Ancestors Awakening - New Book

Creating the Ancestors Awakening book has taught me even more about how much we all have interlinked and how such projects bring this out. The book, as an independent piece of work, has been sent out to many people and locations all over the country and all over the world.  I have been a professional visual artist for most of my life and worked on many themes. However, much of my current art is inspired by weaving together images that are connected to prehistoric culture, mythology, fairy tales, and the natural world.   

The book 'Ancestors Awakening' covers an eight-year journey and contains beautiful full-page layouts of my artwork, with patterns inspired by Neolithic symbolism, myth, legend, archetypal figures, megaliths, visits to ancient places, and ancestral energy. This is a unique collection of work developed along with written narratives, around the theme 'Ancestors Awakening'. 

My artwork includes photography of prehistoric landscapes and artifacts captured during explorations from locations such as Northumberland to Kilmartin and the Orkney Islands, where I gather reference material and make a connection to these magical places  The paintings or sculptures created within 'Ancestors Awakening' have a story or meaning connected to prehistoric and mythical ways of being.   There is an ebb and flow of photography, and art, made more possible with collaboration with others, and visits to ancient places to gain first-hand inspiration.   The path of my work has always inspired what I create and this work reconnects to our ancient ancestors, remembering cultural traditions, skills, and ways of being that can be drawn upon today. I aim to continue to translate this coherently through my new art, with more visual narratives, storytelling, and collaborative work.   With this book, I invite you to gain deeper insight into my journey of Ancestors Awakening.

Included in the book are articles on Wild food foraging by Craig Worrall, Herbal Medicine and Mugwort by Medical Herbalist; Edwina Hodkinson, Experiential Archaeology byJohn Piprani and Poetry by Melissa Hermanny and Leigh Cook.