Open Water Swimming Poem Swim Wild Swim Free by Jenny Meehan
swim wild swim free poem by jenny meehan open water swimming poetry art gifts
I haven’t continued swimming in the river beyond October before, so I am surprising myself by continuing a bit further into the Autumn this year! I do wear a wetsuit jacket as I don’t like to get too cold but all the rest of me gets pretty chilly! A couple of pairs of sports leggings, socks and gloves are also handy. It gives me a real buzz and it’s such a beautiful thing to do.
I have a collection of some of my open water/wild swimming art on my jennyjimjams redbubble artist profile. This includes the poem above.
https://www.redbubble.com/people/jennyjimjams/shop
Poetry
I put my poetry with many of the art forms I use. They have a relationship. I love that relationship. Sometimes the relationship is very obvious. It’s even sometimes there when I am making a work. For example, with my pink cardboard sculpture, when I was making it I kind of knew inside it was going to be meeting up with some kind of poem or writing, even though I didn’t know exactly what it was going to be. And indeed, thankfully, on my return from West Dean College, the writing of the poem fell into it’s place too. They were a pair made for each other!
I can’t say it always works out so simply. Sometimes there is a relationship there, kind of, but it is not a fully emerged one. Sometimes the relationship takes a few years even to emerge. It is not that it wasn’t there… It is just that it was emerging, unclear, maybe only partially conscious.
Poetry
Here’s another past poem, resurrected and re edited!
I AM
When I AM,
I am here… looking carefully.
When I AM
I am here… looking wondrously, around
and within;
without anxiety.
It is better to wait.
It is better to trust.
It is better to risk
living
than to die.
Even in the darkness…
It is better to ask for help.
It is also better to feel.
Better this,
than to live in hiding.
Better this, than to be as before…
when I shut life out.
Life opens and continues to open.
Welcomes and continues to welcome.
Calls and continues to call…
I am listening.
Life has opened. It continues to open. It opens again
in an everlasting flower.
It continues to welcome
and continues to call.
Soft, silent, petals
show in a moment;
a meditation of one still second.
Tiny, but certain.
Green against the grey.
.
My poem often lacks imagery I think. I tend to use my visual work for imagery…Creating an image in a poem is a different and more refined type of art I think than my poetry, which tends more towards a narrative prose type style in the main. However, I enjoy writing it! I would like to experiment much more with my poetry writing. Now the Winter days are here I think it more likely I may succeed in investing more time in that direction!
Low res image Modern art, abstract painting, jennymeehan blog, jennyjimjams artist, original artwork, London Surrey based abstract artist ©Jenny Meehan, Painter-Poet, romantic expressionist Abstraction, emotional landscape art, 21st century contemporary Art, licensable art images via DACS
The Space Between Us is one of my large (approx A1) paintings using Keim Soldalit on paper and thick cardboard. I’m really enjoying collage experiments. Space is such a practical problem for me, as our house is small and full! Now the Autumn and Winter are here, working on larger paintings has had to stop. Not that that matters too much as I play around with collage, whose piecemeal virtues and that little parts can be pulled together starting small and gradually growing outwards, as well as starting large and moving in the other direction. I also find that time spent in contemplation, reviewing the work of the Summer, and reading and writing all needs a place, and this is the season to do that! So there’s a note of humour for me as I look at this painting now… There is not enough “space between us” at the moment!
However, this wasn’t my thinking when I painted this…I was thinking about communication, sharing, and openness to others…As per Martin Buber ” Our relationships live in the space between us which is sacred.” That is the most beautiful quote ever I think. Actually…here’s more of it; ” Our relationship lives in the space between us – it doesn’t live in me or in you or even in the dialogue between the two of us – it lives in the space we live together and that space is sacred space”
Another great quote here:
“Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other” Rainer Maria Rilke
Nice.
Yoga Thoughts
Very much enjoying practising yoga again, though I would like to get into the habit of doing it a bit more than I do! It complements my Christian contemplative practice very well indeed, and is helping me recover a sense of being connected with my body which I lost. It feels to me like I am reclaiming my lost body.
I know that sounds odd, but years ago (age 5 to 13) when I used to do Ballet each week I had a relationship with my body that eroded over the years, and I ended up both disconnected, and abusing my body in various ways. I kind of rejected it and gave up on it. Working on the movements in Yoga is very helpful to me because I am becoming aware of my body and connected with it in a way that I have not been for many years.
I find the combination of breath and movement completely helpful to me…to say it is stress relieving is an understatement because it is so much more. The whole matter of being kind to my body and accepting it is also very important. I feel more agile and connected and happier with my body. Paying attention to the present is always a good thing, and I think the combination of focus, attention and breathing, for me, works very well in creating that “flow” experience which I often ramble on about!
This kind of somatic approach to recovery was suggested by my therapist a while back, but I was given a kick start to doing it because of the “ourparks.org” initiative a few years ago, which I was very grateful for. The combination of psychotherapy and the Yoga practice seem to help each other along…
It is recognised that trauma causes the body to be frozen in a state of fear. Hyper-vigilance and fear, and the whole theme of being frozen, crystallised and icy, is something which can be found in my some of my artwork. I sometimes use tiny glass beads to express a frozen state induced in my paintings. This state, experienced in extreme at the time of the traumatic event, also seems to hold itself in the body and mind, and I have experienced this many a time in therapy when we have touched certain points. It is quite strange to experience it when moving my body around when doing Yoga but very occasionally I have noticed it then.
It is my relationship with my body which is the key thing I think. I don’t really trust my body to keep me safe maybe? I sometimes feel unsafe and imagine horrible things happening to my knee (ie images of it smashing against something hard!) This is a little taste of a much wider experience and relationship with fear I have, but, as I was recognising recently in therapy, it is the relationship and the way one sees and relates to the fear (which changes over the course of recovery), not the fact that one feels the fear.
I would like to get rid of fear entirely, however, it is a fact of life, and not to be totally overwhelmed by fear, and to learn to see it from a different position, is a wonderfully liberating and joyful experience. I’m working at it through the Yoga now, as well as the therapy! I seem to be developing more feelings of being safe, and am adapting what I do in Yoga to suit my current physical state/body. What matters to me is that I can develop a nice sense of flow and grace in what I do with Yoga, and get into the breathing with body combination. This seems to be the most beneficial thing, rather than trying to torture myself with a lack of acceptance, sense of failure, and generally torturing my body. Being rather a creative person, I am finding it rather interesting to develop some of my own moves and positions too! I think my swimming, especially front crawl with the head under the water breathing technique, has pretty much the same effect too.
Incorporating body-based techniques into trauma recovery is something which makes a lot of sense for people in recovery from trauma, as trauma is so linked with the body (terror!!!!). It has been my experience that the tension and stress just holds itself within you, and you carry it around constantly. I can be chilled out and relaxed mentally, but still need to make a conscious effort to release the tension in my back and shoulders! It’s just there. My body still thinks (if bodies “think”) that it needs to be in “fight” mode, I think. The physiological effects of trauma on the body seem to lock the body in a pattern of fear.
While I had childhood experiences of physical (and emotional) violence directed towards me via my father, which did have an impact on my development, I think it was being a victim of rape in my early twenties (twice) which succeeded in helping me disconnect and dissociate from my body/mind more deeply. It actually took TEN YEARS for me to be in a place where I could even start to acknowledge what had happened to me!
The power of denial is immense… Shocking. But this is the way the body and mind cope with such things sometimes. You need to keep on living. This denial, I now understand, is not an uncommon experience for people who have been violated so. I feel so grateful to have been able to make a journey forwards in reconnection and self- compassion, and that the work of psychoanalytic psychotherapy I have been engaged with, (and continue to be engaged with), has proved so worthwhile and fruitful in so many respects.
On the body front, my video “Artifact” is an a personal explorative expression rather than a finely honed artwork….(I have very limited facilities and skills in video making!) and is probably quite a stepping stone for me in the rape recovery process. Interestingly “Artifact” can be spelt either the original British spelling way “Artefact” or the American English spelling way “Artifact”!
Here it is:
Revisiting a sense of personal desolation and loss wasn’t easy, but I think it was worth the effort. I used a sculpture I made and cast in plaster, which I titled “Venus de Milo” (related to my “Thelma” wax sculpture series) as the body…a personal relic, I suppose. In the video there is a soundtrack which includes the repeated phrase “I’m tearing myself apart”. The close examination of my body relic is painful to me, for its existence is the embodiment of a catastrophic trauma and its impact within my life. There is something about “tearing myself apart” even by my insisting on revisiting the crime of the rape and making what is almost a forensic examination maybe? Yet in the examination is the necessity to face what a crime it was.
It is a kind of crime scene I think…distressing to admit the damage done…distressing to appreciate the depth of damage and the obliteration of self. It is hard to let go…to leave that relic…yet to face it is vital…to acknowledge it is vital… but facing it is “tearing me apart” because I face the pain and reality of the crime, and in the scrutiny of it I am immersed in grief.
Yet making the video, painstaking as it was, did serve a useful purpose. Some people use relics religiously as they believe in the power of relics… the physical remains of a holy site or holy person, or objects with which they had contact somehow possess healing power. In the Christian belief, the body of the saint provided a spiritual link between life and death and between wo/man and God “because of the grace remaining in the martyr”. I think I have had this in the back of my mind, though with differences of course. I think I have maybe created and used this as some kind of resurrection tool… a way to apply the grace within me to those parts of myself which are dead? A way of re contacting myself at that point in my life, picking myself up, tenderly, and inviting the grace of my Creator deeper into my own life and body now by accepting and receiving more fully myself… all of myself…even those parts which I could not bear to acknowledge.
So in this artistic creation, I am metaphorically picking up/encountering the relic of myself and by doing so accepting what was done fully, which is painful of course. Hence the “tearing/breaking myself apart”? However, also in the process of encounter and awareness, is the grace, which I could not previously access due to the rejection of myself. This can be applied and received. There is life breathed into death.
So it’s not a negative process. Far from it, though it could be, of course, if I did not relinquish and let go of the old. Letting go is also part of the process. We can hang onto hurt, old wounding, and pain because it feels more secure. The letting go of the relic is a necessary part of the process. My poem “Bandage Box” is also part of the video.
The short video has a bit of a clunky visual motion to it…its has a rough, unprofessional feel to it, but I think it appropriate, so I found it acceptable, even maybe a bonus to the communication? There’s nothing smooth or easy about a recovery journey from rape, and the slightly stumbling and unsteady, stilted and fragmented feel to it is fitting.
I have been sexually assaulted in various ways 10 times in my life, to varying degrees ranging from drug rape to sexual harassment. I know I am far from alone in this as I know many women who have experiences like mine… too many. All violence and sexual assault has an extremely destructive effect on a person. The damage done is not appreciated or realised as much as it could be I don’t think, so maybe my experience, which is part of the creation of this video, might help in some small way. I have been fortunate to have the support and help I needed… it came late… this is true… but none the less, it came and it has been transformative.
It’s really important to recognise how much sexual assault there is. Here is some data from 2017, so not new, but still rather shocking:
Sexual Violence Statistics from Rape Crisis England and Wales.
Key statistics about rape and sexual violence in England and Wales.
In the year to the end of March 2017, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated:
20% of women and 4% of men have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16, equivalent to 3.4 million female and 631,000 male victims
3.1% of women (510,000) and 0.8% of men (138,000) aged 16 to 59 had experienced a sexual assault in the last year.
In January 2013, An Overview of Sexual Offending in England and Wales, the first ever joint official statistics bulletin on sexual violence released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Home Office, revealed:
Approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men (aged 16 – 59) experience rape, attempted rape or sexual assault by penetration in England and Wales alone every year; that’s roughly 11 of the most serious sexual offences (of adults alone) every hour.
Only around 15% of those who experience sexual violence report to the police
Approximately 90% of those who are raped know the perpetrator prior to the offence
More key stats:
31% of young women aged 18-24 report having experienced sexual abuse in childhood (NSPCC, 2011)
Most women in the UK do not have access to a Rape Crisis Centre (Map of Gaps, 2007)
A third of people believe women who flirt are partially responsible for being raped (Amnesty, 2005)
Conviction rates for rape are far lower than other crimes, with only 5.7% of reported rape cases ending in a conviction for the perpetrator. (Kelly, Lovett and Regan, A gap or a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases, 2005)
The information above is rather old, but does give a brief idea I think. This may be a better specific and up to date resource:
Click to access Statistics_about_sexual_violence_and_abuse_-_sources_RCEW.pdf
You can also see more up to date statistics here too: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffencesprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales
The highest ever number of rapes was recorded by police in the year ending March 2022:
70,330
In that same time period, charges
were brought in just 2,223 rape cases.
The text above is from https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/statistics-sexual-violence
I did not even realise it was this bad until I looked. Part of me wishes I hadn’t. But I guess there is the problem, because the problem is so massive and generally people tend to prefer to look away rather than acknowledge it. We are all the same in that respect… I have looked away myself… even as a victim. There’s a huge reality which needs to be faced and not avoided if society really is going to progress in a positive direction. This is what really needs to change, and it needs a lot of work, awareness, and education, plus open communication to change things.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4491036/
I see my art working as a small contribution to the process of education and awareness. It’s small but it’s important to me that my experience is used creatively. I know it strikes a chord with people and I have had amazing feedback and responses which bring a lot of happiness to my heart.
Painting: Yoga Inhale
yoga Inhale British painting Lyrical Abstraction style by artist designer jenny meehan jennyjimjams colour original abstract artwork to buy and image licensing ©Jenny Meehan
Painting: Yoga Exhale
Yoga Exhale British painting Lyrical Abstraction style by artist designer jenny meehan jennyjimjams colour original abstract artwork to buy and image licensing ©Jenny Meehan
Flow Psychology
I know I have mentioned this before in my Journal, but as a quick reminder, I am very much interested in positive psychology and the ideas of psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. When immersed in something, and in a kind of mindfulness which is what you feel when you are completely focused and in a state of complete immersion in an activity, this may be described as being in a “flow”. A state of consciousness called flow is a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to absolute absorption in an activity. We might describe it as being “in the flow” of something.
This word “flow” brings me back a bit to the John Wimber days, when at the Charismatic church I was at (YEARS ago!) we all used to refer to “being in the flow” when we talked about experiencing the Holy Spirit. If one sees the Holy Spirit as, among other things, being a spirit of creativity and life energy, then our experiences of the Holy Spirit, (who is part of the Trinity in Christian thought and faith), as well as being welcomed in the experience of worshipping God in a focused way, is indeed the very same spirit that I feel when I am painting…For me, this is certainly true. I make no distinction between the spiritual refreshment I experience when immersed in my painting, or any other creative activities, to that I experience when immersed in prayer or contemplative meditation. To me, these things are one and the same. They have different dimension to them…I need to analyse and assess things when painting in a particular way…it is a type of work which is not the same as praying a prayer which is structured in the logic of words, (unless I am praying without words). But in terms of my own mind, body and spirit, they are both a place of being, of welcoming life and the Creator’s presence into my soul. Of immersion, and depth of being.
As that familiar line goes “In Him (He-She as I prefer to express!) we live and move and have our being” …in it’s context, (from Acts 17 in the New Testament… here:
“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’b As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Anyway, back to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi…
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi describes the mental state of flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”
It’s the ego falling away bit which is interesting me. When surrendered to the Holy Spirit while worshipping God, there is a kind of immersive experience which is both refreshing and revitalising. I also feel this when I am doing my yoga practice, as I focus on the movements and positions of my body. When I look at water, or I am swimming in water, I also find myself getting “into the flow” of feeling alive, and welcoming the Spirit into my life more.
While flow states can be task related, and related to specific objectives, and the performance related aspect is interesting, (I would like to read more about it,) I am also interested in the flow that happens purely as a result of the grace of our Creator God (ie, as the result of God’s workings, through the Holy Spirit without us “doing” anything). This also brings with it a fluidity to our thoughts and a deep feeling of peace and contentment. Our sense is of being just in the moment, ego-free, and feeling alive. I don’t know if Mihály Csíkszentmihályi considers “flow” from any spiritual perspectives at all. I found this…
“Nearly anything, it seems, can serve as a flow activity. The diversity of potentially fulfilling activities directly confronts a culture so often interested in success that can be quantified in financial and personal terms. While flow activities share several common characteristics, Csikszentmihalyi argues, finding the right activity requires a uniquely personal process of exploration and self-discovery. No matter what they are — physical exertion, study, artistic expression or spirituality — flow activities reveal themselves in the way they push the self towards complexity and growth.”
Quote from The subjectivity of happiness: on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s ‘Flow’
Chase Nordengren | Jan. 5, 2012 (National Catholic Reporter)
Take a look at the whole thing:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/young-voices/subjectivity-happiness-mihaly-csikszentmihalyis-flow
I like this:
“Csikszentmihalyi is skeptical that traditional religious systems, particularly Christianity, can provide meaning to the next century’s children, trapped in existential dread. He might well be correct to assume Christian preaching is quickly consigning itself to irrelevancy on the issue of happiness. An undeveloped faith will not by itself create happiness, nor will liberation from sin. Beyond preaching on moral action, the church bears a special responsibility to project its positive view of human beings and the unique vocation given each individual person.
No matter the strength of our devotion, our repentance or our “positive thinking,” our reality will still reflect a will we cannot understand. Bad things will still happen to good people.
“The most promising faith for the future,” Csikszentmihalyi writes, “might be based on the realization that the entire universe is a system related by common laws and that it makes no sense to impose our dreams and desires on nature without taking them into account.”
Recognition of that reality — the presence of a supernatural power that has brought us into existence and our incredible powerlessness in the face of that power — is the first step on the road toward grasping for meaning in our lives. A relevant, compassionate church ought to also guide the faithful toward the second step: ensuring all work and play, rich and poor, simple and complex constitutes participation in what the U.S. bishops called “God’s creative activity.”
Wow, that’s super. Love that.
The experience of flow could be described well as blessing, I think. Someone at church recently pointed out that the Hebrew word we often translate into “blessing” very much relates to happiness:
esher: happiness, blessedness
Original Word: אַשְׁרֵי
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: esher
Phonetic Spelling: (eh’-sher)
Short Definition: blessed
In my experience this happiness comes when I immersed in an activity, focused, and I view it as a gift of grace. Happiness is a gift…I think it can be received or rejected. It is a communion, a meeting with the divine as expressed in our world… It doesn’t come from things, but from relationships and love expressed. And when we are immersed in certain things, it seems we gain a sense of the divine, as we let ourselves be just in that moment. For me as a Christian, a powerfully liberating access to this blessing comes from the application in my life of a conception of the Grace of God, expressed through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as God (one of the Trinity). In my life, Christ is welcomed as God himself, compassionate, and incarnate, (in the flesh). “God with us” in the midst of the deepest suffering, or the darkest night any soul could find itself in. A Creator God who, though powerful, is also powerless. A vulnerable Creator of the world, who understands completely the challenges of living we face, even those very extreme challenges, like extreme fear and doubt. This is a paradox we cannot understand. We cannot understand the mystery of Grace, only choose to believe it.
Yet, indeed, it is the Spirit of God within us, that brings life to our souls…whatever our beliefs, spiritual tradition, or religion. The work of the Spirit may be experienced by any heart open to God, if welcomed. God is a Creator…the source of life, and the giver of life. There is one Creator God, though understood, (in the limited way the human mind understands things!) in many different ways. When we are doing things we feel passionate about, which engage ourselves and take us beyond our own ego, and into a sacred, and holy space where we are being, just being, and taking in life in all it’s fullness…This is just a tiny taste of the heaven; a tiny taste of the experience of being immersed in the presence of God in all it’s (his/her) entirety.
I associate water with life, and life (and truth) with the Grace of God, experienced in my daily life. The whole idea of immersion (and everything to do with water!) can be linked in my own art work to the (continual) experience of Baptism, (understood as a symbolic act of conversion, ie repentance and receiving of grace) and to experiences of being immersed in the Holy Spirit..of being in a place of Flow, and of life (and new birth) which is both here and now, and also, well beyond that. A happiness and grace which is a blessing. A gift, from God. I choose to credit this kind of work to God, in his/her* good intentions and loving kindness, mercy and compassion towards ALL that is created, and understand God not as an impersonal force or “it” but a personal and relational Creator God. I credit the liberating work of continuous transformation in my life as coming from the work of Christ in me, as I choose day by day the path of being a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a key understanding that underlies my life and work, and what motivates me in my art practice to take the directions I take.
However, whatever one believes or not, whatever one’s personal angle on salvation/enlightenment, or otherwise, we all experience flow times…that feeling of being in your element. Of being in the creative zone. Of feeling truly alive! While I have rambled on passionately, there are countless times when “being in the flow” is a distant dream…When all the opposite could be expressed, just as passionately! When static, stagnant and dead, are more applicable words! But I find it helpful to consider and reflect on the relationship of my faith beliefs and the way that water has emerged as such a significant symbol in my art work, and also how my own understanding of being “in the flow” has moved from something that I used to view as being exclusively situated within those professing to be Christians, to a much wider and expansive appreciation of how blessings are experienced, and how our “Unknown God” is known to us in various ways, through our life experience. It is also the case that God, because (she-he) is God, is well beyond our comprehension, and it does us a favour to always hold this in our minds, even if we are certain of our own perspectives. We may know and comprehend many truths about God’s nature…and it is good to hold onto these things, but also good to embrace the mystery which is also God, and to appreciate the endless and eternal aspects of our Creator. As the old phrase goes “Let Go and Let God”. The two go together!
Sometimes the “letting go” bit might be more of a challenge, and slightly different from simply immersing ourselves in an enjoyable activity. Take a look at the whole article if you will, but I am thinking of this kind of thing:
“But in every case, what “Let go and let God” comes down to is this: We need to let go of our own will. We must claim as our own the incredibly hard prayer that Jesus prayed: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). We need to let go and let God do what God wills. This submission will lead to peace and joy, even when the way is difficult. “Father, I place my life in Your hands!” (Luke 23:46).”
Quote from: Elizabeth Peale Allen https://www.guideposts.org/faith-in-daily-life/bible-resources/live-the-bible/learn-to-let-go-and-let-god.
*ps. It seems better to remind ourselves by using His/Her that God isn’t male or female…but Spirit. We think “genders” because we are human, but while God may be related to as male or female, it’s good to remind ourselves of how far beyond our definitions God is…I tend to often settle with “Father” simply because the Lord Jesus Christ did but it’s good to recognise both traditionally feminine imagery and masculine imagery when we think of God, imo! (AND to be clear that these are indeed, just images!!!! )
In the Flow Mosaic
in the flow mosaic by jenny meehan
in the flow mosaic by jenny meehan
I am rather pleased about the progress of a recent mosaic…This is the reverse side, and I am excited to see what the other side will look like! It will look a bit different…I am particularly keen to see what the face looks like! There is part of a poem to go with this mosaic.
“Psyche, Body, Spirit
Unbound
She threw herself into the river
Then in an untold miracle
found
unexpected resurrection”
It’s part of a bigger poem. I do find my river swims so helpful at the moment, even though its cold! I am not exactly throwing myself into the water… rather it is a slow and gentle walk into the coldness in order to adjust to the water temperature!
Bye for now… This post is EARLY for a change. Getting stuff sorted now as December is such a busy month if I leave things till then it would be after Christmas I think until I got around to posting!
Great Start to a New Year! Praying the Way!
“praying the way” by terry hinks book published by Bible Reading Fellowship with “leap of faith” image by jenny meehan
What a delight to see this amazing book cover design for the also very amazing and inspiration book of “raw and authentic prayers” by Terry Hinks. Terry Hinks is a United Reformed Church minister and the author of a number of books on prayer.
The cover design and inside pages are the work of designer Alison Beek, Designer, for the Bible Reading Fellowship, who licensed my image “Leap of Faith” through DACS for the cover design of the book.
It is the best thing in the world to see my artwork used for such purposes as this, as close to my heart and faith!
I now have my copy, and am already being blessed! It’s a super book, deep and insightful, challenging and touching. I love the idea of starting this year “Praying the Way”. It is through all the small leaps of faith we make that we move forwards, and it seems to me that the path appears the moment we make a brave jump into the air! Many things change as we mature in our faith; previous beliefs however dear are challenged, and life seems to be a matter of constantly realising how little we know, and how much we need to hand ourselves over to the one who created us and loves us so dearly. While certainties fall away, still the potential to trust ourselves into the hands of the Creator exists, and the path of committing ourselves to Christ (if that’s our faith tradition) and continual desire for repentance, enlightenment, and growth in compassion, can move with strength forwards into the years to come. Well, that’s my prayer for this year I think.
leap of faith jenny meehan (jennifer meehan) geometrical abstract design artwork fine art print to buy
“Leap of Faith” is one of my personal favourites, it’s true.
If you like it, I do have it up on Redbubble.com, which is a print on demand site.
My original artwork has two main strands: Lyrical Abstraction, painterly, fluid, with a lot of focus on light, how it bounces off the surface, textures and finishes, and Geometric Abstraction (created through digital imaging software) in which I focus on flat areas of smooth, solid, and translucent colour; ideally intended to be printed on even, matt or semi-mat surfaces. While I’m experimenting with the overlap between the two, and make it my practice to regularly try out new mediums, in order to keep my artwork fresh and steadily evolving, identifying the strands in this way is helpful for clarity. I use writing and poetry in my art working and now prefer to use sol-silica paint over acrylics or oils, though I am still known to dabble in many different types of paint, due to their particular material and visual qualities!
Do you need exciting, engaging, images for a book cover design?
My artwork is particularly suitable for themes of: faith, religion, philosophy, Christian, church, all faith traditions, inter-faith, spirituality, the subconscious, psychoanalytic themes, mindfulness, contemplative practices, healing, health, both physical and mental, trauma recovery, metaphysical and psychological focused writings, the devotional life, and many other subjects.
Indeed, pretty much any subject matter or theme which benefits from a more abstract graphic image; one which also conveys basic feelings and ideas in an open and experimental manner; would benefit from it’s clarity of communication being enhanced by one of my art images.
If you are looking for something particular, do contact me, because I only display a small amount on the internet and may even be able to create something specific to your needs, or be able to locate something from my extensive archives which meets your need.
To find out more about how you can arrange to use my imagery, see here:
https://www.dacs.org.uk/licensing-works/frequently-asked-questions#FAQ122
January and February 2019
Well, it’s one post every two months from now on. My art working has a certain amount of momentum to it at the moment, and I am keen to keep the focus on ongoing art working… however, I do love writing this journal… It’s very useful to me and serves as a small amount of space for contemplation. Reflection, and anticipation. It’s very interesting as a tool. I enjoy looking backwards at earlier posts and hearing my voice at that time often proves helpful in informing the present.
It frequently amuses me how some people, on understanding the contemplative nature of my work, assume I have hours to spare. The funny thing is, for all of us, is that it is very easy to imagine that other people have more time than us. We all do it. I do too. I often remind myself of my own judgements of others, and find some comfort in the fact that our assumptions about others, when properly examined, often can reveal interesting feelings and beliefs we ourselves hold.
The reality is that it is a constant battle to push my art working forwards. It’s a bit easier than it was when the children were younger, but I still have a house of people which needs management, and those who manage a household know that this is something of an invisible role. Things just happen by magic, I believe. It’s unpaid and unappreciated work. But where would we all be without it? If the house is a bit of a mess now, (which it pretty much always is!) then without my labour invested into it, things would be unworkable.
While I don’t mind my work being based in the household (and this has advantages in terms of productivity generally), it is yet another factor which might suggest to some folk that I do not work. I completely get the reality that art working is not a job, in the usually understood sense. It’s a role, but being an artist is not a job. Not if jobs are defined by their capacity to generate income, anyway.
It’s a funny old thing, because there are huge numbers of artists involved in art working, and the vast majority of us earn less than a few thousand pounds a year from our creative activities. Most people don’t realise this at all. Income for artists comes from other people, other activities and roles, and we really need the support of people investing in us and our work. I really need the support of people investing in my work…buying it, sharing it, valuing it. It is my contribution to the world, pure and simple. Not the only one, but the one I care about with a passion and the one I believe I am meant to be pursuing.
Which is why I do it.
Yet cultural richness… The richness of contemplative experiences, dwelling in the moment, inner examination, reflection…individual and shared.
Cultural richness… The world of the imagination, the spirit, the journey we all make through life, which can be enhanced, enlightened, and inspired by the arts of all varieties…
Cultural richness… Of a worth which is often not appreciated as much as it might be…We take it for granted a lot of the time.
So many ways of life shared by so many people. And artistic expression of experience is fundamentally important in communication and understanding. Cultural richness is something which includes diversity in anything that has to do with how people live: music, art, recreation, religion or beliefs, languages, dress, traditions and stories. It also encompasses things like how we organise ourselves and how we interact with the environment, and even the attitudes we hold towards others.
So if you like my art working, and think it brings something valuable to the world in it’s relatively small way, then do consider supporting me. You can do this buy buying my work (very pleasing, as it releases more room for more work!) licensing my art images through DACS, the Design and Artists Copyright Society, buying merchandise with my designs and art on it, which you can do through Redbubble.com (I get a small percentage of the price you pay…Every little helps. You can follow, share and help promote as you are able, if so inclined.
I have a lot more art work than I am able to show on the internet. The reason being that my time for marketing and promoting, and putting things onto the internet is very restricted… I cannot keep up with my own creativity. I keep my own archives and that is something in itself! So if you are looking for something specific, then it’s always worth contacting me, which you can do through the contact page of my website. I can produce artworks in a large variety of scales and formats, on different materials and through different techniques. It’s often quite interesting for me to have a focused project to meet precise specifications.
If you just simply wish to support me financially, that’s really helpful too. How? Just here!
https://www.paypal.me/jennymeehan
Safe, quick and easy!
There isn’t a way of me thanking you through this method though, so if you do choose to support me through this system, please send me and email and let me know it was you, so I can express my gratitude. I don’t like asking for financial support, but I have realised I cannot afford not to, and I don’t mind losing a little bit of pride…I have too much anyway!
A lot of people don’t realise that artists, more often than not, have to pay to show their work in exhibitions, and that putting on your own exhibitions costs a great deal of money and time. I am frequently surprised how the general public don’t realise about artists paying to enter their work in exhibitions, in addition to paying commission. However, I don’t think I should be surprised, because it is not something shouted about. It’s one of those mainly hidden matters, which makes it harder for artists to share their work. And sharing our work is something we love to do. However, paying to share it is probably one of the biggest hindrances to a much richer artistic experience for all.
I am always totally grateful that I can even invest my time into doing what I love. I could not do this for many years, due to social and economic reasons, but now I can, I never take it for granted. I am fortunate to do what I love. What is my calling in life. Amazing. It’s less fortunate I don’t get more money for doing it, but it’s well worth the sacrifices made. This investment of time does cost though…It costs me and those around me in many respects, for I certainly could choose to invest myself and my time into more profitable activities. Sometimes good things come my way, and its’ a great boost. To have some finance to enable me to continue what I do is my main objective. Circumstances may change… It’s workable now, thankfully. I would like to show more, do more, submit more work, and push outwards far more than I am equipped to do at the present time.
It’s HARD work, this artist matter. I wonder why I do it from time to time, but the truth is, I cannot not be who I am, and this, it seems, along with being a mother, is my role. I am also a qualified teacher, which is handy, especially for mentoring and art tuition, and a qualified dental nurse (earlier career!) which is also handy, because we all have teeth, and it’s useful to know a fair bit about them. (I still find it interesting!) My interest in health, both physical and psychological, and spirituality, have proved perfect partners for my art practice which is informed by my own experiences, never ending research (I love research!) and the beauty of nature. I have to laugh sometimes: mothering and caring, the unpaid domestic work carried out, AND being an artist! It’s kind of counter-cultural, in terms of value, at the moment!
Recent Work
This new series has quite a light, refreshing feel to it.
jenny meehan abstract paintings©jenny meehan title breath one
jenny meehan abstract paintings title painting breath two
jenny meehan abstract paintings title Light Touch
jenny meehan abstract paintings
jenny meehan abstract paintings “Opening the Way”
“Release” painting jenny meehan abstract paintings
Inclusive Church
https://www.inclusive-church.org/the-ic-statement/
Inclusive Church
Isn’t it great that now this type of organisation exists! It’s worth noting too that there are many churches who though not signed up to it, still embrace all people… So worth looking on their individual websites to check out where they are coming from. If their parish councils can’t agree completely on every point, they often come up with their own statement and go with that. Still, it’s a step in the right direction. Here is the Inclusive Church Statement:
“We believe in inclusive church – a church which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate.
We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality.
We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.”
Gallery Visits
This time of year… Right from October and into the New Year, is a good time to be out and about looking at Exhibitions. I have visited several, but only highlight one here…Telfer Stokes, at the Redfern Gallery.
I really enjoyed the Telfer Stokes exhibition at the Redfern Gallery… Reminiscence: New York Paintings and Metal Objects… It ran from 21st November to 4th December. The Redfern Gallery is one of my favourite galleries to visit…They seem to show work which I find particularly interesting. I did prefer the metal objects to the paintings.
If you follow this link you get to the relevant page on The Redfern Gallery website. There is an online publication you can access there also.
My favourites: Flare, 2017,Welded steel
76 x 79 x 15 cm
https://www.redfern-gallery.com/exhibitions/43/works/image_standalone631/
Also, very keen on…
Linch Pin, 2014, Welded steel
55 x 107 x 3 cm
https://www.redfern-gallery.com/exhibitions/43/works/image_standalone634/
and last but certainly not least…
Crux, 2014, Welded steel
65 x 60 x 60 cm
https://www.redfern-gallery.com/exhibitions/43/works/image_standalone638/
A little bit of reflecting…
Seeing Matisse’s “Snail” aged 9, I said that I wanted to be an artist so “I could do that”. The desire never left, symbolised in my keeping an easel despite countless moves, which I still own now. Since 2005, when I flung myself back into the early impulse to visually create, the desire developed, and I’ve done things artistically in my current situation which weren’t possible earlier in life, due to adverse life circumstances. I love all aspects of my work, and value it deeply, not only that of my current profession as an artist, mentor and teacher, (and mother/household manager!) but past roles as a primary school teacher, dental nurse, and various administrative and caring roles. All these roles and experiences make me who I am, and inform the directions I put my effort into, and my interests and topics of research.
Sometimes past roles can be unexpectedly useful…I was rather amused to find my past skills as a dental nurse useful when seeking to extend my knowledge of materials and techniques by experimenting with mosaic, which is something I did recently through two excellent courses led by Vanessa Benson, both at West Dean College and the City Lit, in London. Some little pieces of glass mosaic are amazingly like little teeth, and having a knowledge of various dental tools and equipment available is also proving useful, as I continue to tinker with the medium! (I’m using syringes a lot at the moment!!!)
My interest in materials, their composition, and uses, from a more scientific angle, was something nurtured through this past career choice, and I discovered, far more recently, how interested I am in the scientific and technical aspects of materials when I started to research the use of silicate and sol-silicate paint. I’ve always been interested in materials to a certain degree, but when I starting using the sol-silicate paint, and experimented with various other similar more ecologically friendly paints, the interest grew. Before I carried out the mineral paint mural at Trafalgar Junior School a few years back, I needed to do a lot of technical research which I found completely absorbing and interesting.
So it’s amazing how little bits of your past seep into the present, so unconsciously and without deliberation, very often. Knowing your materials well means you know their limitations, and you know which technical considerations are relevant to the particular purpose you employ them for. This means that if you decide to stretch materials beyond their capacity, you can exploit what happens in an intentional and knowledgeable way. It also means that if you have particular specifications to meet, ie, in terms of longevity, or resilience to certain factors, you can ensure your art work meets those, and be reasonably confident that they will.
How I choose and use materials in the creation of artworks has to have a solid technical understanding behind it, and I think it’s an aspect of art creation today which in some quarters doesn’t the the amount of emphasis it needs. I spend a huge amount of time researching all aspects of the mediums I work with so that the choices I make when working with them are informed ones. If I want something to last, then I make sure it has all the chances it can to last. If I want something to be temporary and transient, then I can choose to ignore certain things which I know will happen over time to the work.
Indeed, is some artworks, the changes which occur over time and a fascinating dimension of the work and completely integral to its purpose. But if what the artist intends then fails due to a technical aspect being ignored, then this is just poor workmanship. I have seen some horrible examples of artists ideas being badly executed because of ignorance about the materials they are using, and it always makes me feel slightly embarrassed to call myself an artist when I see it happen! There are some situations when crafts-person is a far more attractive word to use!!!!
But whatever words can be used, expressive colour and mark making; the structure of composition; the illusive space possible across the face of the a substrate; these motivate me to play with visual poetry and this I believe can work on the human soul in an essential and valuable way, enriching our experience of life. It realises for me both an outer and an inner vision. This is a liberty which I don’t take for granted, and I didn’t expect to be able to work with something I love so much. I’m also aware of the restrictions I face in terms of space and money right now. However, thankfully, though I may not be able to work on the scale I would like to, I AM able to do a lot with what I have. Generally in life, though it is important to have aspirations and always look just that little bit further than where you are, this needs to be balanced with acceptance and contentment.
Experimental painting carried out in 2008 by Jenny Meehan based on a sketch by Constable.
Above is a very early painting of mine, which I am very fond of. This was one of my experiments with oil paint. It has just the feeling I like to have, gentle, breezy, light, but not wishy washy, some motion and stillness, with a light touch. This light touch, and feeling of air and space, is something I have continued to explore in completely non pictorial, fully abstracted painting.
“Blue Boat” Oil Painting by jenny meehan (after Ivon Hitchens)
“Blue Boat” is another early painting, same year I think as the one above (off the top of my head) inspired by Ivon Hitchens who is one of my most favourite artists. Bit bolder with the colour here. I still have this one and don’t mind letting it go. If you want to buy it contact me via the contact form on my personal website jamartlondon.com and I will give you more details. It was awarded “highly commended” in the Needhams Competition…quite a few years back now.
Sharp Gallery, Brixton
I am very pleased to be part of the exhibition at the Sharp Gallery in Brixton. The value of creativity and the arts in healthcare of all sorts is widely recognised and projects like this are worth their weight in gold. Here’s the work I am showing, with the partner poems and other text displayed below:
flower dream print by jenny meehan
laid to rest print by jenny meehan
Dreams and Dreaming
Framed digital prints and their partner poems – Jenny Meehan jamartlondon.c
Flower Dream
Deep within the pot of me…
Not cracked, like Mummy.
Not hung on the wall,
slipping downwards…
A glassy look
that never met my tears.
I am sad and angry…
I won’t deny it.
For too long it was inconvenient
for me to exist in reality.
As I was saying;
Deep within the pot of me
I hoped for sunlight.
I dreamt of a day
when someone mysterious
would knock at the door, and come,
laden with flowers…
flowers upon flowers…
Come laden with flowers,
and colours, and petals,
and leaves, and stalks…
To give.
To give something
to me.
Not bleeding, or painful; like daffodils when you cut them.
(My sister was horrified).
As I was saying…
I hoped for sunlight
deep within the pot
of me.
But I could not reach out for it,
though I heard it was there…
in the garden.
In the garden of flowers,
which naked, Mummy ran through,
when all was solved
and the world was
entirely
her own.
The birds told me…
Deep in the garden…
In the shed…
I do exist.
This is why
I cry for the flowers.
They took my sister away, because she was too angry.
But keep me here, because I am no trouble.
And who needs flowers, anyway?
As long as your pot is not broken.
As I was saying…
Not cracked, like Mummy.
But empty,
non the less.
And the flowers are so beautiful;
A beautiful dream
for me.
Jenny Meehan 2017
This poem accompanies the Digital C type print “Flower Dream”.
“Flower Dream” is a numbered edition print (NE#1), signed by the artist-poet Jenny Meehan. It’s printed with Epson ink on 300gsm paper. Framed print: £50
See jamartlondon.com, under “Digital Imagery” for information on what a numbered edition print is.
Laid to Rest
Sleep peaceful, daughter, sleep
Dream the pathways through your mind…
leave the troubled day behind.
Sleep peaceful, daughter, sleep
Dream many dances through the sky…
Starlight night, then stepping bright;
A morning bird’s hopeful cry
To see you deeply, freely, sleepy
dropping safely, easy, warm,
into resting places
waiting
ready for the dawn.
Ready for the dawn.
Blessings; blessings; blessings
dreamy…
Dreamy child, of mine.
Blessings; blessings; blessings
dreamy.
Dream-child
of peaceful
mind.
Jenny Meehan 2018
This poem accompanies the Digital C type print “Laid to Rest”.
“Laid to Rest” is a numbered edition print (NE#1), signed by the artist-poet Jenny Meehan. It’s printed with Canon ink on 220gsm paper. Framed print: £50
See jamartlondon.com, under “Digital Imagery” for information on what a numbered edition print is.
About Jenny Meehan
Jenny Meehan is a Kingston Upon Thames based artist working painting, poetry and digital imagery. Following her studies at Kingston University,(BA Hons Literature) a Post Graduate Certificate in Education at Roehampton University led to a career in teaching. From 2010 Jenny focused on the Visual Arts, training at both West Dean College and local adult education provision. Selected by a wide range of judges, her work has been displayed across many galleries and museums in the UK. These include the Dulwich Picture Gallery, Pallant House Gallery, and Kingston Museum.
“I’m very pleased to be part of this exhibition. I have a keen interest in mental health and recovery, partly due to the traumas experienced in my formative years, and the realisation in 2010 that I couldn’t deny the reality of their effect on me any longer. My engagement in psychotherapy has a rich and interesting relationship with my creative output which I exploit with interest.
The subject of dreams is something close to my heart. Finding dreams and allowing them to exist is probably one of many people’s greatest achievements. As is using the darker dimension of our experiences, and seeing light permeate through even the deepest fear.
I hope you enjoy the poetic space I create in presenting both word and image together.”
Alongside my mainly lyrical abstract paintings, there is another important strand in my work which includes more of a narrative. Well, some kind of narrative. Through my writing, and my participation in ongoing psychotherapy, I draw on my subconscious. It’s this process of self reflection, examination, and other contemplative practices which are rooted in my own faith tradition as a Christian, alongside a good dose of yoga and West African drumming, which have created an exciting way ahead for my work with visual art. I think it’s the relationship between my writing and visual work, particularly through poetry, which helps determine the direction in my art practice.
I think it probably does this by helping me to identify how past experiences contribute to the present interests I hold. I think developing a clear voice is very useful when you are involved in the visual arts. There is so much wonderful art out there, but in the end, we need to find the motivation and drive within ourselves to persist with the vocation of artist. It isn’t easy, in our current materialistic and capitalistic focused culture. But it is worth it.
Kader Attia’s first UK Survey Exhibition
I like the look of this exhibition very much. This time of year is good for visiting exhibitions, and while I cannot afford to visit as many as I would ideally like, because of the costs involved, to be honest, living in this part of the country, there is so much on offer to see, big and small, that I have more than my fill of gallery going!
Loving Research – The Philosophical, Psychological and Metaphysical Kind! Mostly…
I love researching. It’s something I regularly fall into, and enjoy very much. I don’t consciously draw lines between my researching activities and my artistic production, in the way that maybe a Scientist would with their work… There’s normally no need. But my visual art certainly has a flickering background of thought behind it, which generally only comes into focus if I need to write an artist’s statement, or similar, about a specific piece of visual art work. I prefer to let my research happen organically, tracing it’s pathways through the thoughts, physical artistic output, and my general experiences of everyday life. I remind myself that I am not working for a gallery, and needing to put signs up against every piece of work I produce, so that it might be articulated with the language of words. With so much emphasis on the conceptual today, it’s tempting, maybe, to feel the need to legitimise artistic practice with words, for some. Maybe all? And sometimes. And while bending your intellect, this way and that, is fun…(I love it)…I don’t think it can make a piece of significant art happen, however much someone might try. Because what is significant wells up within for a person. Maybe where the research comes into play is that it can be helpful for an artist in developing a reflective artistic practice. In being able to identify what one is trying to express/do/communicate and what it means to oneself personally, and also to relate it to many other thoughts, theories, approaches, and beliefs.
This may be part of why I have chosen to write this artist’s journal…At least this is a way I can track some of my preoccupations, for the problem I have with note books, of which I have many…is they dance around the house constantly, picked up, then left, lost and then found. It seems right to let this happen. And it’s so interesting when old ones turn up. But with this artist’s journal…There is the constant screen in front of me, and the only thing which changes is what I am writing. I think it may be of passing interest to someone now and again, and I think about the fact it is maybe read occasionally. However, it’s not the same as writing for some other person, because while that maybe one aspect, I allow myself repetition, deviation, and other flaws in the writing, which wouldn’t be acceptable in another form to the same extent. The pleasure in writing this artist’s journal is possibly much greater than the pleasure in reading it, but never mind. It is what it is! It’s somewhere to attach bits of interesting things I have found, and enables me to pick them up when I need to, and rediscover them when I don’t expect to find them again, but with the significant added benefit, that when I feel like a bit of writing, I know where to go!
My reading notes;
Something I am looking at now: John Macquarrie on Language, Being, and God
Author(s): Eugene Thomas Long
Source: The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Dec., 1976), pp. 255-279
Published by: Philosophy Education Society Inc.
Need to think on this for a while… Very interested in reading more John Macquarrie.
I think I am between a realist and idealist. Objectivity and subjectivity seem to both hold equal sway in reality! I think paradox and tension between things vital and helpful in life. I’m interested in dipping into considering different perspectives, but all my own thinking seems clearly rooted in a firm belief of an external (as well as internal) Creator God who does exist, whatever I might think. And I am so much a lover of the material world, (nature) which I don’t see as apart from the spiritual, but also expressing the wondrous qualities of God. What I do get from reading (admittedly in a somewhat cursory and skimming type matter) is lots of interesting relationships between elements I don’t normally bother to think about!)
Some other reading:
https://www.thoughtco.com/working-with-worry-449711
https://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/does-beauty-still-matter-art
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-daily-princetonian/prosumerism_b_1463166.html
I’ve been thinking about other faith traditions and Christ, and how the tendency to shuffle into thinking one’s own faith tradition is better than someone else’s is so unpleasant and not Christ-like. What we know of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ through the New Testament communicates that Jesus honoured and respected people of other faith traditions without doubt.
In his book “Discover the Power Within You” Eric Butterworth wrote:
“I have often speculated on what Jesus would have done if he had been seated around a table with a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Muslim and a Shintoist—discussing ultimate Truth. I just can’t believe that Jesus would have said, ‘You must all forsake your beliefs and come and follow me.’ I think he might have pointed out that the differences were chiefly a matter of semantics, and that there is an underlying principle similar to the Christ idea in every religion. I think he would have stressed the basic unity within the diversity of religions, pointing out that the greatest need of all persons is to find that indwelling unity with God, which is found in the principle of divine Sonship, that we call the Christ.”
Well, that’s some of my reading for the time being.
Publishing this Post NOW!
I’m going to publish this blog post early rather than late. I’ts got longer than I expected it to!
Now I’ve decided only to post once every two months, in order to reduce time spent on writing it, and hopefully enhance the focus of it, I’ll get it out there and forget any more blog writing for a nice big chunk of time!
How to Support Jenny Meehan
If you like my art working and would like to support me you can! Pop
Paypal.me/jennymeehan
in your browser and follow instructions. There’s no option for me to thank you via the PayPal Me process but do contact me via contact form and let me know if you have gifted me so I can thank you.
You can buy my original paintings… Just contact me via the contact form. Price range is between £250 and £400.
Also available via redbubble, the well known print on demand marketplace, you can buy unsigned prints on many substrates.
Take a look here, any problems locating it feel free to contact me via the contact page on this Art Journal/ Artist Blog
It’s also a good place to get a feel for quite a big strand of my creative artworking. Any problems locating what you want, feel free to contact me via the contact page on this Art Journal/ Artist Blog jennyjimjams.redbubble.com
I have mostly the abstract, flat colour geometrical art in Redbubble as it makes nice prints. I selected work for that platform in order to help my work become more accessible. There’s also a lot of surface pattern designs. I find creating patterns very therapeutic!
The main style of my original painting is Lyrical Abstraction/Abstract Expressionism. I also enjoy working with black and white photography tending towards pictorialism. I frequently use collage and digital collage.
Jenny Meehan - Art Journal 