Category: Holiday

Magic Time: Let’s clean house

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JFries Die Fledermaus 11.2019 banner

Happy Halloween!

My witchy treat for my friends today is a tarot reading! (Have I mentioned that I read cards? I think I may have.) This is just for general vibes and, of course, entertainment purposes. Take or leave it as you will, and make of it what you please.

Halloween heralds the transition from end of fall to beginning of winter with several days of cultural, religious, and secular celebrations. Here in the USA, this transition includes the end of Daylight Savings, knocking us into the dark season way too quickly, and Election Day, an even darker season this year.

So considering what we’re all doing and thinking about this week, I sat down and asked the universe how we might expect things to go, socially and personally.

Overall and surprisingly, not too bad.

The spread for Halloween Week 2026

This reading brings the energy of a major housecleaning. It’s about taking direct action to correct a disordered condition. It’s about breaking inertia and making that first progress step towards fixing something that’s been bothering you for a long time.

Is your house a persistent wreck (like mine)? Are you stuck in a dead-end job? Have you been struggling or hesitating to begin a near-and-dear project? Are you ready to vote the bastards out once and for all?

Now is a good opportunity to crack that wall, kick aside that obstacle, and get started.

8 of Wands x 10 of Cups (reversed) confronts the problem head-on. This is about recognizing that you are not happy. Maybe you feel you’re not living your values, your joy, your love, your self, and you’re choosing to do something about it as of right now. This far and no farther. You are determined to turn this shit around.

Motivation comes from being fed up to the gills with the status quo, per the 4 of Cups at the foundation. You’ve had enough of worthless, garbage options. You are hungry for something new, and you’re done waiting passively for someone else to deliver it.

So you step up and get to work. The Queen of Wands is you coming into your competence, skills, and leadership, applying them to practical matters. Balancing your accounts, paying the bills. Getting your ballot delivered on time, or getting yourself down to your polling place to cast your vote. Cleaning your garden, bringing in the harvest, getting it all mulched and bedded down for winter. Organizing, cooperating, planning, helping, doing the things, on your own or with friends, whatever suits your situation. You get what’s needed to do what you want to do, and you build your relationships and support system as you go.

The Queen is in the position of the recent past and present, indicating you’ve already begun this process. You have had it with this mess. You’ve burned through all the bullshit, and you are clear in your head about what you want and what is blocking you from having it.

The 3 of Pentacles tells us this is an institutional, foundational issue. This is about the institution of your home, your work, your community, your finances, your health, your politics, whatever you have going on, all of it. It’s both the what and the how.

Make no mistake, there are obstacles and opposition. You are fixing things that have been broken a long time. That in itself is difficult. You may come up against people who don’t want the situation to change. And you may have to confront old habits to stop sabotaging your own progress. None of that is easy or quick, even though the 8 of Wands says that, right now, you take quick action that brings quick results.

Those results, in the near future with the 4 of Wands, will be successful, but not the end of the matter. It’s a short-term win. Take it, enjoy it, celebrate it, and accept the benefit of it.

But understand, you are celebrating the opening of a road. Then you have to start your journey down that road, doing whatever you just cleared the way for.

This will be your chance to make sure that what you build and where you go next will support the life you want to live, the world you want to create. Now is your chance to actively express your values and your true self, rather than letting others dictate your reality, others who do not have your wellbeing in mind.

So, for example, if you’re doing fall cleaning this week (like me), don’t just dust and polish the existing junk. Think about what you want your space to be, how you want it to work and feel, and once you’ve decluttered and cleared out the closets, then be ready to start making it better.

Or if you’re voting in an election this week (early voting, yay!), do it with 2027, 2028, and the next decade in mind. As soon as that ballot is cast, start planning what you want to do with a new Congress once we’ve swept out the old one.

We’re reaching the end of many things. In almost every aspect of life, including big, public stuff, we have to do a lot of heavy lifting with no guaranteed outcome.

But this is a great time of year for that sort of thing, because Halloween is a gateway from one time cycle to another. Things end this week, and other things begin.

I invite you to consider Halloween week the first step towards the season of new years, the great winter reset of our seasonal, planetary, and celestial cycles. This is the demo phase of recreating ourselves and our world.

So c’mon, Queen of Wands, let’s identify the things we want to be rid of, and what we want to have instead. Let’s make a list, and let’s start scratching items off, one by frikking one.

-Jen

Notes

This essay contains 973 words. According to western numerology, 973 reduces to 19, then 10, then 1. In tarot, 19 is The Sun, signifying light, liberation, and self realization. 10 is The Wheel of Fortune, signifying the working of fate, universal cycles, and luck. Opportunity is knocking. And 1 is The Magician who channels universal energy through skill and intelligence to make things happen in the real world. We are all Magicians here.

You really couldn’t ask for better omens, so get out there and vote!

I used the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot for two reasons. First, it’s my heart deck. I learned on this deck, and as an artist, the RWS system is natural for me. Second, Pamela Coleman Smith’s card art is in the public domain, so I can post these images with happy ethics. Expect to see more of my tarot work in future.

Additional illustrations are my original works, seasonally appropriate, a page from a pen and ink sketchbook and a detail from a crown of bats and moths.

2026: A Wild Rabbit Year

Jen

This evening, as I was walking home with our New Year’s feast from Lotus Express Chinese restaurant, one of our wild city rabbits hopped out from a driveway and down the sidewalk in front of me.

North American cottontails don’t dig burrows. They get through the winter outdoors, sheltering in bushes and under porches. This one was certainly on its way home to some preferred back yard where it knows it has a secure place to keep warm tonight and something for breakfast in the morning. As long as I didn’t try to mess with it in the malicious way of those humans who think others’ discomfort is funny, it seemed content to share the sidewalk with me. So we lolloped along together for half a block. I lost sight of it when it rounded the corner ahead of me. It must have cut up another driveway to get behind the houses. 

I hope it was heading for our yard. We have the most trees and shrubs, thanks to my ambitious but overworked landlords. An accidental rewilding project.

I took this as a good omen. A rabbit-rabbit-rabbit charm, even if the moon is not yet full.

Rabbits symbolize fertility (obviously) and by extension prosperity. They’re survivors who thrive against ridiculous odds. Tiny and fragile, they will throw hands (paws) without hesitation when threatened or just pissed off. Omg, those little hooligans will come at you with intent. I just love them.

So I presume to take this rare winter encounter as a good sign for 2026. Confirmation of a feeling I’ve been having.

A headline from one of the 2025 wrap-up articles I have set aside to read later says, “This year ended better than it started.”

I agree. Granted, the landscape is still rolling dumpster fires as far as the eye can see, and if I were betting on it, I’d say 2026 will get worse before it gets better.

But for the first time in a long time, I have the feeling it will get better, maybe even quicker than expected.

There’s no particular event that makes me think this. It’s more a shift of energy. A societal mood swing. A ripple in the zeitgeist. A sense that people have had enough of this shit.

Which shit? All of it. All the 10,000 shits. 

A sketch of rabbits fighting in the spring.
When first you see the full moon’s light,
Say “Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit” thrice
For a month of fortune, joyous and bright.

I know I’ve had enough. My list of Things I’m Done With is long. I’m done with billionaires and maga, with marketing and media, with all the corporate shenanigans and snake oil. Just frikkin done.

And I’m done with a lot of myself, too. With old bad habits. (I need new ones!) With my waffling and procrastination, with half-assing my way through problems. With being so deep in the weeds, I have no idea where I’ve come to in my life. With my utter and complete disorganization.

When it comes to changing for the better, nothing just happens. You have to do it, and nobody does anything until they’re ready. Until they feel like it. That’s when they make their move. That’s when they quit smoking, change parties, leave that job, take that class, get out and vote, blow the whistle, clean their house.

2025 was horrible. No argument. I don’t need to go over it all here. If you follow me, then you probably also follow the news. It’s been a historically horrible year.

But as of this writing, on December 31st, 2025, We the People are not the ones freaking out and trying desperately to cover our asses. I won’t say we’ve taken control of the narrative just yet, but we have a grip on it, which is more than we had a year or even six months ago. It took us a whole year, but we finally have the ground under our feet again.

So despite skyrocketing costs, economic chaos, political violence, and a latter-day Nero fiddling with the White House as the dumpsters burn, I will take that little rabbit as a lucky charm. 

An omen of success against the odds, of building happiness by thinking quick, adapting to the circs, making do, creating a lot, and not being afraid to get into the fight when needed.

Thriving in 2026 might not look the way we expect, but life’s too short to be long about the forms of it. Whatever comes, I know we can make the most of it.

I’ll put that up over my desk as a motto for the year. “Whatever it is, make the most of it.”

Naturally, I have big plans, but I make no promises now. Between the world and the dramas we’ve survived, we are embracing a lot of change here at the studio and attached apartment, so I have no idea what I’ll do or when. I’ll just say my focus in 2026 will be on experimenting with new-to-me forms and media. There are skills I want to learn, and skills I learned the past couple of years that will get new uses and presentations. Some of you might not be into it, but some might like it better. I hope everyone will find something good here. But however it goes, 2025 is ending with happy outcomes we couldn’t have foreseen. I intend to make good on it.

And I hope you can find your own inner wild city rabbit this year, as well. Find the resources you need, whatever form they come in. Throw down and thrive. And when the odds are against you, ignore them. Winners don’t bet against themselves.

Happy New Year, everyone!
Let’s get into it.

Note: This essay contains 928 words, which according to western numerology, reduces to 10 and then to 1. So do the numerals of 2026. In tarot, 10 is the number of the Wheel of Fortune, and 1 is the number of The Magician. Interpretation: 2026 is a chance for us to direct our fate. I might write more about this at a later date.

Some of the work I did in 2025.

Still No Kings

Jen
Jen Fries, Standing: Portrait of the General Sherman, watercolor, ink, and collage on canvas, 14 x 18 inches

Yesterday, what passes for the US Congress these days sold our country out for fascism. Not to put too fine a point on it, you know. 

The DC Democrats put up all the fight they could. Some will claim they did nothing at all, but those people are wrong. The fact that the Dems could do so little is not their fault – this time. In the end, what may turn out to be the most disastrous bill in US history passed the Senate strictly along party lines by only one vote, and the House by just four votes, also strictly by party. One vote and four votes. Let no magaist say the word “mandate” ever again, especially where I can hear them.

I won’t go into all the details. Let’s just say the 2025 tax and budget bill will, in broad strokes, promote eugenics by slashing access to health care, housing, and food assistance for the most needy, inflict terror and violence by turbocharging the size and budget of the masked goon squads hunting immigrants and protesters in our streets, throw the US economy into total chaos, and consolidate even more power into the hands of that stupid orange dirtbag they’ve made their god. 

Said stupid orange dirtbag will sign this piece of shit into law today, July 4th, America’s Independence Day, just to add insult to the injury.

It’s easy to feel discouraged and cynical about the irony of celebrating the 4th of July in the midst of fascists actively dismantling democracy before our very eyes, but consider:

Wasn’t the United States of America created out of revolution against tyranny?


Hint: Yes, it was. That’s kind of what we’re about as a political body.

Have we been perfect at it? No, never. Have we lived our professed ethics? Not even close. Have we also acted like tyrants against others and against our own? Yes, we have and do.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the US was indeed created specifically to throw off the chains of tyranny. Our failures only show that we’re not done. The revolution is ongoing.

So on this July 4th, 2025, I invite you all to embrace the ideal of what the USA is supposed to be about, and to take your stand on it.

Last winter, I blogged about new years and fresh starts, and how we actually get multiple chances to start over as the cycles by which we measure time complete and begin their loops. We get a solar new year at the Winter Solstice with the restart of the Sun cycle, a planetary new year in early January with the start of a new Earth orbit, and a lunar new year after that with the restart of the Moon cycle. 

Plus, each of us gets to claim a personal new year on our birthday. I decided that for everyone in the world. You’re welcome.

That’s four chances every year to take stock, measure growth, celebrate accomplishments, refresh goals, and start next chapters.

I’d like to add a fifth annual fresh start – a civic new year on the nation’s founding day. 

Every country can do this on their own national anniversaries, of course. For us Americans, our civic new year would be the 4th of July, obviously – the day when We the People of the United States take off from work, have a bbq, some parades, fireworks, and I propose from this year forward, take some time to assess our progress towards building a more perfect union, towards realizing Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

I would like to add political action to our Independence Day celebrations. I don’t mean conformist pantomimes of red, white and blue cosplay and singing our unsingable anthem. Rather, I want some good, loud marches in addition to the parades, with lots of signs calling out the unfinished work of the Republic. Impromptu town halls where we call our elected officials to account for themselves – again. Strongly worded letters to the editors of legacy media to remind them of the responsibilities that come with being protected by the First Amendment. Social media progress reports by everyone with any interest in anything, showing the status of boycotts and labor actions, the scorecards on the issues in contention, and lists of how our Senators and Representatives have been voting lately.

And I’d like to add the positive ideals of civic life to the holiday as well. Let’s normalize no longer taking our public services for granted in this country. Let’s make the 4th of July a day that celebrates the practical things we gained by our revolution – our courts, public libraries, and schools, our civil servants in all the departments, the Post Office (everyone loves the Post Office), our lands, waters, and parks, and of course, our Constitution.

We don’t need another military holiday in the US, or another day for capitalists to exploit national myths to push sales. We need a holiday that reminds us of how we got this country in the first place, what it’s supposed to be, and why it matters enough for each of us to do something about it. 

We need a We the People Day.

And we have one. We call it Independence Day, and it’s the day when Americans were invented and defined as a people who cannot be oppressed because we will not be oppressed.

So, here we are on Independence Day, our civic new year. Where do we stand, and where should we go next? What resolutions should we make to become better citizens over the next twelve months?

Okay, no sugarcoating. Where we stand is in deep shit. We have completely botched our job as citizens. Sorry, but it’s time for some radical acceptance starting with tough love.

Everyone knows this country suffers from a chronic infection of racism, violence, and social dominance ideation. All we ever do about it is treat the symptoms when they flair up, while never addressing the underlying condition. We ignore it until it builds up enough, and oopsie-whoopsie Civil War. Then a little soothing cream and a Constitutional Amendment, and oh dear, decades of KKK violence. Look, just keep it covered so it doesn’t spread and we can keep going to work, okay? But it does spread until thank the gods, another crisis interrupts it. Yay for world war, eh? Oh, but dammit, now they’re murdering civil rights workers. Ugh. Okay-okay, we’ll take this seriously. Pass a bunch more laws, and actually enforce them this time, and look, it’s working. We all feel much better now, right? Let’s get back to work and forget it ever happened. It’s in the past.

Only it’s not in the past. It’s in the bones and muscle of our society. It’s a condition America was born with, and because we don’t deal with it honestly to neutralize it – make the required behavioral and structural changes for our civic health – it keeps coming back again and again and again. Each outbreak of it is potentially lethal to our body politic. 

We understand this when we’re talking about diabetes or cancer. When will we understand and accept it in the context of the society we depend on just as much as our own bodies?

So the assessment of our progress is that we are in the midst of another acute outbreak of our societal illness. We’re not the only ones. This toxic, destructive, antisocial mindset of fear and aggression is rooted deep in the US, but it’s common among humanity. Many countries are dealing with similar situations right now, and it’s spreading like political covid. Our outbreak is one of the worst, though, so we really need to deal with it.

Where do we go next? Well, we are in crisis, so this year, we need to focus on the crisis. But we can’t fall into our traditional habit of only doing the short-term fixes without thinking about long-term reforms to prevent future flair-ups. We must transition off simple suppression of active symptoms and move towards intervention and preventive management for life – for the sake of our lives.

From today through July 4th, 2026, let us focus on breaking the maga fever.

Let’s sanitize our communities from fascist goon squads and the fear and danger they bring with them. Know your rights and use the rules to your advantage. Call the real cops (no matter what you think of them). Like they always tell us – if you see something, say something.

Unless the goons are the ones trying to talk to you. Then keep your mouth shut. If they want to talk to you, they can show their faces, their IDs, and their warrant, and then they can make an appointment with your lawyer.

And be smart about videos and photos. Only show the people and faces you want to. Nobody needs to be able to track everyone who was protesting peacefully before the brownshirts showed up.

Generally conduct yourself with safety in mind. Cultivate situational awareness. That means take the damn buds out of your ears and put the damn phone in your pocket once in a while. Know your route and exit options everywhere you plan to go. Do not post your safe maps on your social media, for fucks sake, omg. And follow the safety measures recommended by civil rights activists all over the internet. We all see the info every day.

Basic community safety measures like this will go a long way towards deflating the threats the fascists are using to bully us into submission.

Let’s cleanse our political discourse of lies, propaganda, and bullshit. Let’s learn how to tell good from bad when it comes to information and news sources. Rely on primary sources as much as possible and swear off relying on social media gossip mills. 

Apply “see something, say something” to political information, too. When we see the propaganda, bullshit, and lies, call it out, every time. Let nothing slide unchallenged, no matter who says it. We need to hold our own and ourselves to account as well.

Let’s cleanse our public offices of corruption by shining the bright light of public attention on them constantly. For real, public officials need to remember who they work for, and it’s not the ones paying their bribes.

Make 2025-26 be a maelstrom of town halls, crammed constituent office hours, overwhelmed phone lines and emails. Fill media with demands for investigations. Bring the receipts from the states and districts. Hell, organize recall elections. It doesn’t matter if they’re almost impossible to pull off. They get attention. Let’s help our electeds experience the same worries and stresses we voters are, thanks to their political choices. You know, to help them understand where we’re coming from.

Oh, I’m sorry, GOP politicians, are you feeling exhausted? Do you dread going to work and looking at the news every day? Are you worried about losing your job? Welcome to the party, you “bunch of little bitches.” This is the bed you made, so you get to lie in it with the rest of us.

If they don’t like it, they can fix it easily. All they have to do is switch their obedience from Trump to their constituents. Or they can quit and go home. Simple.

And if they refuse to cooperate? Well, that’s what the petty recalcitrance of pure spite is for, because until they do what We the People want, let them never enjoy another swordfish and whiskey dinner in peace.

I think those are three good starting points for the civic new year in a fascism epidemic. We can put the rest of our energy into building our personal strength and resilience.

Let’s start building community-based options for the services the fascists are taking away from government. I’m talking about food and health care access, education for our kids, housing, legal services, community security, communications, financial services, etc.

Yes, we’re all dealing with the horror of watching fascism rise again in the world, but don’t underestimate the stress of how difficult they make ordinary daily errands. How many of us feel scared going out for lunch, for fear our meal will be interrupted by an armed abduction? How many of us lose sleep over our bills, our parents’ nursing homes, our kids’ safety at school, what to do about our neighbors’ pets if they suddenly disappear?

Nobody can live under such constant ambient pressure. Understand, this is a deliberate tactic of oppressors. They exhaust resistance by literal exhaustion.

So we’re not going to do that, okay? They want to take control of all the details of our lives, but we’re going to keep that control, however we manage it. We don’t need to get precious about details, right? We’re going to take care of ourselves and our needs as we see fit. End of.

And we’re going to remember this precept: The most fundamental and effective form of resistance is to keep doing what the oppressors don’t want us to do.

They don’t want us to figure out for ourselves how to get food, housing, medicine, etc. They don’t want us to choose how and where we work and spend. They don’t want us to resolve our disputes peacefully amongst ourselves. They don’t want us to relax and be happy, or feel free to play with our families in parks, or eat at cafes. They don’t want us to make our own music and art. 

They want us to need them for everything.

Resistance is not needing them for one single damn thing.

Therefore, I propose three Citizen Resolutions for US Civic New Year 2025:

  • Practice radical acceptance. Acknowledge the work that needs to be done and make a start. Effort is worth more than blame.
  • Be rude. Screw respecting public officials. Those lazy, crooked assholes need to get to work or get out. Let them know that.
  • Do not obey. Fascists don’t want America to exist. So be Americans, the whole nine yards, every day. Be the Americans who kicked these bastards’ asses not just in WW2 but in our first Civil War, and our Revolution, and the Civil Rights Movement, and all the other movements towards a better world since 1775. Screw them, they don’t get to tell us what to do.

Happy Independence Day.
There are no American kings.

Notes: This essay belongs to the Liberty Gravy category of the Jen Fries Arts: Arting Life newsletter.

The illustrations are selected works from my portfolio, ones carrying specific political messages. All my work is political. You can ask me how, or figure it out yourself.

Omenology: The body of this essay contains 2,388 words. The numerals of the word count total adds up to 21, representing spiritual fulfillment and transformation, and reducing down to 3, representing creative expression. These two numbers align with the tarot cards The World and The Empress. The Empress signifies joy, abundance, and celebration. The World signifies self realization and expansiveness. Together, they unite micro and macro awareness, local and global action, self and society. The 2 and 8s signify balance and success, as well. So, having reached that number, I stopped editing. (“Omenology” is a word I made up today.)

Happy Holidays! A gift from me to you

Jen

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Happy Year of the Wood Dragon 2024

Jen
A dragon in a thicket, An Alchemy of Dragons, Ch. 2


Happy lunar new year, everyone! I hope your winter has been cozy and all is well with you and yours as the Year-Beginning Season comes to its close.

I love that the universe gives us three chances to start every new year over the whole winter. We get the solar new year at the Winter Solstice, the astronomical new year at Earth’s perihelion in the first week of January, and now the lunar new year, which was celebrated yesterday.

Considering how dragged out many of us were in December and January, getting to count February as an additional start is especially welcome.

However, proceed with caution. 2024 is the year of the dragon, which is a double-edged sword. If you were born in a dragon year, it’s all good, but if you were born under a different sign, you’d better check your auspices. Rabbit-year folks like me, for instance, are advised to look both ways crossing the street, stay out of fights, take our vitamins, and generally behave like smart little bunnies.

I’ve checked Chinese astrology, western astrology, and western numerology, and overall, they all promise a year of great change and a mixed bag of challenges and opportunities. So … yeah, looking at what’s on our plates already, buckle up, kids. It’s going to be a ride.

That’s why I chose the illustration above as my greeting to you. That dragon was in quite the tangle in An Alchemy of Dragons, Ch. 2, but our protagonist, Erran, was able to use the brambles to make his escape. In real life, thickets are nurseries where new forests are born. They offer traps for some and havens for others. Little critters who learn the ins and outs are safe in there. They can find everything they need – food, water, shelter – and come and go as they please. Blundering clods like hunters, on the other hand, can barely get in, and if they force their way, they’ll have a job getting out again.

I think that’s appropriate for this year.

I’m sure you noticed that it’s been another while since you heard from me. I’m doing the stuff, but I can’t quite decide how I want to present it to you.

New small paintings are coming to the shop soon.

I’ve been reworking the structure of the Alchemy of Dragons serial, which may require adding material and reorganizing the chapters again, but I am very pleased with what I’ve got. I had been using the wrong plotting system, and the deeper into the story I got, the harder it was to plan what should come next in the telling of it. Putting together a system that works for me became my main winter project, and I feel like I’m on a much better track now. I’m as optimistic as I ever get.

Video and audio experiments are also in progress. Watch this space for further news on those.

Finally, just about all my online tools need refreshing. Figuring out the best options is an ongoing puzzle. There will be tweaks to the website arrangement, the newsletter, Patreon, and subscriptions. Nothing shocking, but hopefully some functional improvements, like my writing system.

I have a feeling a lot of us have been gnawing things over in our burrows all this winter, but the celestial clocks have turned, and the new season is just about here. Yes, in damp, icy Massachusetts, we just got another winter storm advisory for next week, but the days are undeniably longer and brighter. Buds are developing on trees, the backyard birds are already starting to sing and pair up, and I started spring cleaning today.

So Happy New Year!

– Jen, a rabbit in a dragon year.

-Jen

Magical Art for Halloween – Hunter’s Moon collages and a magic fantasy flight

Jen

October is the Hunter’s Moon, and this week, it was big and bright, and lit up the broken clouds in silver and gold. I decided to celebrate with some collages.

I’ve been deep in painting for the Alchemy of Dragons illustrations, so it’s been a while since I did a collage, which has been a mainstay of my work for many years. It was interesting to compare the two processes.

Painting is straightforward. I sketch and plan. Finalize the image. Recreate or transfer the line art to the painting surface. Select the palette. Do the doing. It takes as long as it takes.

Collage takes its time, too, but it’s a wilder ride. It’s a deep dive into my mind. It’s like memory recovery hypnosis. It’s like dream analysis. Nothing is planned or designed. A vision is in my head – a thing is seen or thought – and wants to become art. In this case, it’s a real-life thing, the Moon on the 28th of October, 2023.

The actual Moon, photographed from my studio on the night in question.

But I didn’t draw a picture of it. I didn’t try to recreate the object of the Moon. I wanted to express the feelings it gave me. Complicated feelings and several of them.

I wanted to pull that Moon down to me, big and close, the way it felt when I looked up and the distance between me and it melted away. The clouds parting, and my little neighbors in their roosts, touched by its light. Taking a night walk, soaking up that cool glow amid autumn wind and flying leaves, in the season of witchery and ghosts.

I can’t sketch that out. I have to wander my way to such an image. I have to find the hooks to draw it out, piece by piece, to turn the ephemeral into the material. So I hit the collage files.

I pulled out papers, vintage clips, found materials, searching for pieces of what was brewing in the old noggin, anything that resonated in the moment. Dark blues and a rich black. Oh, look, some gold tissue paper, just like the clouds that night. A scrap of a copy of some Japanese textiles, this will give me the leaves I want. Wait – what stars are up this month? Consult the Old Farmer’s Almanac! Collect paint, ink, pencils. Cook some paste.

I pulled out so much stuff, and then began the process of combining and recombining, adjusting and problem-solving until two stories emerged. One on paper. One on canvas.

Hunter’s Moon and Cassiopeia, collage on canvas, Jen Fries
Admiring the Moon, collage on paper, Jen Fries

It took up my whole freaking workspace, much to the annoyance of Studio Assistant Princess Lunalynx, who likes to nap in the sun on the main table. Holy smokes, there was a lot of clean-up. I’m still holding out the unused materials, in case more Moon or Halloween ideas come to me – the ripples and echoes still bouncing around.

Collage will always be a vital part of my creative practice because it teaches me about myself. The process of selection and composition mirrors the way my mind works and how I construct my ideas. Chaotic. Messy. Quirky. Full of references. And of the school that says that even the most unrealistic image will be realistic if it captures the real essence of a thing – if it speaks to a person’s emotions – if it makes you feel like you were there, like you had that dream, too.

Anyway, that’s the goal.

These works will be added to the Artworks gallery and my shop very soon.

I did the Alchemy Chapter 6 illustration, too. I’ll talk more about this and its accompanying chapter initial in another blog post, but for now, thrill to the world’s first glimpse of our main protagonist, Erran Fox.

Here he is, with Squirrel Nutkin and the aura-horse Maedrephon, flying towards the sunset, in search of a bard who can charm dragons.

… flew the distance as fast as the wind itself …
pen and wash in pastels, on paper

Chapter 6 is expected to hit the website by the end of this week. Watch this site.

Our Halloween is a little pauce this year. We’ve had too many headaches and joint issues, both me and My Sainted Mother, too many distractions, and too much disappointment with our fellow humans.

But I still found some moons and some magic. Plus, I see it’s 1:30 AM as of this writing. The day is young.

Happy Halloween!

-Jen

Happy Lunar New Year! First Art of 2023

Jen

Happy Year of the Water Rabbit, on the Chinese lunar calendar!

This morning, I finished my first art of the year, “Rabbit and Moon” (working title; I may change it).

It’s about 9 x 12 inches, on paper, mixed media – watercolor, graphite, and ink. The asemic writing in the upper right corner is actually my real, gloriously illegible handwriting, turned on its end. This time I’m quoting Robert Frost, a line from “Mending Wall” (1914):

But they would have the rabbit out of hiding
to please the yelping dogs

In the verse containing that line, Frost talks about going out in spring with his neighbor to repair the damage that happens to their boundary wall over the winter, including the vandalism of hunters who knock down the stones to flush out their prey, because “they would have the rabbit out of hiding.” (Click here for the full text, off-site.)

That poem also gives us the famous line, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Frost’s neighbor repeats that saying, and the poet Frost wonders why good neighbors need fences at all. Shouldn’t they be able to rely on their mutual understanding?

Myself, I’m a little on the fence about that (har-har), but I do appreciate that, even though Frost might not like the barrier between people, by mending the wall, he’s evening the odds for the rabbits.

Jumping back from West to East, Chinese astrology says that the Water Rabbit brings in peaceful, patient, and creative energies and encourages us to rely on our inner wisdom and trust our instincts. We should approach this year’s challenges calmly and rationally, and be kind and considerate to each other and to ourselves.

Water Rabbit Year 2023 could turn out to be all about good neighbors – having them and being them. Just remember that the barriers that delineate our personal boundaries are best when everyone finds safety in them – us and the rabbits.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year for 2023

Jen

I buy into the old superstition that whatever you find yourself doing on New Year’s Day will set the tone for the whole year to come. So I make sure I spend every New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day doing just want I want to do and nothing else. Generally, this consists of being in my studio, in my pajamas, with a cup of something caffeinated, some music playing, doing creative work.

Which is exactly what I’m doing right now – working on An Alchemy of Dragons. I just took a short break to post this note to my readers and friends.

I made a quick check of the auspices, and it seems my instincts are in track, at least for the start of 2023. See, we’ve all been through a lot of changes – both setbacks and advances – and I’ve had a hell of a time coming up with resolutions, plans, all that sort of thing. So I’ve decided that, for me, 2023 is going to be a year of figuring things out. Analyzing trends. Taking stock of changes and new contexts. Choosing where to go next, and picking how I want to get there.

And it turns out the divinatory signs agree with me.

Numerology says 2023 boils down to the number 7, a number of deep analysis and the search for wisdom, of questioning, examining, thinking things through, making decisions.

In Tarot, the 7th card of the Major Arcana, the Chariot, signifies the force of will joined with action, the path forward, doing our best with what we have, guided by what’s within us.

The 7’s of the Minor suits are similarly suggestive. The 7 of Pentacles is the nervous optimism of the farmer devoting labor now for future goals, setting aside anxieties to nurture his work. The 7 of Swords encourages us to grab opportunities when we find them, while being cautious of distracting blather out in the world. Don’t be shy, but don’t get too tricky at the same time. The 7 of Wands promises success if we stick to our principles and put in the work, no matter how daunting. And the 7 of Cups shows us all the options open to us. The challenge is to think before we choose.

Finally, the Chinese lunar new year on January 22 will usher in the Year of the Rabbit, predicted to start a period of relative calming and growth – a good time to approach our plans with optimism tempered by patience and planning.

Are things guaranteed to be easier? No. But I have a feeling this could be a better year, if we make it so. I feel like 2023 is one of those starting-a-new-chapter kind of years – a chance for us to stock of where the past few years have brought us, what real options we have on hand, and what suits us best in our lives right now.

Personally, I’m looking forward to it.

So in keeping with the holiday, I raise a figurative glass from me to you. Happy New Year!

Merry meet and merry part, I drink to you with all my heart.

jfries-alchemy-ch-2-old-ram-10.6.22
Illustration from An Alchemy of Dragons, Ye Olde Ram tavern

Happy Winter Holidays from the JFA Studio

Jen
white pine 12.2018

And this time, I’m only a little late! Like many other people, I am just winging it wildly this holiday season, and it turns out I am a terrible business person. I should have had all this Yuletide stuff done months ago, so I could share it with you all before actual and literal Christmas Day.

But Christmas, Yule, and all the other winter holidays are really not about business, so rather than leading into the season with various “calls to action” and whatnot, I’m just offering you a gift from me to you.

From today until December 31st, please feel free to download printable copies of the original line drawings for the four winter cards I painted yesterday. New art! Fresh out of the artist’s brain! All four images are in a single-page pdf file, accessible at the link below. Use them as-is or color them as you like. They are just rough drawings, suitable for tags, bookmarks, or cards. Personal use only, naturally.

Download the winter cards here.

By the way, do you realize we have four new year events running relatively close together this winter? The Winter Solstice on December 21st was the solar new year. January 1st is the calendar new year. The next Perihelion (Earth’s closest orbit point to the Sun) comes on January 4th and may be considered the astronomical new year (I decree). Finally, January 22nd is the lunar new year on the Chinese calendar – Year of the Water Rabbit.

I’m taking this as a sign that this mid-winter is an optimal time for fresh starts and attitude shifts. So maybe next year, I’ll have winter cards ready in time for you to use them. 😉

Meanwhile, please enjoy your holidays and multiple new years. Below are the final paintings of the cards, which should be available as prints and cards next winter. See? I’m not late, I’m early.

And the start of another next-winter project – a Partridge in a Pear Tree. I plan to do the whole Twelve Days, and will offer them next year as prints and perhaps even a book.

All of these small paintings are done in watercolor, pastel, and ink.

Wishing you all happy, merry, and joyous holidays.

New small paintings for year’s end

Artists Sunday, Nov 27 – shop indie art this holiday season

Jen
JFries geese border

Join me for Artists Sunday, tomorrow, November 27. It’s like Small Business Saturday, but exclusively for art.

Started in 2020, Artists Sunday unites artists, creators, and makers across the US for the world’s largest art event, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, encouraging consumers to shop with artists. 

I’m excited to participate in this great program bringing artists and communities together.

Visit my online shop at Artrepreneur for works ready to ship now. Watch the shop for new works coming before Christmas.

Browse original artwork at Jen Fries on Artrepreneur

You can also email me at jen@jenfriesarts.com to inquire about any artwork on this site, even if it’s not yet listed in the shop.

Plus, if you are or will be in the Somerville, MA, area any time, email me to arrange local, in-person pick-up of your purchases, and save the cost and delay of holiday shipping.

And don’t forget to:

  • Follow me on Facebook: @JenFriesArts
  • Subscribe to my newsletter for project updates and studio news: Sign Up
  • If you’re shopping for yourself, add my shop to your holiday wish-list so your friends and family will know what you like.