We will be spending some time inside the meeting room ( which is right in the beautiful woodland area where the course takes place ) where I will introduce ideas, the main themes etc and everyone else will have a chance to contribute. Then these times will be dovetailed by times outside in the landscape where we will be doing a variety of things ( see To Do in the Main Themes ) . Once back inside there will be discussions relating to our individual discoveries, and creative activities.

The course is for everyone, whether you have , or haven’t , practiced in an artistic way before; and “ students “ can participate as much as they choose –
or be more of a quiet onlooker if that’s what you would prefer.

We will be sharing poems by published poets, which you will take home with you; and the course is sprinkled with relevant and inspirational quotes and writings by a variety of thinkers.
Hope you like the ideas …… and that it will all be very enjoyable.

I provide hot and cold drinks and biscuits for the two days, and you will ( please ) bring your own lunch. Please also bring outdoor coats and footwear, and a notebook and pen/pencil. I’ll provide crayons, further paper etc

Inspirational 2 day course for everyone
Come and open, or re-open, a bright door into the natural world that is a part of us all.

You will learn to “ tune in “ to wavelengths of beauty that are found in nature. To dream. Beauty, and the celebrating of it, is itself a form of healing that we can all do. Joyfully connecting like this creates a positive force for good.

You will learn by experience , during the course, directly from the landscape outside , and from practice and discussion inside.
You’ll start to see as freshly as when you were a child, and to express this in an original way, with meaning and simplicity.

You’ll begin to find rhythm’s , correspondences , and affinities in the shapes of rippling water, in trees, in clouds ………..
You’ll notice rich links between colours, - the yellow legs of a bird may be the same yellow as a buttercup – as a feeling of happiness . These you can express in shapes , or colours, or simple words. The doing is the magical part, not the result.
You’ll weave your own connections between the outer world, and the inner world of idea, imagination, interpretation. An essence of this could be turned into a pattern, a colour, some lines or language ……

You can stomp out wild words like a song. They will spring from what you hear, smell, feel, see, imagine, around you. Just play ! Write. Dream. Let your imagination roam !

You’ll be able to make your own signs and symbols from clouds, shadows, trees, mist, rain and sun. You’ll be delighted at how easily ideas will flow , once you begin !

“ Everybody needs poetry in their lives, the poet – that is to say the soul – is latent in everyone. We really cannot live by bread alone. But beauty, the poetry of life, is in short supply in our world. It is not a luxury, it is a necessity. “ Kathleen Raine

MAIN THEMES FIRST DAY

ONE – Intro, Positive and Negative thoughts, Romanticism, Joy.
To Do – Opening a great door.

TWO – Unseen landscapes and small details. Holistic vision and Deep Form.
To Do – Finding patterns in the landscape.

THREE – Visionary – Intuition . On Poetry and Beauty.
To Do – Walking the poems out.

SECOND DAY

FOUR – Signs , Symbols and Metaphors, ( coincidences )
Colour and sensation, etc ….
To Do – Signs and Symbols.

FIVE – Seeing and Transmitting. Life enhancing possibilities,
Four – fold vision and Truth
To Do – Seeing in Two ways.

SIX – Wildness
Imagination and Inspired Creativity
To Do – Finding Affinities.

About Jan

Jan has always found enchantment and wonder in the natural world, and recognises the importance of this. She feels there is a poetic truth to be found in the images and ideas that spring from this world around us. This is open and available to us all, to discover in our own way.

It’s value is essential in our lives. More so than ever today, when a large number of people seem to have been deprived of their innate sense of the deep joy to be found there, and of seeing our vital connections to this world.

Giving herself A License To Dream is the means whereby Jan has lived her life, and the course is to help reveal the artist that is in us all.

The course is reaching for the core of this magical sense that often proves to be archetypal, and it’s Jan’s intuitive grasp of the subject that informs and guides the course.

Jan has a BA HONS Degree in Fine Art and has painted all her life.
She has also worked as an illustrator for at least 30 British book publishers for over 20 years, and is now working as a Fine Artist again, full time . ( Apart from running these courses, )
Her work is in many private collections and is currently being exhibited in several galleries.
Jan has also worked very successfully as a tutor on correspondence courses,
In colleges, and visited schools in her capacity as a children’s illustrator.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you need any further info.
Jan

Copyright © Jan Nesbitt