YES!

About a year ago my baby girl turned one, my life fell apart a little bit, and I turned to the things I love for solace and inspiration. Paper, ink, charcoal lines, stationery, stories, illustrations by undiscovered artists, children's books, zines, and a world new to me - unusual blogs and the lives that write them. I began collecting subscriptions to small publications by artists and poets with something to say, or explore, or courageously reveal. I wondered where it was all going, little boat tree and me, until one day not so long ago,  there was a knock, and an old friend walked (figuratively) back in to my life  with an invitation to consider an idea. Bravery Imagination Generosity - A Creative Arts Magazine for kids (and BIG Kids), with the heart of a lion, and a vision that could take it all around the world. I became so excited I found myself jotting down ideas to the light of my iphone in the middle of the night (had i been slightly younger I am sure I would have actually typed the ideas into my phone instead of struggling with a pencil and notebook in the dim light!). There was no choice but to roar a great unbridled YES and hang on for dear life as this thing grabbed me by the heart and pulled me full force into the delicious unknown, with my beautiful old friend. 

So here we are, a dancer and an artist, mothers, both passionate about words and how they move, embarking on a new project with trust and fervour. This is where we will share our process, transparent (Jo's word and I LOVE it), honest, probably clumsy at times, investigative and no doubt poetic. In fact I keep and re-read Jo's emails because they are so beautifully written.

Come with us!

Thinking About Rose, Amethyst, and Green Emeralds

The invitation

A few months ago I had a full life, full with children and full with work. I did not need another project. BUT, this tiny BIG idea would not leave me. To the point where I was up in the night feverish with possibility and potential, writing ideas down in between breastfeeding and re-settling the littlest love of my life. I was spinning with it, with the future of this magazine.
And then, I landed, with the help of a long lost friend and her little boat tree. SNAP. The images she was creating in her work as an artist matched the world I was visioning. And so I sent her an invitation of sorts, and she replied with a 'yes'.

Which brings me here now, with Lilly, to you.

First flight - BIG kids magazine is born

I imagine a magazine that will open a tiny door to the secret worlds we have all visited; childhood. I want to publish the breadcrumb trails that lead to the imaginary characters they play with and to share the adventures they travel on under the homemade cubby houses around the world.
This is the place that will chronical and reveal the imagining, process and practicalities toward the birth of this baby

And so now we set out on the first flight. Two grown ups at the departure lounge on opposite sides of the country. Ready for take off into invented worlds and imaginary characters who will pop out of folded pages and lead into secret landings.