Create with Nature - the what, who and how
Time for a little (re) introduction
Hello, I’m Rachel. I write about nature and creativity to encourage connection and wellbeing.
Hello!
If you’ve been here for a while - thank you. If you’ve just found me, welcome.
I thought it was about time I introduced myself properly, the what, who, and how of this little corner of the internet.
To put it simply - I want it to be a gift of nature and creativity.
What?
This is a place for (re) connection with nature and creativity. A place to use creativity to explore the more than human world and nature as a nudge to be curious and creative.
I hope it is a place of calm, of space, of beauty. To find awe and wellbeing. To nurture yourself and the world around you.
Who? - for everyone
For those who want to bring more nature into their everyday lives, who are curious about being more creative and playful. To those who already have nature in their lives but maybe want to be more creative or find ways to deepen their nature connection. To those who are already creative but want to be inspired by nature. You might just be here for the nature, and that’s ok too.
It is for those who already get outside, and those who are cautious and maybe a bit worried about the outdoors, I strongly believe nature and the outdoors should be for everyone, however, wherever you find it - from pavement plants, a garden, the park, up to a mountain in a national park. It is for those who already have a stash of art materials and notebooks but also those who think they can’t draw and haven’t since school. Creativity comes in all forms - photographs, words, sentences, poems, doodles, collages, drawings, paintings, and, sculptures and nature is a great inspiration.
Why?
Nature and creativity have always been a part of my life. But in the last few years, they have been my constant companions through a series of health issues, and life shifts. I’ll do a separate post about my journey (finding a less cliched word!) but it is because of this that I want my new career to be about helping others to find nature and creativity to support their wellbeing. I’ve gone from a very hectic life, working exceedingly long and stressful hours, then dashing up and down mountains in my spare time with snatched photos as my only creative outlet. I’ve now had to slow down and rather than it being a compromise, it’s been a gift. This is also my little way of helping the planet, if I can help just one person see the beauty in a ‘weed’, or that the yellow and black stripy thing buzzing around you is probably a hoverfly, not a wasp, I’ll be happy. One of my guiding beliefs is the quote from Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
We only protect what we love, we only love what we understand…
How?
My posts will come broadly under four categories
Noticing nature - moments of awe, wonder, exploration, and curiosity from my daily life. To share stories about my life in nature and how it helps me.
Creating with Nature - how nature inspires my own creativity, whether that’s macro photography in my back garden, doodling on the downs or bringing ideas to life back in my (dining room) studio.
A nudge from nature - these are little prompts for you to find some nature, and if you wish, some creativity with it. As an avid reader, I’ll also share books I’ve loved about the natural world.
Marking the seasons - these are about nature’s calendar, how our festivals are often founded in humans making sense of and celebrating what is happening in the natural world.
Supporting me
So, welcome in. If you like what you’ve read, please do subscribe. All of the main posts will be free to read as I want this to be as accessible as possible. Subscribing means they will appear in your inbox, or the substack app if you have it. It also helps me build my presence with the algorithm thingy. You can choose to just read it online and of course, unsubscribe at any time.
If you’d like to support my work further, you can take out a paid subscription for a small monthly amount. Writing this takes time and I strongly believe writers deserve to be paid for their time and creativity. A paid subscription will also give you access to further content, such as videos of my noticings, longer essays, and I’m also thinking about running online nature and creativity workshops.
If you can’t do a monthly subscription, (which I totally understand) but would still like to support what I do - please consider supporting me with a one-off donation through Ko-Fi. Click the picture below.
To find out more about Substack - the platform which hosts this publication click below.
Oh my goodness, Rachel. When I read your words I feel like I could have been reading about myself, so much of this is what I'm experiencing right now! I've been noticing and writing about the little awes on my very new Substack (literally started posting this week) and honouring those moments of connection by exploring creative projects.
Very glad to have had your post pop up in my feed, I've subscribed and look forward to reading you more 🐝
Such synchronicity, I wrote in my notebook today about those times when you inadvertently stand in a hoverfly's territory and they get all up in your grill until you step back 😁
Just discovered you and excited to follow along where you lead