The Joyful Artist Is on Sabbatical

A season of renewal, expansion, and creative metamorphosis

There comes a moment in every artist’s life when the soul whispers,
“It’s time.”

Time to step beyond the familiar.
Time to dissolve the old stories, the old roles, the old landscapes.
Time to wander into the wide-open unknown where new colours, new visions, and new creations are waiting.

For me, that moment is now.

The Joyful Artist studio is officially on sabbatical as I journey from New Zealand to Panama—
a pilgrimage of light, liberation, and creative rebirth.

This is not an ending.
It is an unfolding.
A deep exhale.
A resetting of the compass toward wonder.

Why a Sabbatical?

Because creativity needs room.
Because the muse becomes louder when life becomes quieter.
Because after years of giving, building, holding, and tending, my spirit asked for a season of:

Sacred rest
Deep listening
Joyful wandering
Soul-led exploration
New inspiration in unexpected places

I am following that call.

What This Means

During this sabbatical:

The studio is tucked into a peaceful slumber.
Commissions are paused.
Workshops and retreats will return at a later date, renewed and transformed.
New collections will be born… but not rushed.
Updates will arrive like postcards from the soul—occasional, luminous, and surprising.

My website will remain alive, but in a state of serene stillness—
a sanctuary of past works, stories, and inspiration while I gather the next chapters.

Where I’m Going

From the misty mornings of Kerikeri to the rainforest skies of Panama, this sabbatical is both a physical relocation and a symbolic one:

A journey from one life to the next.
A movement from effort to ease.
From striving to allowing.
From holding on… to letting go.

Panama will be my muse.
Boquete my sky temple.
The tropics my colour palette.
The unknown my creative guide.

What Awakens on the Other Side

When and if I return, The Joyful Artist will not be the same—
and neither will I!

You can expect:

New art infused with tropical light
New stories of courage, joy, and reinvention
A refreshed creative practice
A new series exploring the art of letting go
A transformed version of myself, ready to share the discoveries
Perhaps even a memoir of this wild, wholehearted leap

This is a chrysalis season.
The butterfly always comes after.

Stay Connected (If You Wish)

If you’d like to receive the occasional inspiration-drenched missive from the sabbatical trail, you can stay on the newsletter list—
but there will be no noise, no clutter, no pressure, only soul-led updates when the muse speaks.

You’re welcome to walk beside me.