Jenny Coats Create-ED

Would you like to see your artwork in a real exhibition?

Here’s a little opportunity that I’m really excited to share with you… Gathering Ground are putting on a community art exhibition at the Pavilion in Hillsborough Park, opening on 29th August – and they’ve asked whether any of the wonderful artists I work with would like to exhibit! I think this could be a lovely opportunity for those of you who come to…...

Would you like to see your artwork in a real exhibition? Here’s a little opportunity that I’m really excited to share with you… Gathering Ground are putting on a community art exhibition at the Pavilion in Hillsborough Park, opening on 29th August – and …

The August newsletter is now live 🌿

August often feels like a month of slowing down. Routines change, holidays begin and it can feel as though our creative practice has slipped a little.

This month I've been thinking about giving ourselves permission to pause. Creativity doesn't always have to mean producing something. Sometimes it's enough to collect ideas, spend time outside or simply notice what's around us.

As always, you'll also find a few seasonal invitations to help you Notice • Connect • Create, plus details of upcoming workshops.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

(Link in bio)

August News Hi everyone, and welcome to the August newsletter. I write these each month to share seasonal reflections from nature and gentle ideas for sustaining a regular creative practice. You’ll also …

One of my favourite things about looking through everyone's nature journals is that no two are ever the same.

Even when we're in the same place, each person notices something different.

One sketchbook might be filled with delicate grasses swaying in the breeze. Another with tiny insects hiding amongst the leaves. Someone else might be drawn to the colours of the sky, the shape of a seed head or the texture of tree bark.

That's what makes nature journalling so special.

It's not about creating the "best" page or producing perfect drawings. It's about slowing down long enough to notice what catches your eye, then finding your own way to record it.

Every journal becomes a collection of moments that might otherwise have been forgotten.

I always love to see nature journal pages so please share any with me!

This October, I'll be running a Nature Journalling workshop where we'll spend time outdoors observing the changing season before capturing those moments in our journals. It'll be a relaxed, welcoming morning with plenty of encouragement and no pressure to produce perfect drawings.

If you've been longing to slow down, spend time in nature and reconnect with your creativity, I'd love to welcome you.

🍂 Nature Journalling Workshop – 13th October - The Botanical Gardens

If you'd like more information or would like to book a place, just send me a message.

I often notice that I'm waiting for the 'right time' for creativity.

When life feels a little quieter...
When work isn't so busy...
When the children are older...
When there's more space in the diary...

The trouble is, that perfect time rarely arrives.

I've found that creativity doesn't usually happen because I suddenly have hours to spare. It happens because I choose to make a little space for it, even if it's just half an hour with a sketchbook, a short walk to notice what's changing in the landscape or a few quiet moments spent making something with my hands.

Those small moments have a way of restoring me.

So perhaps this is your gentle reminder that you don't have to earn time to be creative.

You deserve it simply because it brings you joy.

How could you make time to create this week?

A little peek behind the scenes...

One of the things I love about running a regular art club, is all the planning and preparation. This usually begins with collecting ideas, looking closely, making sketches, experimenting with composition and painting little studies to see what works.

This month, our focus is fruit. 🍐🍎🍋

I started by gathering inspiration and spending time really looking at the shapes, colours and the way the light falls across each piece. From there came some quick sketches, a value study to explore the light and dark, and finally a painting that will help guide our session.

I love this stage of the process. It reminds me that creating isn't about getting everything right first time. It's about being curious, experimenting and allowing ideas to develop one step at a time. I think this also challenges my own creativity and keeps me excited too!

I know each person will notice something different and create something uniquely their own.

Which stage of the process do you enjoy most: gathering ideas, sketching or creating the finished piece?

Week 28 of the nature journal It's been another very hot week, 30 degrees plus temps and the third heatwave if the year. The ground is very dry, leaves are irresistibly crunchy under foot and the fields are a very pale gold colour, almost bleached out. Our mulberry and cherry trees have been almost completely stripped of fruit by the birds and I can't blame them! This week I have been really enjoying watching the wonderful swifts that gather in large groups above Walkley near to where I live. They are sociable birds and I've seen them high in the sky screaming and whirling in groups of 50 plus. I've done a simple pencile drawing this week, partly because it is busy in and end of term end the year frenzy of shows and appointments but also because I wanted to show the range of incredible positions that they can get their body and wings into. They truly are masters of the skies. #52weeksofnature2026 #naturejournalling #artofnoticing #natureillustrationart #swiftsofwalkley

This feedback made me smile. 😊

In June, I was invited to run an introductory Nature Journalling session for a home education group. I'll admit, I was a little apprehensive beforehand because it was something completely new for me.

I needn't have worried.

We spent time outdoors slowing down, observing the world around us and recording what caught our eye. It was such a joy to see the children (and the adults!) becoming absorbed in noticing the small details that are so easy to miss.

Afterwards I received this lovely feedback and one of the children said he wished he could do it every day. I don't think there's a much better compliment than that.

It's a lovely reminder that slowing down, looking closely and being creative isn't just for artists—it's something people of all ages can enjoy.

Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a memorable afternoon.

As summer gradually gives way to autumn, I'm looking forward to another season of slowing down, looking closely and making time to create together.

I've got some exciting workshops planned over the coming months, each inspired by the changing seasons and the beauty of the natural world.

Whether it's filling the pages of a nature journal, experimenting with printmaking in the woods or creating handmade Christmas prints, my hope is always the same: to offer a relaxed space where you can step away from the busyness of everyday life, reconnect with your creativity and enjoy making something with your own hands.

No matter your experience, you're very welcome.

If you've been following along and thinking, "I'd love to have a go at that," perhaps this autumn is the perfect time.

🍂 Nature Journalling at the Botanical Gardens - 13th October

🌿 Printing in the Woods at Ecclesall Woods - 17th October

🎄 Christmas Printing at the Botanical Gardens - 21st November

If you'd like to know more, send me a message or have a look at the booking information in my profile.

I'd love to see you there!

Week 27 of the nature journal This week I've added to a page that has a picture on it that I was really not happy with and I'm really happy with this new painting/drawing of a small tortoiseshell butterfly which makes me feel so much better about this page! That's one thing I really love about creating my journal over several years - it gives me chance to make mistakes and horrible drawings and then come back and add something beautiful to it. I guess that's a bit like nature itself in some ways. There is a piece of ground outside the back of my house, one side has been a riot of beautiful flower all spring and early summer and the other side has been bare earth, now the flowery side has gone over to seed and more brown floppy growth whereas some flowers have started to come up on the other side - maybe it can't all be beautiful all the time or we wouldn't appreciate it as much? This week has continued to be warm and dry and the paths are covered with a mass of growth making them almost as difficult to navigate as the wet boggy days of winter. I got horribly prickled crossing a field overgrown with thistles yesterday. There are butterflies like this small tortoiseshell everywhere, they seem to flutter up with every footstep. Interestingly, looking back at that unsatisfactory picture of ragwort from last year, I have noticed that it is in flower again but not noticed any caterpillars on it yet even though I saw so many cinnabar moths (who use this as their main food supply and where they lay their eggs) earlier in the season. I will look out though. #52weeksofnature2026 #artofnoticing #naturejournalling #natureillustrationart #maketimetocreate