Small Art – Jen Fries Arts

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.

Happy Artists Sunday, all.

What’s that, you ask?

Artists Sunday, always the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, is one of the world’s largest art events, dedicated to supporting and celebrating artists in our communities, and encouraging people to buy art as gifts during the holidays.

This year, for Artists Sunday, I’m opening a new project – a Mystery Mail Art subscription.

Now, you may look at the time stamp on this post and think, um, Jen, considering your time zone and all, aren’t you a little late for Artists Sunday?

To which I would say, don’t criticize my personal failings. This is just the opening day of a permanent rolling project that you can get in on at any time.

Check it out.

Mystery Mail Art

The concept is basically an art-of-the-month club – a chance for you to collect small original artworks.

I have a passion for these little things – handheld art, portable art, working art, daily life art. For every larger canvas or sculpture I finish, I’ve also made piles of journaling cards, mini paintings, micro-zines, pocket objects, and so forth. These fun, useful objects often don’t get a lot of exposure.

Well, not anymore! As of today, the Jen Fries Mystery Mail Art subscription belongs to the most experimental, whimsical, category-busting art I make.

How It Works

Subscribers receive one or more small, original artwork(s) each month, for twelve months, via US mail.

I choose what each subscriber gets, because I don’t know in advance what I’ll be making. Hence, “mystery.” It could be cards, paintings, drawings, collages, micro-fiction or poetry, or anything else that comes out of my experiments.

$20/month covers the artwork plus shipping and handling. Your first artwork will be shipped as soon as possible after you sign up, with subsequent works mailed on a fixed date thereafter. Your subscription expires 12 months after beginning. Subscribers can cancel anytime, of course.

Quantities are limited. I’ll sign up only thirty (30) subscribers at a time. I know my limitations.

I’m using Patreon to manage this and future subscription projects for now. Their system is easy and reliable. Follow this link for the full details: Jen Fries Arts on Patreon.

If you’re unsure, I’ll gladly send you one Mystery Mail Art piece for a one-time payment of $20. Email me, drop a comment on this post, or send the $20 via Paypal using the button below. Make sure to tell me it’s for one (1) mystery mail and provide your mailing address. You can opt to subscribe later whenever you like.