculpture, dance, and yes, painting and drawing. When the world (and your heart) are heavy, make art. Then make some more. And keep going. We need your art, your creativity, the energy that you get and give when you make something that wasn’t there before.
There is a little twist coming. Did you sense that?
Art of any kind is hard to make when you are feeling fear, self doubt, and fatigue. And all of those things are amplified when the news brings new horrors every day, and even on a smaller more immediate scale, if you are also caught, like most of us, in the snare of algorithms and scarcity.
We live in a technological society that bombards us with urgency, that puts value on product and productivity, comparison and conformity, often making us feel like we have to produce things to sell for them to be of worth. And produce them like we are machines. And if, like me, you are actually making things to sell, your self worth can easily be wrapped up in whether you are seeing orders come in…or not (to say nothing of likes and comments and follows).
The life of a creative in this day and age is not an easy one.
Spoiler alert, we are all creatives.
We are all creatives.
And I think we forget that sometimes. Or a lot of the time. We need to celebrate it instead, celebrate the profound creativity that is in our very beingness, nurture it, love it, share it. Honour it. I think we are the best kinds of human beings when we are in our creative beingness.
I am a helper, an advocate, and an empowerer (spell check tells me that is not a word. Rude.) - it is who I have always been. And so, in all this turmoil I have realised there is one thing that I can do (when it seems like we have to surrender to so much else).
I can create a calm, gentle, nurturing space for us to create together with kindness, and curiosity, and courage. A little clearing in the forest where we can sit together, make art, have the big conversations, and support each other to be full of grounded, compassionate creative beingness.
I mentioned this in the last missive. This feels like a life’s work to me, and far out man, I am deeply excited about it.
Let’s create our own sanctuary, between the pages of a sketchbook.
I am good-nervous-excited-butterflies-in-stomach-level-anticipation-thrilled to share this special quiet and calm clearing in the forest with you:
You know that you need to create art. You can feel it in your bones, in every cell.
You want to honour the wild world by reciprocating beauty with beauty, to give back via creating some of the beauty you have seen and absorbed. But you are scared to start, or you’ve started and are stalling or feel like you are not moving forward. Tutorials are inspiring, but they only take you so far. You want to create a path that supports you to manifest your own personal masterpieces (or at least create art that is meaningful for you).
The Wild Sketchbook Sanctuary is for you if:
You are ready to explore how to use sketchbooks to make beautiful artwork that is just for you, or that tells a story in a book of magic, but you are not all that interested in the mindset aspect (there are tutorials and inspiration abundant - the mindset stuff will be a nice bonus)
You are creative but looking for a way to expand your practice and think a bit more deeply about both the process and how you can show up to sharing beauty. You are ready to slow down and get curious.
You have been creating for a while but you feel like something is missing, that you know there is more to all of this that you are not sure how to unlock. You feel caught up in having to produce (and maybe perform for algorithms) and you know that your work and your worth is so much deeper than that. You are ready not only to slow down and get curious, but to go deep as well, examine your processes, relearn to play, and work on some of those big mindsets to strengthen your practice and help you unfurl.
My main goal for this course is to inspire and empower you to build a curious, compassionate practice that will propel you forward in your creative journeys for the rest of your life.
Big words. I know.
But I honestly think that if we can consistently give ourselves grace and kindness, maintain curiosity and courage, and work to strengthen our connection, we create a supportive circle that safely and gently ensures our evolution and revolution. The work is in the doing. I will give you the tools that have changed my practice, but it is up to you to implement, practice, adapt and unfurl. There is no quick fix here, there is no just do these five things once and be forever changed. The work is in the doing, and that, my dear one, is up to you.
We are going to spend four beautifully supportive weeks together, getting some clarity and habits and foundations and talking about all the real things it takes to be a creative.
Which is why you also get access to this and any future additions, forever.
Because I am still learning too. And we don’t learn in a vacuum - we learn with and from each other. I know I will learn from every participant of this course. So as I learn, as we share more, you can also learn too.
There is the course, yes, but there is also a free space for everyone to join, here on Substack.
I am creating a special place where we can talk about sketchbooks and creativity and all the full body experiences that go into all of that, and I am sure it will grow to be a full and beautifully wild place over time.
Here in The Wild Forgotten nothing will change, I will keep talking about, well, the wild, and my place in it, and all the things I have been sharing until now. And I am hoping we can create some more poetry soon, or maybe even a new fairy tale.
Over at The Sanctuary, we will be creating magic between book covers together. If that sounds like a place you would like to come hang out, come subscribe for free, and get all the missives to your inbox. And if you would like to work through the very special four week (plus forever) course, The Wild Sketchbook Sanctuary, I would love to have you there too.
This is the first time The Wild Sketchbook Sanctuary is being offered, and I want to extend an invitation to you to help me create the most amazingly supportive program. Participants in this round will get a special introductory price, which will increase significantly for subsequent rounds. Your feedback as we work through each week will help me ensure I am creating the most beautiful space for us all to be the creatives our wild-hearts know we can be (and this wild world needs).
But there is no room for FOMO here.
If you can’t join this time, there will be other sessions next year.
The live program will be hosted on my website, but our community will be on Substack so that we can get together in the dedicated chat. After the live sessions, the recordings and content will be on my website for you to have lifetime access. You will also receive any updates, the live recordings from subsequent sessions, and no doubt more goodies as I am inspired to make them.
Class starts Monday 29th November. Will you join me?
But wait, there’s more - and it is way better than steak knives or a two-for-one offer
Even if you can’t join the program, you can join the free community over on The Sketchbook Sanctuary here on Substack. I will be posting there every couple of weeks, and the free chat will include some prompts and questions to get us all supporting our own and each others’ creativity too. You can find the welcome post here:
Did I mention I am excited about all this? I know it is going to be the most beautiful community and learning space, where we can make magic and share beauty and be inspired by this wonderful wild world.
Let’s go make art.
PS: Got any questions? Hit reply, or ask in the comments!
PPS: What is the first wild being you would love to draw or paint in a brand new sketchbook? I would love to know. Can you guess what mine might be??? Let me know!
I love foxes, and I want to start drawing the birds in my neighbourhood (although I’m going to have to figure out how to take good pictures of them first). I remember the sparrow class you did for, I think Galia Alena’s creative weekend and I couldn’t believe how realistic my bird was!
They’re such cute creatures! I’d love to hold one someday. I hear they can be found in the UK in the wild!