Project Calm

We’re doing things a bit differently this issue: taking a fresh perspective in so many ways, from seeing the world the Hawaiian way to rewilding our lives. It’s all about sustainable shifts and second chances – a theme I’ve wanted to explore for some time as it seems so prevalent in my own life, from the rekindling of my high school love to getting another opportunity to buy our dream home after we missed out last year. Often second chances can feel like they’re meant to be, can’t they? Elsewhere, our Travel section takes an unusual approach this issue – you could almost call it the antithesis to adventure! But maybe that’s exactly what you’re after? Helen Martin and Naomi Bulger write about the joy to be found in correspondence during…

When did you realise you wanted to be an artist? I can say, literally, I was born this way. I realised I would be an artist when I was at high school, when I was a teenager. You portray beautiful, exotic women, often with flora and fauna. What inspires your pieces? I’ve always loved painting portraits, especially female portraits. Any woman can inspire me. My first portraits were of Tibetan women. Their colourful, traditional clothes, dark red cheeks and accessories influenced me a lot. Can you describe your creative process? Most things happen spontaneously while I’m painting; I do not sketch beforehand. I draw directly on paper, and start to paint. I rarely know what will happen next. What is the best creative advice you’ve received? Be yourself and create your own style. My advice to myself…

NATURE Rewilding: the word conjures up great forests, huge meadows with grasses as tall as your knees and animals running free; nature taking care of itself. Our regular nature writer, Tiffany Francis-Baker, delves into this hot topic of modern conservation and asks how it can also take care of us. Follow her tips for how we can rewild on a personal and local level. Elsewhere, wild flowers provide some of the inspiration in artist Harriet de Winton’s watercolour lesson this issue, and we turn to birth flowers, and gems, to inspire a year of natural gifts with an illustrated pull-out birthday calendar to match. Quote: Edward Abbey; illustration: ArdeaA / Getty Images…

1 A BIG WORLD OF PLANTS They feed us, help us breathe and keep our fragile planet alive, but how much do we really know about plants? Do they really like classical music? Can they slow climate change? The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh has written the perfect online course for beginners who are looking to understand plants and botany. Learn all about how plants work, how they adapt to the world around them and how to start identifying the plants in your local landscape. Enrol any time for the 10-week course, £80 per person. Visit onlinecourses.rbge.ac.uk for more information. Looking for something quicker/closer? We love A World of Plants by Martin Jenkins and James Brown, a beautifully illustrated compendium exploring the wide variety of plants on earth. £15, walker.co.uk 2 WANTED:…

Humans love making connections. Of course, it’s in our nature to seek out similarities with one another, but we choose to look for shared traits in the natural world too. Owls may be wise and wolves wicked, but few alliances have endured longer than our fellowship with flowers and gemstones. Throughout history artists, poets, royalty and religion have endowed them with human quirks in a shorthand that remains alive and well today. Shrinking violets, rough diamonds. But where did these traditions come from? And why are they still so popular? Think of the meanings of flowers and you’ll probably think of the Victorians. However, the tradition is thought to be much older, starting with the Greeks and Romans. While the Greeks wove flowers into their myths – like Narcissus, the vain…

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