to begin with, the birds

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Hey fabulous human. I’m so happy you’re here. A warm, antipodean welcome to you ❤️ I’m Jane Pike. I’m a writer, artist and mentor who lives in a tiny corner on the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. I love exploring and writing about the natural world and our place within it, the interwoven threads that connect us all together. Above, below and beyond. to begin with, the birds is a merging of all my loves together. As you weave your way through my Substack page, you’ll find fragments and contemplations based on themes that relate the animal, the arboreal and our own human skins; beautiful questions wanting to be asked, answers attempting to be lived. Let me run you through some what I share here so you can decide if it’s for you… Source

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Don't Be Told To Press Pause On Your Art.

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
You must create when it all feels quite impossible. When it IS impossible. Especially in those times. In fact, you should create THE MOST during the moments when you have zero minutes. None, nada, zilch. Let alone hours (what are they?!). When your head might just explode if someone asks you one more thing and for the love of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (and the donkey) please can’t everyone and everything leave me alone? (But yes, ok, and wait a minute, I’ll be right with you.) For example: 1.
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You need to piss around more 🤸‍♀️

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
You need to piss around more. You don’t want to collapse like cheap camping chair so you need to take care of your brain. And a big part of that includes being unavailable. Inaccessible. Untouchable. Unf*ckwithable.
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Come here so I can french kiss your face off

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
When you start with crows & go down a blue jay hole Knocked on AI’s door last week, went right up to their house. I know, I know. What was I doing rocking up to some strange (Thing’s? Dude’s? Person’s?) place that doesn’t even have a face (it doesn’t, does it?), who takes split personality to a whole new level (can you have a personality without being a person or does it then just become a —nality?). Who knows. Got a strange feeling there. Was really hard to place it.
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Bring snacks, jokes & a mixed tape.

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
Ever been in the situation where you’ve been a part of something that’s kind of awesome, or you made a thing you really love, and you’re like… So you get all overexcitable like a steak knife salesman ready for the upsell, and you do the thing that of course you want to do, which is tell everyone about it, and as soon as you go to do that, something happens. It’s like, the words just…. disappear. Jesus, Mary, & Joseph, you can’t think of a single word to describe your Awesome Thing.
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Three Creative Experiments For Anxious Days

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
My hopeful dreamscape drawing for a Sunday morning in a week that was a lot. Coffee and books and pootling. And a bird that appears to have arrived in the night, an excellent bonus. This week, I’ve been treating myself as something of an experiment. You see, I’ve been holding things that are too big for my hands; illnesses and upsets and responsibilities and the kind of things that happen when we enter periods that are hard but very human. And I’ve found myself with somewhat jumbled insides.
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How Do You Develop Creative Courage?

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
We’d been talking of books and illustrations and projects wot matter to us when one of my people asked: How do you develop creative courage? How do you know you have what it takes to start? You can imagine my delight.
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Fancy Joining Me For A Creative Sprint? ✨

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
Look, you don’t have to tell me what it’s like. I know exactly how it goes *gestures expressively to the world outside the window* If you and I are cut from the same cloth, there are all the many projects and ideas- THINGS- that are dancing in your mind and you’re starting to feel antsy. You have a sense it might be time. Time to take whatever idea is your favourite, or that niggling desire and hunker down. Give it some proper attention.
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{Illustrated} A Little Story About Trust

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
I've had to make these types of decisions too, but the body's reaction can be so telling. Good for you and beautiful essay! Also, I like this new font!
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Feeling A Tiny Bit Better- Want to join me? 🤸‍♀️

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
So, a little while back, I started an experimental creative practice called Small Happinesses, and truth be told, they’ve been helping quite a lot. There’s something about becoming a sleuth to your own joys, a fierce adventurer in the art of happiness seeking that’s good for someone’s insides. Or that most certainly has been good for mine.
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Creating Without The Crash: Are You All In, then All Out?

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By Jane Pike
| to begin with, the birds
There’s a thing in our house we refer to as ‘Contractor’s Flu’. Back when my husband was a documentary-maker-person, he would have back-to-back contracts for the twelve months up ‘til Christmas, and then for the two week’s he had off, he’d get the flu. As predictable as clockwork. A similar thing happens to many students; over the course of a semester or term, internal forces are rallied.
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to begin with, the birds Journalists

Pike, Jane