I’m very excited and honoured to be exhibiting again at this weekend’s Saltaire Arts Trail.

If you haven’t been before, it’s a wonderfully quirky event that celebrates creativity and imagination and gives you an opportunity to chat with and buy from some fantastic makers in a relaxed setting.

About Saltaire (taken from the Saltaire Arts Trail website)

Saltaire is a wonderful example of the power of vision. Two tremendous men have shaped the history of the village: first, it’s founder, Titus Salt, and then, Jonathan Silver, who revitalised it after its decline in the 1980s.

In 2001, according to UNESCO, Saltaire was designated a World Heritage site because it ‘is an outstanding and well preserved example of a mid 19th century industrial town…giving a vivid impression of Victorian philanthropic paternalism’ and because of ‘the important role played by the textile industry in economic and social development’. It was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Covering 11 acres, Salt’s Mill manufactured 18 miles of worsted cloth per day on its 1,200 looms. The Mill continued to manufacture textiles for more than 130 years until it closed in 1987. This was no ordinary mill town with its handsome Italianate architecture, Congregational Church, Club and Institute, schools, and hospital. But by the late 1980s, with manufacturing industry in serious decline, Salts Mill was in danger of demolition.

Saltaire’s second man of vision, Jonathan Silver, also a man with a background in textiles, bought the Mill in 1987. Silver had met David Hockney as a school boy pursuading him to design a cover for the school magazine, and, when he had bought Salts Mill, he approached Hockney again and together they created the 1853 Gallery, the largest permanent collection of one of Britain’s greatest artists. It is a stunning collection of works in a vast, magnificent setting.

This bold partnership between Silver and Hockney, together with the rich textile heritage of the village, has inspired Saltaire to become a creative centre.

The Open Houses, where I’ll be exhibiting my work, are just one part of a tremendously varied program of activities, many of which are designed to get children making things and thinking creatively. Take a look at the video below for some interesting examples of the workshops and demonstrations that have been offered in previous years.

I’ll be exhibiting my work at 6 Helen Street. It’s a small house and there are three artists exhibiting so I’m not able to be there in person for the entire arts trail, but I will be there in person on Sunday and Monday and would love to meet you in person.

Saltaire Arts Trail 2011 from Simon Lawson on Vimeo.

“Listen to the Colour of your Dreams”

See the rest of the “Tales from the Moors Country” images here.

I often say that my work appeals mostly to the broken hearted. They are the ones who interest me the most. They are the ones I want to produce work for.

You see, I believe that we are not truly alive until we are broken hearted. To paraphrase the great Leonard Cohen, even if it’s just a crack…..that’s how the light gets in. Except I think Leonard was wrong and it’s not how the light gets in…..it’s how it gets out.

At the grand old age of 30 years old I had my heart broken.

Kind of late, right?

Well, it turns out that having your heart broken is kind of like falling in love. It’s easy to make yourself believe it has happened when actually you have absolutely no idea. And all of my “broken hearts” up until this point had been merely the everyday dramas of a deeply unhappy life.

My heart wasn’t broken in the instant a lover leaves or in a moment of betrayal. My heart was broken with everyday small fractures and the mounting pressure of trying to live a life that didn’t fit.

I broke my own heart….and like most heartbreakers I hadn’t meant to cause any harm. I’d merely been thoughtless and distracted and neglectful. I’d never taken the time to listen to my heart, to understand what it wanted, or even to consider it at all.

As all those who have been betrayed in love understand, thoughtlessness and neglect when left unchecked inevitably lead to disaster. And, in only a few short years of distraction and busyness I found myself in a very dark place.

Stuck and angry and barely breathing I set in motion a serious of actions that would cause the foundations of my ill fitting life to implode.

And it was glorious.

Of course it didn’t feel that way at the time. At the time it felt like someone had carved out my insides with a blunt instrument.

But, here’s the thing. When we are heartbroken…When we lose…When we don’t get the life we wanted, the thing we wanted, the person we wanted..we get something worth far more. The opportunity to choose mindfully. The opportunity to choose at all. Somehow, when you’ve lost, and then healed, you can walk forward with more vulnerability and vulnerability is the beginning of true courage.

Some people seem easily able to follow their heart’s desires. I’m not one of them. I needed to go into the darkness before I could find my way out. My propensity to cling to the familiar is such that I needed to have no other earthly choice before I let go. Maybe you are the same or maybe you can already feel the pull of your heart’s desire.

When we are in a dark place, all we can do is take baby steps towards the light. And when we can’t see the light, sometimes our cracked open, broken and ruined heart shines a light for us.

Just like a trail of breadcrumbs, my broken heart eventually led me back to my childhood love of stories and that would change everything. It was the start of a journey back towards the life I ought to have been living all along.

So, whether it is a great big shining beacon, or a tiny sliver of light, my wish for you is that even if you lose the things you may want…or perhaps because you lose them…that your great big, broken heart will light your way towards the things you truly need.

Special Thanks to Cindy, whose comment on this post inspired me to write this.

I’ve always found myself more creative in the quiet days of winter. Somehow things get slower and more deliberate and I can think clearly.

This year I’ve had more of this quiet time than usual. The snowstorms kept me wrapped up indoors and every time I would leave the house to try and shoot some images, I kept getting pushed back by closed roads and snowdrifts, almost like someone was trying to tell me something.

So I spent most of those two weeks in January waiting. Waiting for it to stop snowing, waiting for the roads to get cleared, waiting for a perfect day that was snowy …..but not too snowy. And it got me thinking about Midwinter and what it means.

Midwinter is a time when things stop. Literally. The solstice is the “sun-standing.” That point at which the sun’s movement stops, only for a moment, before it begins to reverse itself.

At any moment when things stop, we must wait for them to begin again with no certainty that they will. In any journey, any life, there is a point at which movement in one direction ends, and we must wait to see what comes next.

It’s a feeling I know well.

It’s hardly a coincidence that in many major religions and celebrations, the saviour figure appears at midwinter, as the bringer of light. Heaven knows that when we’re in the dark, and we don’t know when or if the light will return, we’re all looking for a saviour.

Waiting is hard and these celebrations were born out of a desire not to wait any longer. A desire to do something, anything, to make things happen….even if it’s just prayer.

And, really that’s all it is. In the astrological sense at least, the light always returns, but it doesn’t sweep in on the saviour’s coattails. There’s no big miracle. At least not immediately.

Little by little, increment by increment, step by step, the darkness recedes and the earth comes to life again.

All the action in the world can make us feel better in times of uncertainty and doubt, but sometimes all we can do is wait, and have a little faith.
 

See the full collection here.

Image by Malgosia Karniewska.

It’s a well known adage that you can achieve much less than you think in a day or a week, but much more than you think in a year.

We remember our defeats much more clearly than our victories so, at the end of each year, I like to take a few minutes look back and celebrate my achievements. That way, instead of making New Year’s Resolutions about the things I’d like to change, I can move into the New Year with gratitude for all that I have achieved and experienced.

It’s kind of like a scrap book of my life and business, both of which have had a very special year in 2012. Thank you for your part in that and I hope that you make your own scrap book of achievements (whether you show it to anyone or not).

Here’s what happened to me……..

January

Took part in “24:4,” a film on creativity in the UK, filmed by a BAFTA award winning director. I’m incredibly proud of my part in this film and think it’s a beautiful piece of work. I shot “Raven’s Song” during filming.

February

Spent a fantastic weekend in Los Angeles, including an eye opening evening at the Playboy Mansion’s Masquerade Ball. Sadly I didn’t get to meet the Hef, but I did see him from a distance.

Saw my first Frida “in the flesh” at a wonderful exhibition on female surrealists at the LACMA in LA, and found a new favourite in Remedios Varo.

March

I braved the Hanging Committee during filming of Series Two of the BBC2 television program “Show Me the Monet.” I was chosen as one of 150 artists from the 3000 who applied so I can’t bring myself to feel disappointed that they didn’t feel “Like Ghosts from an Enchanter Fleeing” was the right fit for their exhibition.

Was delighted to be accepted to be an exhibiting artist at the Artsbank Gallery in Saltburn, one of my top targets for 2012.

April

Watched myself on the big screen at the O2 in “24:4” as it had its film premiere during the Sundance London Film Festival. This picture shows how nervous I was : )

May

Finally plucked up the courage to send out my first press release to the local newspapers (I had written it two months earlier) and got featured in two local newspapers as a result.

Took part in the Saltaire Arts Trail as part of the “WunderKammer,” a treasure trove of curiosities, the Saltaire Book Shop and loved spending time with other artists, chatting about the highs and lows of this capricious profession.

Was thrilled to be accepted to exhibit at Heart Gallery in Hebden Bridge as part of their “May All Your Dreams Come True Exhibition” and was even more thrilled to become a long term stockist.

June

Filmed for Italian television show, “Ubiq,” while shooting a new image “A Beltane Betrayal” in Epping Forest. Met a very fair park ranger who, although he gave us a telling off, did allow us to continue the shoot.

Queued for more than twelve hours to watch Andy Murray play under the Centre Court lights on his way to the Wimbledon final. Also got to watch the previously unknown Lukas Rosol pull out an inspired performance and enchant the crowd to defeat Rafael Nadal.

Moved back to North Yorkshire in less than ideal conditions but decided to make the best of it and focus completely on growing my business.

July

Had my very first solo exhibition at the Dutch House in Crayke, just outside York. Was thrilled to see all of my work together in one place.

Was very excited to be accepted to exhibit at the North Yorkshire Moors National Park Centre as part of their “Your Place” exhibition to celebrate the National Park’s 60th Birthday.

Got all my television exposure at once as “Show Me the Monet” and “Ubiq” both aired.

August

Watched Usain Bolt on his way to winning his historical “Double-Triple” at the London Olympics.

Celebrated my birthday with my biggest sale yet, giving great discounts to my newsletter subscribers.

September

Returned to Lake Squam, New Hampshire for Squam Art Workshops, where it all began two years ago. Found my animal guides and reconnected with my Squam soulmates who’d all been through their own remarkable transformations.

Took part in a wonderful exhibition entitled “More than Just a Pretty Face” at the Back O’ the Shop Gallery at Terrington.

October

In the midst of all the busyness and chaos of the runup to Christmas, some of my animal guides showed up at precisely the right moment to remind me of the direction I need to take in 2013.

November

My business had its biggest sales to date and I has a wonderful feature in the Yorkshire Post Saturday supplement.

December

Worked my butt off in my first full Christmas season as a retailer, finally stopping for a well deserved rest ……if by “rest” you mean designing my new range of talisman jewellery that will be launched in early 2013.

……..And that was my year. Thank you so much for helping to make it so delicious. Wishing you a very happy New Year and hoping that you use this very powerful time of the year to propel yourself towards your dreams in 2013.

Almost exactly two years ago I came up with the first ideas for the body of work that became “Tales from the Moors Country.”

I was at my parents’ house over the Christmas period and everyone was out for the day. I was alone, in my pyjamas, eating chocolate for breakfast and watching Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland.”

I had been to the local craft store a couple of days earlier and had bought some supplies for a “playbox.” Coloured cellophane, glass beads, several types of diaphanous fabrics, and I suddenly had the urge to play.

That afternoon I sat with my camera and my remote control and I took picture after picture after picture. I experimented with putting all kinds of things in front of the lens. I played with my flashgun. I wrapped myself in different pieces of fabric. I started to combine different shots in Photoshop and I started to bring in outside elements and combine those too.

And, just like that, it began. Something that seemed so pointless and meaningless shifted into the germ of the seed of something bigger. And by the springtime it was a real idea, ready to be put into action.

It occurred to me that many of the important shifts have happened at this time of the year. For me, midwinter is the time when the ideas come. It’s a time when I decide to make changes, to make shifts.

Why is this?

Because, in midwinter, after the madness and commerce of Christmas is over, there is a stillness and a peace that allows the time and space for reflection. There is nothing to be done, no where to be.

I don’t know about you, but there aren’t many other times in the year when I’d be sitting on the couch eating chocolate for breakfast and watching my favourite movies. I’d feel too guilty, too lazy. I’d have to get up and go somewhere or do something.

At Christmas, just for a few days a year, we sleep more, we sing more, we laugh more. We take a walk in the snow covered woods or on the beach.

We let go.

And when you let go, when you allow yourself to play, that’s when something magical can happen.

So my Christmas wish for you this year is that you give yourself permission to be still and see what happens. This may be the only time in the entire year when (even for just a day) you don’t have someplace to be……..That’s what makes it magic.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year.