Prompted by Nature

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Rebecca Beattie.  Something Rebecca said really resonated with me while we were speaking and that was her approach to creative blocks.  I’ve done episodes on creative blocks before (links below to previous episodes and blog posts on the website here: https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/series-five/57-rebecca-beattie-rediscovering-natures-seasons-amp-cycles if you want to have an explore) but I loved when she said ‘find where you’re not blocked.’

The idea of focusing on what is working rather than what isn’t, isn’t a new one but sometimes it can be so powerful to be reminded that blocks are a. not forever, and b. may not even exist at all.  It all depends on your perception.  The areas in which I personally feel most blocked when it comes to my creativity, and especially my writing, is in the actual action of creating.  I have all the ideas and all the notebooks containing many, many fragments of these ideas, but I often struggle to actually sit down and start.  I know for myself that I benefit from working with others in a writers’ circle, having a mentor or setting myself clear but small goals for anything I want to write.

You may not need this prompt right now, but I want you to bookmark it for the times when you might do in the future.

So, if you are feeling blocked creatively right now, I want you to do the following:

The idea is that you give yourself whatever time is available to you (and I realise if you’re up against a deadline, things can become pressing!) to move through whatever has been getting in your way.

As I say, you may not need this right now, but feel free to save it and come back to it whenever you need.

Happy creating,

Helen x

Welcome to series 5, episode 7 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  I hope you’re doing well and keeping warm if it’s as cold where you are as it is here.  Well, it’s the final episode of 2022 and I’m very excited that this week’s guest is the one who will help us draw it to a close.  i’ll be taking a short break but will be back to continue series 5 in the new year.

This week, I’m speaking with Dr Rebecca Beattie.  Rebecca is a Wiccan Priestess with a PhD in Creative Writing, whose childhood growing up on Dartmoor gave her an early appreciation of the power and joys of nature.  She has been practising solitary witchcraft for twenty years and an initiate of the Gardnerian Wiccan tradition for fifteen. She is acclaimed for her highly informed teaching of witchcraft subjects at Treadwell’s Books in Bloomsbury. By day she is a professional in a major charity, with advanced degrees in Literature and Creative Writing.

In this conversation we discuss:

You can find Rebecca’s book, ‘Wheel of the Year: A Nurturing Guide to Rediscovering Nature's Seasons and Cycles’ is available at all good booksellers and in the Prompted by Nature bookshop over on bookshop.org (link in show notes).  Remember to support your favourite indie bookshop by buying through them and then post a review on Amazon.  Rebecca's website is www.rebeccabeattie.co.uk and she's on Instagram @rebeccambeattie

Some episodes that would go well with this one are:

1.10a Jini Reddy, Finding Magic in the Landscape

3.2a Stella Tomlinson, Priestesshood and Earth-Based Spirituality

4.11a Annabel Abbs, Walking into Creativity

4.12a Soraya Abdel-Hadi, ‘Finding my Creative Voice through Nature

As always, I’m on www.promptedbynature.co.uk and on the socials @prompted.by.nature on Insta and Facebook.

The writing prompt for this episode is available straight after this one if you want to use it to inspire your Winter Solstice celebrations.

Have a wonderful festive season, whatever you’re celebrating.

Happy listening and I’ll speak to you in 2023!

Helen x

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Angeline Morrison.  A shorter one for you today - either a prompt or just an opportunity to pause for a moment and consider the wider impact of your work and creative practice.

In my conversation with Angeline, she discussed how she sees her work as one part of a whole, something that feeds into a greater body of work started generations ago and contributed to by all those working to tell the forgotten, ignored and hidden stories.

For this prompt, then, I’d love you to consider your own work as a single thread in a much bigger tapestry, or, if you’re musical like Angeline, a note in the symphony of life.  This tapestry is beautiful, with every colour you can imagine, nothing is out of place and everything is as it should be.  It tells the stories of nature and envisions a world in which humans and the other-than-human collaborate and dance together to create beauty and to live in a way which nourishes us all equally.  The human footprint is a mere whisper of a shape in this tapestry and moves in a way that does not interfere or smother everything else but rather honours the small things, considering its impact before taking a step.

The work that you are creating is just one thread in this kaleidoscope of experience but without it, it wouldn’t be the same.  Whether the thread be your words, your images, the shapes you are moulding with your hands, your voice, the way you move or any other way creativity moves through you, it is an integral part of a piece of art that extends back through time to meet our ancestors, and reaches forward to hold hands with those who will follow us, nourished by what you have created.

Take this prompt in whatever way you need or want to.  Put ‘A Thread in the Tapestry’ as a title and see where it takes you; create your piece of the tapestry; or just take this as a pep talk that, whatever your art form, and whoever it is created for, it is important, it is valued and, most of all, it is a sacred part of you that affects the world in ways you will never know, whether you choose to share it or not.

Let me know what comes out if you use this one.

Happy creating!

Helen x

Welcome to series 5, episode 6 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  THANK YOU for the 10k downloads!!

Action point: Go to on my website to see this week's action point and all the links that I suggest. 

Onto today’s episode!

Angeline Morrison is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who explores traditional song with a deep love, respect and curiosity. Angeline mostly makes music

With a feral approach, a handmade sonic aesthetic and a belief in the importance of tenderness, Angeline’s original compositions and re-stitchings of traditional songs focus on storytelling and the small things that often go unnoticed. Sounds like solitude, memory, nostalgia, a rainy walk amongst trees…

In July 2022, Angeline was announced as the fourth winner of the prestigious Christian Raphael Prize at the Cambridge Folk Festival. Her latest album, The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience (released October 2022, Topic Records) is a work of re-storying. The historic Black presence in the UK dates back to at least Roman times, yet is often hidden, forgotten or  unacknowledged.

In this conversation we discuss:

Just a little note about the connection in the first half of the conversation. We had a few problems and then it cut out completely. The sound quality was much better after we reconnected but it doesn’t get in the way of the interview, I don’t think.

You can find Angeline on Instagram @angelcakepie and on her website www.angelinemorrisonmusic.com You can also buy any of her EPs or albums via her Bandcamp page www.angelinemorrisonmusic.bandcamp.com 

As always, I’m over on the socials @prompted.by.nature on Insta and @promptedbynature on facebook. I have some in-person nature writing courses and day retreats up on the website too so go to www.promptedbynature.co.uk and follow the link to the events page.

Thank you once again for the 10k downloads, I’m utterly thrilled. Thank you for your support as always.

Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon, Helen x

Books mentioned in the episode (all are available on my Bookshop.org page):

Angeline's Jools Holland performance:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBnahOo1GBo 

Happy listening!  Helen x

Welcome to this writing prompt for my conversation with Bella Gonshorovitz.  For this one, it could be done purely for writing but I feel like it’s more of a general prompt for whatever creative practice you want to try at this point.

Bella talked a lot about her process in terms of the circular economy structure and the inspiration that this can provide to not just our work in the garden or growing things but in our creativity.  I want to encourage you to choose one of the verbs, grow, cook, dye or wear (as in, sew) and see where it takes you.

Perhaps you could take some time to think about what you’d like to grow come Spring, or do some winter seed sowing for your garden, window sill or balcony space.  Maybe you’d like to dive into foraging and what might be around at this time of year - Bella’s book, as well as my conversations with Ebony Gheorghe (4.2a) and Nathaniel Hughes and Fiona Owen all the way back in 1.3a, are great for finding inspiration for this - and how you can plan your year in foraging to really get to know the plants and how they can support you and your health.

Perhaps you have a few bits of fabric scraps lying around or have some budget to raid the charity shops for the amazing fabrics they so often have in stock and want to experiment with sewing your own clothes or something simple, like a tote bag or a face cloth to help you gain confidence in sewing and making clothes if you don’t already.

Once you’ve decided, you could sit down and plan - perhaps three month ahead or so - how you might develop this knowledge or skills set.  So for me, for example, I’d like to try the full process that Bella suggests but I don’t want to overwhelm myself so I’m going to get to know onion a bit better, purely because I can hold of it at this time of year and Bella’s glow when she spoke about it was infectious!  I want to save the skins and start to experiment with dyeing with it.  Then, once my garden is ready for planting, I’m going to try and plant some of my own.  I’m following Charles Dowding’s No Dig method, so I’m going to follow this and what Bella says in her book about tending to onions and see how it goes.

I’ll then use this process as creative fuel for a Solarpunk piece I’m working (and if you don’t know what Solarpunk is, just get on Ecosia and give it a search.  You can thank me later ;-).  I want to see how it feels to grow something that I will later eat and then use to create something that I will wear.  I want to experience how it feels to fully close that circle.

I’d love to hear from you if you use this prompt and how you get on.

Remember you can get hold of Bella’s book, Grow, Cook, Dye, Wear via the PbN bookshop on bookshop.org - the link is in the show notes or you can go over to their website and search for the Prompted by Nature shop and have a browse.  There’s also a direct link on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk

Happy creating!

Helen x

Action point: Earth Hero app.  Download the app via your app store or go to their website for more information: https://www.earthhero.org/app/

A little apology for the tardiness of this episode.  I was hit by a car whilst cycling to work last Thursday and it pushed everything back a bit.  I’m ok with thankfully just bumps and bruises to recover from and the only thing that broke was my helmet - thank goodness for helmets!

I was thrilled to have been included in a list of the 7 best nature podcasts for wildlife enthusiasts on www.bestpodcasts.co.uk

Onto todays’ episode…

Bella Gonshorvitz is a multidisciplinary fashion practitioner, author, natural dyer and allotment plot grower. Her debut book ‘Grow, Cook, Dye, Wear – From seed to style the sustainable way’ was published this year by DK/Penguin Random House. The book captures her miniature circular economy process through the prism of five crops: grow-your-own and foraging advice; vegan recipes for the harvest; instructions to creating natural dye from the cooking waste and full-size patterns with sewing instructions to creating your own Onion dress, Nettle duster, Rhubarb bolero, Blackberry shirtdress and Cabbage shorts.

In this episode we discuss:

Bella’s book, as well as the book she mentions, Wild Colour by Jenny Dean, is available in the Prompted by Nature bookshop over on bookshop.org .  Buying through bookshop.org is a great way of supporting the podcast as for ever order I get a little kick back, which helps me to create more of these episodes and lot more free content for you to enjoy!

Bella’s website is www.bellagonshorowitz.com and you can find her @bellagonshorovitz on social media.

A few episodes that would link well with this one:

1.11a Heal Rewilding, Jan Stannard

1.14a Supporting Local Economies through Land-Based Crafts, Karen Collins

2.4a Creative Sustainability and the Joy of Buying Less, Erica Purvis

2.10a Marchelle Farrell, My Garden, My Teacher

3.1a The Plant Scientist, Rebecca Lazarou

3.4a Holistic Sustainability, Grace Hull

3.5a The Timeless Wisdom of Plants, Barbara Wilkinson

Remember you can find me on www.promptedbynature.co.uk on Instagram @prompted.by.nature, where I’m currently adding more prompts and extracts of my own writing.

Happy listening!

Helen x

In this prompt, I invite you to consider Catherine's thoughts on creatives as visionaries, something she speaks about in the main episode.  Consider a future you want to see, what part might you play in that?  Where is nature and how do we embrace and protect her?  What would happen is humans 'got it right'?  

If creating a future society feels a bit much for you, perhaps keep it local and create a piece around your garden and/or favourite natural space.  What do you envision it to look like in 2, 5, 10 years time?  How might it feel?  What might live or flourish there?

As always, have fun with this one and let me know how you get on.

Happy creating!

Helen x

www.promptedbynature.co.uk

www.instagram.com/prompted.by.nature

Welcome to series 5, episode 4 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.

Action point:  Pop over to https://unfccc.int/ and https://www.cop27.eg/#/ to find out about the COP27 conference.  Also follow @mikaelaloach on Instagram or Twitter if you don't already, as she has been at the conference, both attending and presenting.

Catherine is a ceramic artist based in West Cornwall specialising in Raku clay ceramics, who draws on her English/Ghanaian heritage for her stunning pots. She is passionate about the Cornish landscape and uses this as inspiration for her work. Drawing on her African heritage, she specialises in traditional hand building techniques, such as pinching and coiling with many surfaces burnished to a smooth sheen using her favourite beach pebble.

Her work has appeared on BBC’s The Great Poetry Throw Down and her Raku ceramics are available through galleries in Cornwall, London and Scotland. Catherine also hosts regular open studio events where she demonstrates the Raku firing process.

She also runs grief retreats, using a combination of nature and art therapy create safe spaces for those going through grief and wishing to take time out within a supportive and nurturing community.

In this conversation we discuss:

Just a note that my microphone cuts at one point - I am getting a new one imminently!

Episode that would be great to listen after this one:

2.3a Lorraine Tindale, Nature-based EMDR

2.8a Punam Sanghrajka, Skyscapes and Art as Meditation

3.7a Rosalind Lowry, Land Art: Celebrating our Boglands

4.10a Elizabeth Gleave, Restoring the Earth through the Arts

You can find Catherine at her website www.lucktaylorceramics.co.uk and on social media @lucktaylorceramics Definitely check out her shop, especially if you are looking for something extra special for yourself or a loved one.

As always, I’m www.promptedbynature.co.uk and @prompted.by.nature and @promptedxnature

Happy listening!

Helen x

In this prompt, I introduce you to the Intentional Creativity workbook that I've created inspired by my chat with Eleanor.  You can download the workbook via my Substack newsletter - https://promptedbynature.substack.com - by visiting my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find the link.

Let me know how you get on and what you create if you use it.

Helen x

@prompted.by.nature

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*From the introduction of the workbook*

Welcome to this short Intentional Creativity workbook.  This book accompanies episode 5.3a of the Prompted by Nature podcast and is inspired by the conversation I had with writer and facilitator, Eleanor Cheetham,  In our conversation, Eleanor spoke about the part that embracing a more intentional creative practice has played in her work.

If you are a regular listener, you'll know that I usually create more specific writing prompts for each conversation but for this one, I wanted to do something more tangible that you could use in your creative life.

How to use this Workbook

Similar to the 30-Day Writing Prompt Project Workbook I created last year, this book can be started at any point.I've designed it so that it runs for 8 weeks, roughly the period of time between a fire festival, like Yule, to a cross-quarter festival, like Imbolc, but you can increase or decrease this timescale as works for you and your life.

The main idea is that you are creating a cycle of creativity with one or two creative projects in mind and a focus of mind that lasts for the length of that cycle, after which you'll take a break or work on your creativity in a more unstructured way.

A few things to consider:

Enjoy the workbook.  I hope it helps you to create something you can feel proud of and maybe even share with others!

Welcome to series 5, episode 3 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.

Action point: Contact your MP about standing up for nature, whether that be asking them to speak out against fracking, reading the state of nature report and asking them what they’re doing to support the transition to renewable energy, or the move away from fossil fuels. Here in the UK you can contact you MP or local councillor through the website www.writetothem.com .

Onto today’s episode…

Today you’ll hear my conversation with the wonderful Eleanor Cheetham.

Eleanor is a writer, editor, mentor and teacher, intrinsically connected with the land, inspired by ancient British folklore and stories, and the soulful relationships that our ancestors had with the more-than-human world. She believes that words and stories are medicine for our mind and food for our soul, and that we are all storytellers. You'll find her at Creative Countryside, an independent publishing press, Wild Writers, a sacred space for soulful words, and The Wild Academy, a home for untamed learning.

In this episode we discuss:

A little note before we start that I seemed to have had microphone issues in this conversation, which I didn't realise until after we had recorded.  Hopefully it's not too distracting and Eleanor's is fine so I don't think it detracts from the chat.

You can find Eleanor on her websites www.creativecountryside.com and www.thewildacademy.co.uk and on Instagram @creativecountryside

Episodes that would accompanying this on well are:

1.8a Ian Solomon-Kawall - Biodiversity, Creativity and Safe Space in Urban Settings (composting words)

1.13b Dawn Nelson - Rewilding the Self through Story-telling

2.10a Marchelle Farrell - My Garden, My Story

3.2a Stella Tomlinson - Priestesshood and Earth-Based Spirituality

As always, I'm www.promptedbynature.co.uk or on Instagram @prompted.by.nature and Twitter @promptedxnature

Bookshop:  https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/promptedbynature