GONE ROGUE,
BUT CALL IT SELFCARE
Hi there,
I hope you’re doing well.
So… France is currently doing what France does best in summer: melting. We’re in a full-on heatwave situation. The studio has officially become the safest place to exist, mostly because it’s the only room where I haven’t considered lying down on the floor and giving up.
We are far away from the cool, wet, days in the West of Ireland and the body is in shock .
So, I’ve invested in a new fan, which at this point I consider studio equipment. Honestly, it deserves a credit on my next project. It’s working overtime, right next to the hotplate and blowtorch, which are now slightly offended by the competition.
Despite the heat (and the occasional existential crisis caused by hot air), work continues.
Nothing stops this machine.
Now—important update.
The Encaustic Retreat in Mulranny this autumn is almost sold out. Yes, again, I am mentioning it. Apparently, someone once told me you need to say something seven times before people believe it exists. So here we are, round… I don’t know… five?
A lot of you have booked this week (thank you, genuinely), and if you’ve been hesitating, this is your friendly nudge. There are only a few spots left, and this retreat is going to be something really special in a place I absolutely love.
It’s not just a retreat, it’s a reset.
A proper one.
Speaking about full reset….
I have another announcement—please read carefully:
From the 21st to the 29th, I will be completely offline.
No emails. No calls. No “quick questions.” No pigeons. No ravens. Nothing.
I call this self-care.
Every year, I disappear for a little while into nature. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere that doesn’t know my name. Somewhere that also, ideally, does not have WiFi asking me to “just check one thing.”
And I really do think this is essential, especially as an artist. We spend so much time creating, responding, producing, being available… that you start to lose the signal of your own thoughts. Silence is not laziness. It’s maintenance. It’s where ideas actually come back to life.
This year, Iam not even bringing my laptop (I’m aspiring to become a complete monk), AND my phone will be switched off. Fully. Completely. Yes, I know it sounds simple. No, it is not simple.
But it’s necessary.
Time away like this is where things reset. The mind slows down. The body catches up. And creativity stops being forced and starts breathing again.
So if you don’t hear from me during that time, don’t worry—I haven’t been kidnapped by a forest. I’m just offline on purpose. Don’t try to find me.
I’ll be back in about 8 days, slightly sun-dazed, recharged, and probably over-sharing stories about trees and the Mediterranean Sea…but I have said too much already…
Thank you for being here, for your support, and for reading along.
See you on the other side.
Bye for now,
Isabelle