The cottage artist, located in community and grounded in the world, is a provider of necessary, connecting and belightful services : sharing stories, listening to others, way-making, world-building, space-creating, celebrating : all on an intimate scale for those lucky enough to stumble upon her.
The term cottage artist alludes to the witchy nature of living in an edgeland where two ecologies meet – village and woods – land and sea – imagination and physical. The edge as ecotone is a place of rich diversity, where specialism and versatility are essential qualities.
It holds reference, too, to the cottage industry, that pre-industrial manufacture of crafts in the home, small scale. Articulate and articulated, there is always room – in a cupboard, shed, bucket, or behind the garden wall – for the expansion of making space, things and time.
What is this magic?
I thrive on curiosity and creative experimentation.
My materials are words, folded paper, speech and our ecological experiences. I write, stitch, perform and collaborate around our ecologies, through poems, stories, artistbooks and immersive walks.
I facilitate workshops to share with others the value and intrinsic role of creativity in our lives. This desire also drives my practice as a mentor and coach.
I’m a builder of communities, within the worlds I create, between story and reader, and within the groups I facilitate. In all areas of my practice, I celebrate the quiet intricacies that are interwoven within being and thinking, word and action, living and learning. I believe in the value of collective wisdom and celebrate how we can nourish and inform each other in any communities I’m part of.
I aim to capture the fragility of the world we inhabit, and seek to share my sense of wonder and vulnerability, to create safe spaces for inclusive thinking. My invitation is for people to resee the worlds they’ve become familiar with, and build resilience in their creative and spiritual lives.
My work as a poet and facilitator begins where I am based on Morecambe Bay, between Lancaster and Kendal, in the UK, and spreads regionally, nationally and internationally.
I write more about my creative experimenting on Substack. If you’d like to sign up, fill in the below:
My archived blog reveals my creative practice and influences of the past couple of decades.
Echo Soundings