A slow start to a new year
If I have been slow to welcome in this new year, please forgive me. I started the year on a bit of a low, having finally fallen foul of covid. I’ve not been too bad with it, and thank my lucky stars to have caught it so late, but it did come with a bad case of the blues attached to it. To be honest, after a very busy and social time I have welcomed the isolation. And I have been able to settle back into work, which has been like a real home-coming after 5 weeks of not being in my studio.
6th Jan saw the one year anniversary of Wild Folk being launched ( the campaign, not the book). In the autumn Tamsin and John and I had put together a hasty event to celebrate the birth of the idea. Shortly after Unbound went into a degree of chaos as their website was ‘upgraded’. It’s still a work in progress, but the chaos caused was difficult to cope with. The site was down for a while, and this also coincided with The Unwinding Cards being released. As a result many people received their cards later than publication date, with loads of hiccups on the rewards. I can only apologise for this. If you still haven’t received your cards can you contact Unbound, confirm your address and let them know?
Some of the new features on the site are great but we have lost the films, and some of our updates. As I say, it is still a work in progress, and nothing I have any control over, but Tamsin and I are still working hard on the making of the book, and we are determined that the subscribers will have their books before the shops ( 2025- summer) and with Wild Folk all subscribers get their names in the back of the book.
Below is a recording of the event in Dulverton. First there is a chance to see again the film that began our campaign: the book is about shape-shifting, and part of the magic of it has been my own shape-shifting transformation, which also seems to have involved time travelling. Watch them in this order, see what I mean.
You can, if you haven’t already, pledge for Wild Folk here: there are various levels, rewards, available. I also have 2 other projects funding. If these don’t reach their targets they won’t become books, and they are some way off their 100%…..
Hound is behind and at 44%, and there seem to be problems with the web page too….. but hopefully that will be sorted soon.
I love working with Unbound. I love how they allow a project to grow, understanding that it isn’t always easy to understand how a book will shape-shift from original idea to finished creature. I know of no other publisher with whom I could have worked to create both The Unwinding and Feather, Leaf, Bark & Stone. I love that I don’t have to have the ‘paperback’ argument with them, and they don’t buy into that publishing myth that a book has a short hardback life before it is paperbacked. The Unwinding is still growing in sales a couple of years on from its birth, Feather, Leaf still finding readers. ( The Unwinding is out of stock at the moment, but Solva Woollen Mill still have copies of all editions)
There is a whole new bunch of people working at Unbound now and I am looking forward to working with them. So, hope you enjoy the films above and hopefully Tamsin and I can work towards another event in the not too distant future.
For those who have their Unwinding Cards I would love to know what you are doing with them; keeping them, framing them, sending them to friends, writing and leaving in curious places, tucking them under pillows, using them a prompts of creative writing/drawing, doodling on them……. I’d best go. I need to be thinking of nightingales. I have to finish the book of birds this year, for my own sanity. My garden is so full of birds as I have stocked up the bird feeders in this cold spell. Every morning a woodpecker comes, reminding me of The Lost Spells.
Below are ‘best books’. The soup book is fantastic. Simple recipes, and seasonal. Hellbent is second in a series, the first being Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo. I ate through the pages at top speed. Demon Copperhead is where I am now. Ex Libris and other stamps by me are available from The English Stamp Company and Falcon Boats.
Bracelets are coming soon from myself and Eva John. Seven Fables will be stocking them, and Falcon Boats. You can commission direct but each one is bespoke and can take some time to write and craft….. each contains a wild spell, some are taken for walks, some are site specific, all carry a wild magic. Made with love.
Still painting doves, leaving small gifts in the wild, sometimes in water.
Still working on the bird book.
So, tell me, how are you, how is 2024 so far, what are your hopes, dreams, wishes, desires?
The fog of grief from losing my mum last April is lifting slowly. I feel somewhat less slow and stupid than I did. When the weather isn’t throwing storms around, I go for a bit longer walk (I’m mobility impaired so no more than 3 miles or I can’t get myself home again!). Writing letters is becoming easier, but I have yet to finish sorting through the Unwinding postcards to decide which to keep and which to send…
I’m sorry about your wrestle with Covid – I hope you’re recovering.
I’m ok. It’s not been too bad so far. And yes, I know that fog of grief. It’s a strange thing how heavy the price of love can be.
Demon Copperhead?
I picked up a paperback copy in my local Tesco charity book stall. I often find good books there – don’t think the locals appreciate good stuff.
Barbara Kingsolver ….how on earth did she get into the mindset of drug addiction???
A harrowing, harrowing read. Felt like I did after reading A Little Life but in the end …(that would be telling now wouldn’t it ?)
I loved that book so much and am loving Demon. Listened to a pod cast about the writing of Demon and she did an amazing amount of research, listening to those who usually have no voice. One thing she repeated, was how clever you have to be to live with an addiction. She’s a wonder.
Hi Jackie,
It’s ok to have a slow start, especially if you’re recovering from COVID! I too am going slow, mostly because lm currently recovering from ‘long COVID’, plus l’m also feeling pretty low since our Son came for a too brief visit, before heading 100s’ of miles away. So, basically l’m trying to be philosophical about it all, and be patient with myself!
I look forward to seeing what you create this year, while focusing on my own health journey, and celebrating every little win.
May this year be better
“It’s a strange thing how heavy the price of love can be.” Exactly – I realised that I need to let myself grieve – for people and other creatures. That is beginning to happen, now, at the beginning of this new – year. I don’t know if it will be a cataclysm of grief – or if it will come in stages – but – I have to let it unfold/happen, then, clear.
Your picture of the dove-stone in rippling water is…exceptional.
Did you receive the dove/raven card?
Your beautifully painted wildlife,100 pack, postcards have been distributed to my friends and family this Christmas to spread your urgent reminders of our how the Earth’s flora and fauna needs protection and restoration. I handed your postcards to them, to let my loved ones know that I would give them £25 if they donated this money to a wildlife charity of their choosing. Thank you Jackie for your inspirational works of art.
Thank you x
Slow starts are necessary at times. I am also emerging from the grief following the loss of my Mum and other traumas.
As the days get gradually longer it is good to take time to recharge our batteries and gather strength for the brighter and busier months ahead.
I am seeing this as a time for change and new beginnings and am looking forward to better times ahead.
I have kept my cards, I so love them and they are my treasures to revisit. I look forward to seeing what works come next.