The Healing Power of Art
Bundaberg Region artist Jane Marin is an artist, intuitive healer, life coach and more. She lives with her husband on a sugarcane farm with a farm stay that Jane hopes to build into her creative business. I love the stories that are coming out of the CQ Shopfront project's participants. Learning about their journey to where they are today is inspiring.
How did you get started in your art practice?
I have used art and creativity in my own life to heal, nurture and grow. Following a difficult and unforgiving childhood, in 1985, at aged 18, I contracted Ross River Fever resulting in nervous breakdown followed by diagnoses of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. I was bedridden for over six months and the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue continued for more than thirteen years. During this time I developed severe depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and was told I would be on medication for the rest of my life.
I developed arthritis in hips, fingers and shoulders during my early 20’s and was diagnosed with severe food and chemical intolerances. This led to being house bound and isolated for more than a year as I was severely sensitive to car exhaust fumes. At this stage I dropped all of my medications and began to study alternative healing techniques. This reawakened in me both a healing gift that had been dormant since my early childhood (an ability to heal with my hands) and an interest in the creative arts.
During the next few years, as I struggled to come to terms with my past and whilst bringing up two extremely intelligent and active children, I realised that I no longer knew who I was. I took a leap of faith and began to dive deeper into the creative arts including journaling, photography, and drawing. And whilst teaching scrapbooking at two stores in Bundaberg, I wrote “The Me Book - A Journey of Self Discovery.” This is a book offering questions and prompts for art journaling and writing.
What are the key inspirations behind your work?
I was inspired to redesign my work and to finally call myself an artist after a series of dreams
prompted me to create mandalas or circular artworks from my vast collection of photographs. These were eventually put together to form a set of oracle cards which proved extremely popular and landed me a job working as a freelance illustrator for a publishing company.
This experience was the catalyst that changed my world. It wasn’t long before I was receiving amazing feedback on my mandalas and illustrations from clients and customers, describing how they could feel powerful healing energy emanating from my work. This prompted me to study more about the healing power of light, colour and symbols. It also motivated me to learn to paint, which was something I never thought I could do. But when the opportunity to attend a series of intuitive painting lessons came up, I took it. After a few (make that many) lessons I felt myself able to go with the flow and to tune in to spirit with my art in the same way I did with healing. I began to paint from my intuition, not my emotions, and eventually found that I had created a whole new modality for healing.
I began selling my work at Wellbeing and Energy Expos and eventually built a new business plan, which focused on my mission to help women across Australia with art, love and connection. Jaaneman Art was born.
My art seems to have something special. Whilst primarily portraiture, I love to experiment with many mediums and subjects. Described by many as “healing art”, each piece is painted with the intention to help the person for which it is destined. The pieces of art that I create challenge the idea that art is simply for decoration. The energy I give these paintings is my way of helping others heal, and why I love to paint. What you feel when you look at a piece of my art is more than an interpretation, it’s the vibrations that I infuse within it. Absolutely all of my work is positive in nature. I have no emotional connection with the work that I sell because it doesn’t come from me - rather, through me. The art that I create for myself is completely different.
My paintings are also physically infused with healing essences, quartz crystal and gold, all of which are said to heal through their individual and combined “vibrations”. If something lifts your spirit, it is good for your health - physical, emotional and spiritual.
I run regular art workshops at Wattle Cottage Art and Wellbeing Centre situated on our farm, teaching participants to find their own “art and soul” in a beautiful supportive environment.
My workshops teach that absolutely anybody can be creative when we learn to relax and tune in to our heart and soul. My students start the day with meditation, journaling and occasionally yoga or dance and then we paint, enjoy great food and beautiful company. Participants always leave with an artwork to be proud of.
I don’t teach fine art, but I do teach techniques and then allow each person to find their inner artist. There is no right or wrong when your art comes from the heart. Our workshop space is very peaceful and relaxing surrounded by fields and natural bushland.
I also work with women and teens through such organisations as YMCA Youth (underprivileged youth), Edon Place (domestic violence) and Richmond Fellowship (mental health). It is such an honour and privilege to be work with these groups.
What is the business model and products that you are aiming to develop through participating in the CQ Shopfront project?
It had always been my plan to create a series of art workshops to sell online with PDF worksheets that eventually can be put together to create a book of intuitive art lessons. This will enable me to teach women all over the world. I think it is important to share workshops that absolutely anyone can do even with no knowledge or experience with art.
The COVID-19 situation gave me the push I needed to get this done. I enlisted the help of a lady I met at a CQ Shopfront workshop to film one workshop for me and then using what she taught me, created another four. I now have five online workshops on my website available for purchase.
This is has also prompted me to make some of my artwork available online as digital downloads. This will be launched officially soon.
I have a way to go in learning to market both of these streams. I am fairly tech savvy, but a little lacking in sales ability.
What dreams do you have for the future of your practice?
I am working on expanding my workshop timetable to include art retreats next year at Wattle Cottage. As Wattle Cottage is still a registered farmstay, I am looking at the addition of Airbnb and a “Glamping” experience with belle tents for overnight stays. Perfect for my “art and soul” retreats. This will enable people to travel and stay at Wattle Cottage overnight for weekend (or longer) group retreats and workshops.
I am also hoping to begin some collaborations into bus tours to include local food and art experiences.
These two things were originally planned to begin this year, but have been put on hold for the time being to give us time to regroup.
My dream has always been to be able to create an income stream that will help support our life on the land, as farming isn’t always easy.
Links:
Website: www.jaanemanart.com
Social Media: www.facebook.com/JaanemanArt