Thanksgiving - Inspiration and New Book

There's this little town where I used to live... It's a place where artists and creative makers feel drawn to, to congregate, to hold classes and have exhibitions and gallery shows... And where some artists then decide to stay and open little boutique shops to sell their art and handmade wares. 
I had the opportunity to re-visit this place, on a rare day away, after the Covid-19 lockdown eased. I returned from that cherished-treat-of-a-brief-excusion feeling refreshed, recharged and very, very inspired. Full from drinking in the visual soul-food straight from the Wellspring. 
 My friend Patrick felt exactly the same. We were talking about enjoying this feeling of overflowing abundant, creative inspiration bubbling through us, and suddenly had this idea for a collaborative project : A Calendar-Book about the Camino De Santiago De Compostela - the ancient pilgrim route across Northern Spain. 
The Camino - yes, that mysterious journey-of-the-Spirit has been in my psyche for the past 22 years, since I first heard about it. This was my chance to make the book I wished I could find when I was back in New Zealand dreaming of the Camino. 

We didn't pause to over-think it... we just started straight away. Firstly by looking through Patrick's photographs from his own four journeys along three of the caminos -- along Camino Frances (the most well-known pilgrim's Way), Camino Norte (the most northern camino route) and the Primitivo (the Original Way). 
We laid the photos out in order, thinking about the flow of the twelve months, switching and moving their sequences around till they felt right.  

And then I set to work creating the look I hoped to achieve consistently throughout the book.  

I've always really loved old linen bound books and ancient maps. I imagined torn parts of maps, the color of the vintage paper, the smell of well-read, lightly golden tanned pages and hand-inked drawings. 

I asked my Spirits for their help and guidance, waiting for the imagery to appear...letting the energy flow through to me and then I would quickly capture them, in inks and watercolor on my 'torn papers'. 

I wrote an 'introduction' about the camino - because this book may be the very first time some people have heard about it - and also some positive declaration - affirmations. There is one included for each month. 

There couldn't be a deadline to work to, I couldn't force things and had to let the book lead me to making itself. We also wanted to make a calendar that could be used in any year at all, and not have to be restricted to just one particular year cycle. We live in times of such a throw-away culture, I personally think it's nice to have things we can re-cycle and re-use.

We put the cover image to a vote and over 200 folks told us (quite passionately one way and the other) which image called them most, for their own different reasons. 

We listened and will be offering both cover options -- we feel they show two quite different energies that can be encountered out on Camino, the golden light of the Morning Sun, and the Open Road, under a harvest moon... 

 'Morning Sun' cover (ISBN: 978-1-913402-01-3) 

'Open Road Moon' cover edition (ISBN: 978-1-913402-03-7)

Both these alternative cover 'book-twins' will be published through ThunderRiver Publishing and available from 30 November 2020! To coincide with the blue moon Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in the twin-sign of Gemini.

I'm feeling so deeply grateful today for the opportunity to make this book, and all the gifts it has brought me during the process. 

Thanks for reading!

Catherine Athena xo 

Update: 

  -->><<--Available Now-->><<--

To purchase your preferred cover version please click on the links in black below:

USA / Canada / Aust / NZ / Global: —>> Morning Sun // —>> Open Road Moon

Thank you so much for supporting this handmade artisan book! 

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