February Studio Newsletter
Hello! It’s been a slow start to 2026 and I am just finding my flow again. The days are lengthening, I am hearing birdsong and although it’s been relentlessly wet and grey I can feel the light returning and the hope of all that is to come.
Studio - It doesn’t stay tidy for long!
January saw me clear out the studio and reach the corners! I re-homed art materials, let go of unfinished projects and emptied drawers. It has been a very long time since I felt that there was space in my studio! It’s calming and that is what I need. My brain whirrs and I need to anchor some of those thoughts in my creative practice. This has been eluding me so restricting my materials, defining areas for different activities has been cathartic and therapeutic.
I am a proponent of seizing the moment, switching off the socials, leaving your phone in a drawer, avoiding the housework. Art comes first. But life has been bumpy recently and time has slid past and I have felt scattered. January brought me back into my space and combined with some wistful afternoons daydreaming and seeking new inspiration I feel I have the beginnings of a plan for a series of new work.
New beginnings in the studio
I now have to find a pace for creating. This is looking like two days anchored in the studio (more than it’s been in a long time) and two days running the business. I am hoping these boundaries are helpful and I can protect my creative time.
Let me know how you are protecting your creative time. How do you take off the weight of the world? Are you finding solace in making and painting?
Studio Release
Looking Through - Limited edition print
With an emphasis on stepping forwards creatively, there’s an equal and opposite force of letting go. My relationship to my work has changed, and as I have shed a skin, I need to let go of old Helen Hallows, and embrace the new.
I am re-orienting my life and my creativity has been trying to keep up but inside I have known I need to set down old ways that served me well and journey onwards.
Part of this re-alignment is releasing work that I have stored from this older version of myself and closing a cycle to enable new work to be born!
In preparation for the energy of spring rebirth, I will be having a ‘Studio Release’ sale of work starting on Wednesday 4th March at 7pm.
These works belong to an earlier chapter and are ready to find new homes. I hope you can find the time to have a look and help me move through this transition and maybe offer a space for my art in your home.
Snowdon Walk - Mixed media original
You can find the artwork here from 19.00 on Wednesday 4th March.
I will also be retiring some courses from sale and offering them to you at a discount so you can add them to your course library and come to them when you are ready. From 4th March these discounts will be available here.
Books and cards will also be on offer and probably won’t be reprinted so collect them whilst you can.
Prints will be offered with a discount and will be archived after the sale ends.
Connected Creativity
This time last year I was building the Spring Sketchbook Online Retreat course. It was born out of noticing the tiny elements of growth, the imperceptible changes in the landscape and the palette of early spring. If your soul is gently stirring and you want to welcome Spring reflectively and creatively, I invite you to prepare your space and begin your creative year.
In the membership area for paid subscribers I offer a monthly magazine style post to guide your creativity in line with the seasons and offer wisdom for unfurling and nourishing your inner artist. I offer the resources that are fuelling my creative development and the challenges I am facing in the studio and give some sustenance for staying soft and hopeful in a harsh world.
Join a community of like minded souls……
Keep looking for the light
Helen
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