Endings and Beginnings
Happy New Year! I’m a little late writing this blog, so when you read this you may feel that the sentiment is a little past being relevant. However, we have just had the first new moon of 2023 (a super new moon in Aquarius) and the beginning of the Chinese New Year: the year of the water rabbit. I feel that 2023 is about to really get going now and hence I feel wishing a happy new year now is perhaps much more fitting!
I have had a little bit of a slow start to January (again, this is why I feel like it’s only really starting now!) and it’s felt like I’ve been closing cycles and coming into a new energy ready to really get going with the year ahead.
December was a really busy month and it felt as though this shift in energy began then. The new beginning energy really feels like it’s ramping up now, especially under the energy of the new moon of the 21st (I’m writing this on the 23rd) and so I’m excited to share this journey with you all as it unfolds.
I want to reflect back on December in today’s blog because two really important events happened and it is from those events that I feel things are starting to gain momentum. The first was an opportunity to be part of a creative pop-up shop in Edenderry:
Edenderry Creative Christmas Pop-Up Shop December 1st -24th 2002
This was such a brilliant opportunity for so many of us who are artists, crafters, bakers, florists etc. It was brought together incredibly quickly by two brilliant women who have such drive and determination (you can check out their facebook pages here and here) I have never sold my artwork on a stall before so it was a great learning experience and hopefully one we will be repeating soon (watch this space!) I made lots of new friends and it was lovely to be a part of something that benefited the local community. Here are a few links to follow if you would like to know more about some of the crafters featured (I unfortunately do not have the links for everyone who took part)
Have a look at the Edenderry Creative Pop-Up Shop Facebook page too and watch this space for more in the future!
The second event was a really important one as this opportunity has fulfilled a lifelong dream of being a children’s book illustrator:
Saturday 3rd December: Launch date of “Lucy’s Mindful Life: When Lucy Meets Arden” written by Leona McDonnell, published by Book Hub Publishing.
I was so happy when Book Hub Publishing told me Leona had chosen me to be her illustrator. I started illustrating this book back in December 2021 and it was so exciting to be celebrating the launch a full year later. “Lucy’s Mindful Life: When Lucy Meets Arden” is a magical and empowering book for children of all ages. It was an absolute dream to illustrate such a beautiful and compassionate story. The book really encourages children to learn how to connect to themselves and nature around them. It’s a book that facilitates the development of positive mental, emotional and physical health and wellbeing. If you would like to know more about it please do visit Leona’s website where you can also order a copy. Leona and I are really looking forward to working together and we certainly have some amazing ideas that we can’t wait to explore. I absolutely adore illustrating stories so I am delighted that there will certainly be more from “Lucy” in the future.
I’m delighted to be able to share these images of the illustrations in progress:
Now that the book is out in the world and it’s incredibly exciting to know we will be working on book two very soon.
I am really looking forward to seeing what other opportunities are going to come up in the year ahead and hopefully this feeling of momentum will continue especially now I feel like the year has truly begun.
