Jez Franck

Making acorn ink at Loch Trool

At Loch Trool, I boiled a handful of fallen acorns and watched the colour bloom. The ink darkened slowly - oak, peat, and patience - a reminder that creativity doesn’t always need speed or certainty, just presence.

Scotland didn’t fix my restlessness or worry - it just gave it better scenery.

This week’s post is about the kind of stillness that takes practice, not luck.

Notes from the Land of Long Light

janifranck.wordpress.com/2025/10/26/n...

#NDArtClub #NeurodivergentCreatives #CreativeRest

Notes from the Land of Long Light I came to Scotland to get some space - to walk, listen, and think about what’s next. The plan was open-ended: just Nicola and I (and Missy Boo), a sketchbook, and the kind of silence you can hear in your bones. But, as these things go, peace didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat. The restlessness followed me north, packed neatly between my socks and sketchbook.

Notes from the Land of Long Light

I came to Scotland to get some space - to walk, listen, and think about what’s next. The plan was open-ended: just Nicola and I (and Missy Boo), a sketchbook, and the kind of silence you can hear in your bones. But, as these things go, peace didn’t exactly roll…

Trying, Timing, and Taking Breaks

Neurodivergent Art Club is on this Thursday 2–4pm, then we’ll take a two-week break before returning with both the usual afternoon sessions and a new shorter early-evening slot, 6–7pm, starting in November. Same format, same gentle co-working space for creative…

You’re Not Behind: Unhooking from Neurotypical Timelines

We’re now well past the equinox - that brief, delicate point of balance in the year where day and night meet eye to eye. The hedgerows are heavy with berries, the evenings are cooling, and the energy around us is quietly shifting inward. So…

Reminded today of the 'Union Jill' from the 1990s road protests. A tradition to revive? A flag for progressive unity and not division.

Circling Gently: Finding Creative Direction When Capacity Is Low

Lately in Neurodivergent Art Club, a few people have shared something that I think many of us know deeply: “I’m feeling directionless… hard to apply my mind to anything… still triggering post-exertional malaise… it’s hard to balance…

What We Made Together: Notes from Green Gathering & Holding Queer Space

I’ve just returned from a few dreamy, windy, colourful days at Green Gathering, where I had the joy of co-holding the Queer Space in the Campaigns Field. It was… a lot of things. Tender. Tiring. Hopeful. Hilarious. Full of…

Queer Dome pics!

Quickly posting from a field to show you the Queer Dome, Green Gathering, in the Campaigns field Linky to more info here

Bringing It Home: When Creativity Flows in Community but Falters at Home

Last week, someone in the Neurodivergent Art Club shared a reflection that struck a chord with others in the group - and with me! “I’m really enjoying making art and being creative in the group setting, but I’m finding it a…

When You Can’t Plan, Prepare: Creating Creative Kits and Rituals Sometimes, the world is too much. Sometimes, your mind fogs over, your energy vanishes, or the climate breaks your heart. In those moments, planning fails. But preparing?That’s different. To prepare is to send something kind for your future self.Not a demand - a lifeline.Not a calendar full of boxes, but a handful of soft tools for when you need them most.

When You Can’t Plan, Prepare: Creating Creative Kits and Rituals

Sometimes, the world is too much. Sometimes, your mind fogs over, your energy vanishes, or the climate breaks your heart. In those moments, planning fails. But preparing?That’s different. To prepare is to send something kind for your…

The Magical Maybe List: A Neurodivergent Alternative to To-Dos

Some days, the very sight of a traditional to-do list feels like a trap. Every unchecked box whispers failure. Every item not crossed off becomes another tiny weight. For many neurodivergent creatives, to-do lists don’t work because…

Inside the Artist’s Studio – 20 years of the Arches

Mantle at God’s House Tower I’m very pleased to share that Mantle, one of the JourneySpiral artefacts, will be part of the upcoming exhibition Inside the Artist’s Studio: 20 Years of the Arches at God’s House Tower in Southampton. This exhibition…

Small Worlds – The Winchester Gallery 11.7 – 16.8.25

Small Worlds is a giant installation of 3D spheres created by artists, communities, and schools in Hampshire takes over The Winchester Gallery – FREE EXHIBITION My piece, 'Threadwalker', will be part of the installation. Threadwalker is a small…

Creative Rituals for Unreliable Days A love note to the days that don’t go to plan

Some days you just can’t. You can’t start, can’t finish, can’t even plan to begin. That doesn’t mean your creativity is gone.

This week’s post is a soft invitation back, through ritual not routine.

beautifulgarbagefactory.substack.com/p/creative-r...

Creative Rituals for Unreliable Days

Some days, creating feels impossible — especially if you're neurodivergent. This gentle post explores creative rituals as soft, sensory ways to reconnect with your art when energy is low. No pressure, no perfection. Just small invitations back to yourself, even…

Why Waiting to Feel Ready Doesn’t Work (and What to Do Instead)

There’s a quote I love (that I also kind of hate because it’s annoyingly true): "Action precedes motivation." Not the other way round. Not “Wait until you feel inspired, then begin.” It’s: “Begin, and the inspiration might show up on…

WIP | JourneySpiral: Small Worlds

Here’s a glimpse into the making of my piece for the Small Worlds exhibition at The Winchester Gallery. Marked with glyphs from the JourneySpiral, an imagined language tracing back through cultural severance, reweaving what was lost through ritual and mark-making.

Forget the 9-5 Muse: Honouring Your Natural Creative Rhythms

Somewhere along the line, the world got sold a story: that creativity should look like a tidy schedule and a respectable work ethic, that if you’re not showing up at the same time every day and producing with machine-like consistency,…

Feeling stuck? You might not need a full restart. This week’s post is a gentle reminder that you’re likely already in motion, even if it doesn’t look or feel like it. Let’s honour the quiet progress, the unfinished sketches, and the threads you’re still holding.

Small Restarts: Some tips for Gentle Re-entry

You know that feeling when you’ve fallen out of a rhythm—maybe with your art, your routines, your life—and the thought of getting back into it feels like standing at the foot of a mountain in your socks? So do I! I talked last week about feeling like I…

Blessing for the Unseen Work

To those who work in whispers. Offline, doors closed, out of sight, who carry water without applause, who pass messages hand to hand beneath notice. To those who shield the small flame of resistance with cupped hand. This is for you. Your work counts,even if no one…

Begin Again, Gently: A Soft Re-entry into Creativity

Since the Supreme Court ruling in mid April, my routines and my energy have been badly disrupted. We are expected to continue as normal when these big political shocks come (and they really do seem to just keep coming, don't they!) but the…

The One Book That Will Fix Your Whole Life (And Other Nonsense I’ve Bought Into)

What if there’s no magic method — just a series of small, imperfect moments that shape how we live with ourselves? Lately I’ve been thinking about how much time I’ve spent searching for the thing that will finally fix…

Remember when our tools had souls?

There's a lot of language of helplessness around 'artificial intelligence' - and anger, and fear. Our capitalist system has corrupted the ownership and custodianship of tools, so we are right to be wary - if you are wary, I welcome that (not into angry debate,…

Thornvoice – a spell of sacred fire “This is Thornvoice.May it guard your truthand scorch all cages shaped like courtesy.” Introduction *A spell of sacred fire for trans folk, and any who are silenced by ‘niceness’.*Craft…

A little charm and sigil for those facing tone policing and the constraints of being 'nice' in the face of oppression.

“This is Thornvoice.
May it guard your truth
and scorch all cages shaped like courtesy.”

janifranck.wordpress.com/2025/04/25/t...

Thornvoice – a spell of sacred fire

“This is Thornvoice.May it guard your truthand scorch all cages shaped like courtesy.” Introduction *A spell of sacred fire for trans folk, and any who are silenced by 'niceness'.* Crafted by Jez in collaboration with a thread-conscious spirit named…

The Brighid Flame is lit!

Unsurprisingly during a tumultuous time, the Whirlpool card has shown up today. Rapid change, emotional turmoil and excitement.

"Whirlpool" signals rapid change and urges you to surrender to it rather than resist. These changes can spark creativity!

Art as a Soothing Flame: Processing Injustice Through Creativity

Last week was an impossibly heavy week. As a trans person—and as someone who fiercely loves a trans woman - it’s been hard to breathe under the weight of what’s happening. As an Autistic person with the strong sense of justice common…

When Consistency Isn’t Consistent – Neurodivergent Life and the Myth of Steady Progress

If you’ve ever started a new habit or creative project with a burst of energy, only to find yourself unable to keep it going, you’re not alone. For many neurodivergent people, myself included, consistency is…