working as part of a ‘Japanese 72 season micro-climate’ artist collaborative initiative within Treesisters)

Japanese season called ‘Dalkan’ / greater cold, 20th January – 3rd February.
Micro climate ‘hens start laying eggs’ 30th January – 2nd February.

The weather has been wild these last days.
Dramatic light changing as these fierce weather fronts push over us, powered by these powerful, gusting, winds.
Grateful for the shelter of ‘box house’, these views and little call to action outside.

I made a couple of gifs using images shot through our windows….what is missing is the constant audio of these gales, screaming through every tiny crack of our home!
I sometimes get an ‘end of days’ feeling when it is like this, but that only powers my prayers.

My wee candle lights burn brighter on these dark days.

It is the end of this 72 micro-seasons project though.

The last season.

(now that could be the title of a poem…)

It has been an amazing experience to watch so closely, to make it my business to connect with the natural seasons and tiny changes all around in this way.

I am finding it hard to part with this sharing, giving away, process, but know I must.
It will involve a whole ‘re-wiring’ of my creative approach though, after a, committed, whole year of plucking at the strings of NOW and weaving it into a regular post!

I have recently been asked if I would like to try and create some illustrations for a, talented, story-telling, friend’s tale.
It is a story of Mother Gaia and Father Sun and the coming of the very first winter.
It touches me deeply.

I have already begun experimenting.
It will take all my available artden time to really feel into the soul of her words and I will be prevented from sharing this work as I go along, because the whole idea is to take Time to produce something really special and then take it to mainstream publishers when complete.

This, I know, could take months of unseen work. And no process to share!

So a completely different way of working for me!

And not my natural way of working!

It feels counter-intuitive.

I have loved sitting in the immediacy and my unique, ever changing, ‘song’ of LIFE!
The Rolling OM of it.
Just another busker on the pavement of it all.
Singing my song.
Nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Not speaking for anyone else.
I and I.
I suppose a form of self-portraiture, as well as an observance.

This 72 micro seasons project has been a joy to adopt, as it fitted this way of being so perfectly.
Holding the daily inspired moods (and resulting images, songs, words) within in its many, small, seasons/chapters.

As the planet turns. Always changing. In Time with the Light.


So this mildly eccentric, intimate, multi-dimensional, Gaia-inspired, creative, ‘stream of consciousness’, experiment is now drawing to a close.

Happy to have completed the whole wheel and now I am looking forward to more Time away from this ‘sticky’ screen again!
Looking forward to less relentless editing (words are slippy for me) and a more forgiving structure to my days!

‘Hens’ may have started laying, but I still feel like I am still incubating my peculiar ‘eggs’, I wonder sometimes if one will ever hatch!?

I have very much appreciated, the support, encouragement, cheers and love (especially from dear Treesisters), I have received during this kookie, rather lonely, experiment. You have kept me going!

Thank You all!

Deep Bow, dear friends, and thank you for bearing with me!

All Change and Mind The Gap.

By way of completing the circle it seems fitting to take it all back round to the very first season, with a link to the very first post, although this feels, already, a very long time ago…..

EAST WIND MELTS THE ICE 1/72