Magic – Jen Fries Arts

Finding Magic: a winter small works series

November 19, 2025November 19, 2025 Jen

How to stay hopeful when it all gets to be just too much seems to be the question of the day, at least among the Youtubers and pundits I follow. How to weather the slings and arrows, pick yourself up and dust yourself off, and all that.

Well, honestly, I’ve always been too bloody-minded to lose hope for very long. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of dark nights, but I get too angry at the effrontery of upstarts to meekly accept whatever they want my fate to be. To me, hope has never been the thing with feathers fluttering in the deep recesses of the heart. Rather, it’s the thing that spits out a bloody tooth and wades back into the fight for another round.

Life has been a real fight lately, hasn’t it? We’ve all been well and truly in it, and there’s no end in sight. Here at the house attached to the studio, we’ve been dealing with medical crises and all the attendant crises that come along with needing urgent help. Don’t worry, it’s working out. Life was saved. Sickness was cured. Needed work is being done. But this past month has been scary and exhausting and expensive, recovery and caring are not yet finished, and neglected work, home, garden, etc., knocked into the proverbial cocked hat by personal disaster, are demanding to get back on the agenda. Time is ready to march on even if I’m not.

So, when all has fallen into confusion, when I’m hopelessly behind on every task, exhausted to the point that I can’t even sleep, and the 10,000 things rush to fill every hour of the day, I open my eyes and look for the patterns in the chaos. This is what I call magic. To find the hidden structures that reveal the sense of it all. Thus I orient myself, ground and center myself, and gradually regain control of my reality.

Art and storytelling are my arcane methods for that.

I cast spells to shine clear lights on dark things, draw boundaries, invoke powers, steer and shape energies, and explore mysteries – until I feel pulled together enough to stand stably on my feet again.

And this year, because we’re all really going through it, I’m sharing my magical explorations with all of you. From now through at least New Year – maybe to spring, I’ll see how it goes – I present “Finding Magic,” a small works series celebrating the winter months of 2025-2026.

Talismans and amulets, tiny things to accent a threshold or guard a book. Symbols of power, resilience, prosperity, emotions. Worlds in the palm of your hand. Portals to other realms. Small wishes to bring good things into challenging times.

In the northern hemisphere, where I live, winter is the season for new beginnings, containing as it does not one but four new years – the solar new year of the winter solstice, the astronomical new year at the close of the calendar, the planetary new year at Earth’s perihelion, and the lunar new year in February. It’s a season for resting and resetting, for looking back and ahead, for personal transformations, for the quiet inner work of healing and growth.

With “Finding Magic,” I invite you to come along with me as I do that work for myself and offer what I find to you.

There seems to be a trend – or I’d like there to be a trend – of artists celebrating the end of the year with affordable small works series to tell the story of the year that was. “Finding Magic” is about pulling ourselves together to wade back into the fight next year, stronger, refreshed, clear-eyed, and empowered.

It will be all small items in various media, priced for any budget at under $50 and under $100 depending on the piece. Follow this site for updates as new pieces are finished.

Jen Fries, Eye Amulets, pastel, watercolor, and ink on paper, roughly life-sized, $25 each, part of “Finding Magic.” Display, carry, use for ornament, journaling, or to ward off unwelcome pests and gossips. Email me if interested.

And if you happen to be in the Boston, Massachusetts, area this weekend, stop by the Brickbottom building in Somerville for our Open Studios event, November 22-23, 12-6pm. Info here. I’ll be in Unit C322, showing the first of the “Finding Magic” pieces along with larger works on similar themes.

The 11th Hour

November 12, 2025November 12, 2025 Jen

*“The first thing I thought of was their mothers.”*

I’m writing this at the end of Veterans Day. Ten to midnight. Not the key time of the holiday, which is properly the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – the precise time of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. Hence the original name of the day, Armistice Day. It was changed to Veterans Day under Eisenhower.

And that makes sense because our veterans deserve the recognition. It is literally the least we can do for them, after all, considering how we, as a nation, routinely renege on all our other promises to those who put themselves in danger in service to us.

But to me, November 11 will always be Armistice Day. The day the War to End All Wars ended. Of course, that didn’t hold, did it? Another good reason to change the name.

But hear me out on this. Maybe we should keep the old name.

I’ve always thought a wonderful way to honor our veterans would be to make fewer of them. To be less eager – even cavalier – about sending our young people out to fight, possibly die, for what are, increasingly, political or, worse yet, financial causes. It would definitely show respect for our veterans to quit extending wars indefinitely, at the very least.

Rather, I’d like to work towards a world in which those brave enough to risk their lives to fight for others are honored by not wasting their courage. By avoiding conflict as much as humanly possible, minimizing it when it cannot be avoided, and ending it quickly and completely.

So I think I will always celebrate Armistice Day on Veterans Day. A holiday dedicated to ending war. To agreeing on peace. To stopping the violence between nations.

Because of Armistice Day, 11 is a lucky number to me. An auspicious number. In western numerology, it is one of the Master Numbers, double-digit numbers which amplify their inherent meanings and energies. 11 represents spiritual awareness, a profound connection to higher wisdom. It carries the harmony, sensitivity, and empathy of numeral 2, and multiplies the innovativeness, focus, willingness to embrace change of numeral 1, empowering both with spiritual energy.

One might say that numeral 11 symbolizes the power to end wars, not by conquest or defeat, suppression or suspension, but by actually ending them. That strange and vast power that can get people to agree at last to just stop fighting each other.

I think that’s a power worth celebrating – worth cultivating – especially in a world so angry and full of people eager for war, whatever their reasons may be.

By the way, in tarot, the 11th card of the Major Arcana is Justice in the Waite-Smith deck. Justice is the balance of right and wrong and the power of natural and secular law. In some other decks, the 11th card is Strength, aka Fortitude, which teaches us to master our angers and fears, to tame them and put them to good use. The number 1 card is The Magician who uses the tools of life to make stuff happen, and number 2 is The High Priestess who offers insight into inner truths.

Interesting things to consider when seeking peace in a time of conflict.

Notes:

Illustration: “Judgment,” mixed media assemblage referencing the return of the dead of WWI as climate change melts the glaciers of the Italian Alps, releasing the remains of soldiers lost in ice all this time.

This essay’s word count is 542, which adds up to 11.

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

October 31, 2023 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

I want to hear from you

July 7, 2023 Jen

I have posted my very first online poll. It’s on my shiny, new, barely scuffed Patreon, and I would like very much if you would check it out. If I’ve done it right, you should be able to vote for free, without setting up a new account or becoming a patron. You can see it here: Jen’s Patreon – Public Poll.

It’s kind of a focus-group thing. An Alchemy of Dragons is my biggest current project and the one I’ll be talking about the most on Patreon – and increasingly here, too, fair warning. So to help me get organized, I’m tapping all you fans of writing, fantasy, and world-building to let me know which parts of the process you’re most curious or enthusiastic about. The options are:

World Building
Character Design
Magic System
Art and Illustration

Choose as many as you like.

Becoming a patron, aka a Friend of the Studio, is entirely optional.

Some content will be reserved for patrons only, such as video projects, podcasts, tutorials, etc. Those kinds of projects are high on my future plans list, but they cost quite a lot to make in both money and time, so I really can’t do them on spec, as it were. They will need to be paid for. And there will be other thank-you perks for people who like my work enough to want to support my studio with a monthly pledge.

But I’m about selling finished work – art, books, poems, etc. That’s how I would ideally like to earn my living. So this site will always be a place where people can keep up with me and enjoy what I do and have the option to make a purchase.

But if you would like to become a Friend of the Studio by supporting me, you can sign up for a monthly subscription via Patreon, or make a one-time donation via Paypal, using the buttons in the website footer.

For now, though, please check out what should be a free poll, especially if you are a fan of An Alchemy of Dragons.

Magic, Moons, and Masks

October 10, 2022October 10, 2022 Jen

Happy October! Tonight, the full Hunter’s Moon is shining side by side with Jupiter at its closest and brightest, and Halloween is coming up fast.

I’ve always been inspired by things associated with this time of year. Magic and the occult. Myths and monsters. Dreams and the night. The masks we wear and what lies beneath them. And above it all, the beautiful, changing, eternal Moon.

To start the celebration of my favorite month and my favorite season, here is a selection of artworks I’ve made through the years, exploring these themes.

JFries Interphase Multiversal Observatory

Current Projects on My Desk; Autumn Beauty in My Garden

October 1, 2019January 13, 2020 Jen2 Comments

Work continues on selected projects, including some treats for Halloween, as well as coordinating the illustrated essay on magic, using a writing tool I’ll talk about more in a future post.

But the grand theme of the start of autumn has been the garden. Ten-foot sunflowers (brown Autumn Beauty and light yellow-dark brown Lemon Queen), pink cosmos, and 60’s-mod zinnias are off the hook, and the bees and butterflies are feasting to their hearts’ content. I’ve been basking in the glory of these final days of growing and getting ready to dive into the darkness of winter.

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