Marking the seasons and it being festive but not Christmas yet! Plus, cosy tips on finding December calm
The turn of the seasons is one of the main ways I mark time passing as the years go by. Observing, experiencing and recording the seasonal changes in my small corner of the world - and within myself - is key to both my artistic practice and sense of wellbeing.
Snow day in Corfe Castle!
I feel lucky living in England in terms of being able to watch the seasons change and it’s something I embrace in my art as well as my home.
I am one of those people who has a bit! (read: quite a bit!)) of seasonal decor, and I always make 1st December my official winter start date, where I take down the autumn decorations and put up the winter ones - festive but not Christmas yet!
The Christmas tree usually goes up a little later in December, a few days before my birthday. We keep it plain to start with, just warm white fairy lights and some red velvet bows. And then on my birthday it’s a family tradition to go all out and decorate the Christmas tree (and then watch Elf!).
Now that my girls are in their 20s we have accumulated quite a lot! of Christmas decorations and festive decor and have had to have a cull over the past couple of years. But it’s impossible to donate the homemade decorations the girls made when they were small, or that I made for them as they grew up. As such, our tree is usually slightly overflowing with…let’s say Christmas cheer!
I think being an artist, especially one who’s interested in, and inspired by, nature, the changing seasons really brings you out into the world more and connects you to these changes. In autumn, the quiet hush of the woodlands, in winter the wild freshness of an empty beach. Spring is when things are coming alive in the garden and neighbouring farmlands, and I spend lots of time observing and sketching blossoms, buds and flowers…
Summer I slightly struggle with as I am an autumn/winter person! It’s also a very busy time for me, work-wise and, as we live in a holiday destination, there are always so many people around, wherever you go. It’s lovely seeing everyone so happy and in holiday mode and their energy buoys you along, but I do then have to take time to retreat and recharge in my home and my studio. So in the summer I often seek solitude on the quieter beaches and countryside trails early in the mornings or later in the evenings.
For now, though, I can enjoy settling into the quiet rhythm of winter, which, for me, has the reassuring homeliness of Christmas to prepare for and to enjoy (the baking has already begun in earnest!), before that secret, fallow time of January.
If you struggle to carve time to be still and quiet, I find these things help me:
Set your alarm 20 minutes earlier than usual: Allow five minutes to wake up slowly, then make a soothing warm drink and read by candlelight (or Christmas tree light, if yours is up already) for 15 minutes before anyone else is up and before any daily duties/getting ready for the day begins
Always carry a small sketchpad or notebook: Even if you’re not an arty person, or don’t feel innately creative, we all are. Think back to when you were a child and the hours you’d undoubtedly have spent drawing cartoons, colouring in, writing short stories in school. Take half an hour in a coffee shop during your week and just take your notebook out and draw or write whatever comes to mind. It could be a note on a dream you had, or simply write your shopping list in your best possible handwriting - just like you used to strive to do as a child. This is still creative and connecting creative thoughts from your brain, down your pen or pencil and onto paper. And that is good for you!
Step outside: If you can, endeavour to step outside at the same time each day for five minutes - early morning when the world is quiet still, or late at night when the stars are out is good - and just breathe the air and let your eyes take in this same scene that is yours alone each morning or evening and listen to all the sounds, big or small - whether that’s an empty field with the sky above or a bustling high street, it doesn’t matter - this is the life that is happening around you and that you are connected with and part of
I hope your festive period, if you celebrate it, goes peacefully, and that the darker days of December fill you with comfort as this is the time to start preparing - for fun times ahead, but also for yourself, to be at peace with the closing of this year.