The two previously planned journals – Nurturing The Song Within and Sing Us The Song Only You Can Sing -- are being consolidated into one, Nurturing The Song Within. The content of the surviving Art Journal will be roughly fifty/fifty journaling as a tool and creativity as a way of life. The day planners will also be consolidated.

 Below, I outline the reasons for the decision, but first if you ordered both you have three options:

 ·      Receive two copies of the Art Journal.

·      Receive one copy of this quarter’s art journal, and one copy of the quarter beginning July 1 to be published in early June.

·      Receive a refund for one of the two journals, and the associated day planner if you also ordered that.

 I’ll email each subscriber who ordered both asking them which option they prefer.

 The reasons for the consolidation:

 ·      By focusing on one book and planner combination, I’ll be able to produce a higher quality Art Journal.

·      Some subscribers were confused by the differences between the two.

·      In order to breakeven on the higher quality Collectors’ Edition, Heron Dance would need at least fifty pre-orders. Thirty-four have been received to date.

·      This will allow me to get back into painting sooner. The preparation of the four books was inhibiting that.

·      The original plan was to introduce a series of these Art Journals:

o   Love, Gratitude And The Beauty Of Wild Places

o   The Wisdom Of Backwoods Wanderers – Thoreau, Emerson, Burroughs, Muir

o   Rumi

o   Poetry Journal

o   Simplicity Journal

o   Adventure Journal

o   Buddhist, Taoist Journal

Instead, Heron Dance will publish one journal per quarter, and one planner, and incorporate into both the best of the topics above, and intermingle with those excerpts from the journals and memoirs of seekers, searchers and creative outsiders living on some sort of edge or other.

It is not unusual for creative work to go through evolutions of this type. This will make for a more useful, interesting and beautiful work, though in less total quantity.

Implications For The E-Journals, A Pause For Beauty, Creativity As A Way Of Life and Nurturing The Song Within: All three will also be consolidated into one: Nurturing The Song Within. This will continue to be the preliminary first draft of the upcoming Art Journals.

The e-journal Nurturing The Song Within will be published five or six times a week. The two weekend editions do not require a contribution to support this work. To receive the three or four posts during the week, you’ll need to order the Art Journal, or make a contribution (however small) here, or buy something — some notecards or an original painting or somthing, anything.

Simplicity is better than complexity. Focus is better than spreading oneself thin. I sometimes need to better follow my own advice.

. . .

Below, a two page spread from the upcoming Heron Dance journal, Nurturing The Song Within.

Pre-order the Collector’s Edition printed by a high-end art book printer here.
These are available just on pre-order. There are now a couple of payment options including four equal monthly installments.
After publication, these journals will be printed by a print-on-demand printer at the same price.

You can download a PDF of the two-page spread below by clicking on the image.