PJ Ryan's Bitey, Metaphorical, Ambiguous Little Writes

I'm honored to present my first interview with a very soulful writer by the name of PJ Ryan.

I find interviewing a writer is slightly different than interviewing a visual artist, nevertheless the creative drive behind a writer's work carries the equal thread of creativity and dynamism as any other artist, thus all art mediums finding a common thread or meeting point; and it's this common link in which I found myself forming the questions for PJ's interview. I've admired the work of PJ Ryan for some years now: there is a raw, in-the-gut force to her words that is undeniable and makes you look within even if you don't want to, forcing you to see realities you've turned a blind eye to. It is an admirable thing to do - to write of truths one is too afraid to read or to admit to oneself. And she does so gracefully, with both compassion and force.

But not only does she write of these truths, she also graces the beauty of life and love creating a metaphorical bridge from the depths to the heights where these truths become palpable and relatable to the reader, thus making the reader feel worthy and special enough to believe in themselves as they pry deep within their dark corners.

Such a journey of introspection she takes us on while her voice remains ambiguous and indirect and yet you feel as if she is speaking directly to you, allowing you to fill in the spaces she leaves open in her written pieces for you to relate in your own way as she delivers powerful messages.

I leave you with these words of hers that reflect much of the inspiration she often writes of and which has become her signature way of reaching out to others:

Everyone matters.

We’re all human.

We will always walk by someone who is worse or better off than us.

This won’t stop us complaining or wishing for something different.

It probably won’t stop us from screaming at our kids too loudly on the bad days either.

But on certain days, when we are fortunate enough to be given a glimpse into the lives of others, we should thank them for allowing that. We should tell them how beautiful they are.

We should let them know we love them.

So, to old friends and new, to parents and children and strangers on park benches (who will probably never read this), I send you love.

And I thank you for being you and for allowing me to share my own stories with you whilst you share yours with me, in whichever way you do.

I am so thankful that we’re able to inspire and support each other, on varying levels.

Sometimes, we crawl into our own selves and hide away from the world and all of its confrontational happenings, but when we’re strong enough, we always climb out and allow our wings to expand. And then we soar.

Be the metamorphosis that you are, continue to change, learn, grow and amaze.

You are amazing.

Love.

x

Tell us about your writing journey. What inspired you to write?

Being imaginative and creative has always been who I am. I’m very spiritual and an intensely deep thinker. I began writing at aged 13 after suffering trauma/difficult experiences in life and also after my father was killed in a road accident. Initially, I used my writing as a coping method to empty my head. I soon discovered the gift I had. I didn’t need to ‘work’ too hard at writing, I was able to transport readers very quickly and shape emotion into words. I chose PJ Ryan as my pen name because it’s an homage to the three men in my life who were all instrumental in causing me the most pain/and or showing me the most love. My fathers first initials were PJ. The father of my first born son also had the same two initials. Coincidentally, he also died in a road accident. And the surname is of the man I married (though am now separated from). I will always treasure their passing presence in my life and my pen name is testimony to that.

Are there any pieces of writing that are dear to you, or capture something for you which you felt formed or further aided your conviction as a writer?

I do have many pieces which are very special to me, though they all are within their own right. I could never choose one as the optimum piece.

Your writing is full of honesty. I’m interested in your personal quotes: “I believe the best writing derives from a place of no consequence.” “I write about life – yours, mine, theirs, his, hers, yesterdays and tomorrow.”

Tell us about them.

Thank you. ‘I believe the best writing derives from a place of no consequence.’ – is a reflection of my intention to write directly from my heart and soul. If as creative types (whether you are a writer/photographer/musician or artist) we stop to consider how what we are producing/creating will affect someone, it stunts the creative process. If you become concerned with how someone will regard you or your craft, then you are not being true to your expression and gift. Dare to step to the edge of yourself. It’s confronting though deepest within yourself and right at the very edge are the two places where the best magic happens. I really believe that being brave is an important factor in creation. This introduces individualism and honesty, which are both key factors in standing out/above and also a key ingredient which allows people to connect to the medium of expression.

The second quote really speaks for itself. I write about life. I aim to write very ambiguously, though I also appreciate connecting with my readers in a way that resonates. I might mix 5 different people I know into one character. Or a piece might be all about me and my soul pouring out. I don’t like to explain what my pieces are about – if I have to do that for someone then they haven’t connected with that particular piece of writing and that’s more than ok. Another quote I wrote is ‘Perspective pertains to where you are standing’ – and this also relates to how other people perceive our creative craft. My pieces of writing may be perceived 5 different ways by five different readers. It’s relative to circumstance and levels.

What motivated you to write stories, not only about yourself, but of others too?

My motivation to write is a creative outlet. I am like a tap that needs to be turned on each day.

If I don’t create, I rust. I write, mix tunes and engage in photography (I have a strong emphasis on shadow and movement. My most favourite photographs are the ones in which I capture ENERGY.

In regard to motivation as a writer – I am driven by emotion.
I like the challenge of writing succinct pieces which say a lot. I respect the importance of transporting a reader quickly into a scene or emotion.
I know I’m able to do this.

I also like to untangle the web of everything it means to be human (often the darker and more confronting attributes of being human) and spin it into something beautiful and reflective.

I really am a believer that everything happens for a reason and every experience we endure is a gift – yes, even the most painful of happenings.

I love how you said that being brave is an important factor in creation. I agree. I think this is how creative expression and the arts could ever progress or “step out” of the known boundaries or styles of the day. It takes the rawness of the creative essence to push past convention and fear and really present something honest and beautiful.

You definitely do that through your writing. I agree with what you said about everything happening for a reason… it would be harder to come to terms with a painful happening if it had occurred for no reason, I feel.
I am the same in that I like figuring out the deeper purpose or reason of a happening. Things just don’t happen randomly, there is a purpose, a personal design to fulfill even, would you agree?

With regard to my belief that ‘everything happens for a reason’ (yes even the most horrific of events) I want to add that sometimes WE might not grasp exactly what the reason is. Perhaps it pertains to someone or something distant from us. Other people's lessons. I’m very interested in Quantum, time and space, energy. I think that as humans, we all are here
evolving at different levels, based on past karma and evolutions.

Anyway, I could ramble on about this type of thing for days. Back to creativity – my life has been intense and filled with some very dramatic experiences (both spiritually and relating to human behaviour) and I know that I would not have the depth I do, nor be the creative person I am today without every one of those experiences I've endured. They are my blessings, despite the way they masquerade in dark masks.

I like how you said you mix tunes! Is there one you’d like to share for us to listen to? :)

I have always been a passionate music lover. I started clubbing at aged 14 though attended my first disco in the 1970’s (I was underage). I was an avid watcher of SOLID GOLD in the 70’s and also SOUL TRAIN (as a six year old my ambition was to grow up and be ‘a solid gold dancer’ hahah). Both TV programs really became my first inspiration for funk, soul and groove. I was born with a natural rhythm. I named my new mixing adventure ‘RAW CARROTS’ because what I am doing is indeed raw. I have been teaching myself. There’s been some hit and misses. People respect raw though. It’s ambition.
I never try to be anyone I’m not. I do what I love.

Overall, my tunes have been accepted very well at soundcloud (where I like to hang out) it’s a brilliant community of musical peeps. I am astounded at the volume of AMAZINGLY talented musicians, DJ’s and performer/singers in this world. It truly blows my mind. I find it infectious and inspiring to be amongst them. Creativity is the best type of disease. It spreads quickly. I love people and I appreciate being inspired AND inspiring. I am a passionate music lover. I stopped watching TV almost a year ago. I feel so much better for it! I have always had a very good ear for music. I know what I do and don’t like. My musical taste is VERY broad. I don’t particularly respect genres, I feel like they are cages but it helps to divide and file in the big cabinet of tunes. I love to dance – it is my therapy.

There are many tracks which are special to me in my ‘Raw Carrots’ playlist. But at the time of this interview I would like to share two with you which are perhaps my most favourite of what I've created so far.

don't stop don't go was (as the description explains) a mixture of two tracks plus i sampled a little freestyle rap my daughter did when she was 6 years old. She’s also extremely creative. She’d chosen to record herself on her ipod in the backyard, rapping with the birds and she sang she most gorgeous little tune. I didn’t know she had done it until she ran into the house and played it for me. I held onto that little nugget for a year or so and then i sampled a part of it and mixed it into this track. The edit also is dedicated to someone very special to me who has been a massive inspiration in my own growth, both personally and creatively.

The second track I’d like to share is if you go away and this is very special to me for personal reasons. I also am a fan of Shirley Bassey (she has a masculine intensity yet her vulnerability radiates through the original of this song) and i really dig the ‘rebeat’ remix of this so i couldn’t resist having a play with it. I am proud of what i did with the track. For me, the track also delivers the message that true love is a very powerful gift in life. It is nourishing like sunlight. True love (in whichever level it resonates in our lives) brightens the soul. I love LOVE. It renders us vulnerable because when we surrender to someone special, there is always the chance that they may be taken away from you (or leave on their own accord haha oh i know it’s not so funny but remember what is meant will be!) and often, the thought of not having them in your life feels too dark to consider. The line ‘If you go away, then you might as well take the sun away’ really is so beautifully poetic to me. I feel this way about my someone special.

There are lots of tracks amongst my raw carrots, they are eclectic, groovy, driven and thumping. I have also collaborated with musicians. My writing has been used as lyrics for a number of bands and musicians. This is a process I’m currently re-visiting.

Enjoy munching on my 'raw carrots' and stay tuned because I hope the best is yet to come!

I’d like to go back to question #2 for a bit… would you be willing to choose 3 pieces which are special to you that you’d like for us to read?

I have been asked (twice hahaha) to choose just three pieces. I fear that I might hurt the feelings of one of my other pieces, though I will oblige for the purpose of this interview. I’m exceptionally humbled and honoured to have been asked to partake in this process and I greatly admire and adore Erika (thank you!!).

Spider legs

This piece was written five or six years ago and it flowed from me very easily. I think the piece speaks for itself. It was written for one person and that person still remains exceptionally important to me. I feel that people do indeed crawl into our centre and live within us. We are all a reflection of each other. I believe that SPIDER LEGS is a resonating piece and easily related to by everyone.

passage

PASSAGE is an homage to those dear to me who have died.

I have always been very spiritually attuned, in fact my earliest memories include the ‘visions’ i was blessed with. I am not afraid of ‘ghosts’. We are all energy. When we die, that energy still exists though it changes shape. PASSAGE was inspired by my own experiences and by the exceptional photography which i have attached to the piece (in the description) by kitsmumma

people puppet thing strings

I chose one of my latest writes to add because I think this piece reflects a changing style/voice in my craft. I am very child-like of soul and will eternally be. This piece reflects that quality. It is also another story of what it means to be human. To believe. To surrender. To trust.
They are all lessons I have been learning recently (we never stop learning). I would like to write children's books and of course novels and screen play, this piece is a sign post toward these directions for me. When I write, I visually see scenes in my head so I hope that my writing is able to transport those images to my readers.

Who are your favorite writers/poets, or pieces of literature, books?

As a writer, I’m not a HUGE reader. That almost feels like a sin. I’m contradictory like that. I have stages where I read more than not and the last 6 years or so have been more so about feeling and creating. I prefer to read people. I am a keen people watcher (sort of like a bird watcher though without the binoculars). I look at people and feel a gush of stories enter me. We’re very inspirational creatures. I do have a book which is very dear to me. It’s a collection of Poetry by Robert Burns.

A dope dealer gave it to me when I was eighteen because she knew I would treasure it. The book is falling apart, it’s very ancient. There is a love inscription inside the front pages, handwritten from one love to another and it’s dated Christmas Day 1902. I imagine that book being in the hands of one love and then transferred to another. And now it’s in my hands. Those are the type of treasures of life which mean most to me. Time and space.

I do spend a lot of time online. I find the internet to be an endless resource of inspiration and collective drive. I learn many things. I read wonderful articles which help me to grow as a person. I am ALWAYS inspired by the people I know and don’t know. The networking capabilities online are endless. I’ve met and collaborated with people I may never meet face to face, I've been inspired by them and I know I've inspired others. We live in a fortunate time.

Do you have writing projects/collabs you’re working on, or books you’ve written?

I have self published three collective pieces. The first ‘Tales from the tumbleweed’ has been removed from the internet because I’m quite honestly embarrassed by how poor the formatting is. It was my first book and it’s not set out the best. Although, I guess it was my first real ‘Raw Carrot’. I endeavour to re-edit it and get it back into the ether of internet land. The other two books ‘The being of Human’ and ‘Morsel’ are both available for sale.

e-book also available for The Being of Human

I have collaborated with many artists here at redbubble. The pieces are all scattered amonst my folio. One of my proudest creative moments is having a piece of writing on exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery. It’s unusual for writing to be displayed in a gallery. I liked the challenge of finding a captivating way to present my writing. I chose a vintage wedding gown and distressed and abused it. Aglaiab then helped me to place my writing onto a piece of beautiful material and we attached it to the gown. I still have the gown packed away. It hung proudly in the entrance of the gallery for two weeks. The piece of writing was titled BAREFOOT

barefoot

Tell us something about you we don’t know, maybe something you feel is quirky or unique about yourself :)

Oh. I don’t eat meat with bones still attached. I rarely eat much meat at all actually.
I love clouds – I believe they are the art of our sky.
I’ve had two near death experiences (yes white light, the whole works). I have four children and have never been in labour (I had 4 c-sections).
Nobody ever guesses my age (I am very youthful in spirit). I am currently residing in my 29th house.
I’ve never travelled overseas though the ache to do so is absolutely burning within me now. I’ve never had a ‘proper’ holiday. I can’t remember jokes and I’m really bad at telling them. I will however recall to you an invent in my life (if we were in that zone) that will make your skin goosebump and a shiver run along your spine.
I’m exceptionally real despite having a wicked imagination. I am rather contradictory.
As a young girl, growing up, I had horses (my father was a cowboy and bred and trained thoroughbreds) though I chose to saddle up the fence or a forty-four gallon drum and ride that. I love to drive and consider myself a good driver. I prefer to drive a manual, I feel safer doing so. I am passionate about the sound of engines, speed and the aesthetic beauty of cars.

Dancing, as I've mentioned previously is one of my greatest joys. Growing older saddens me in many ways because I love to be on a dance floor amongst beautiful people, driving base and all of the exquisite energy that is created by lovers of DEEP HOUSE music. Perhaps I will one day own a club so that I can still visit. I recently lost close to a million dollars in a failed business and I am still alive and thriving. Lastly, and perhaps not so quirky yet completely sewn into the fibres of my being is a deepness so incredibly profound at times I shock even myself. I am unique. Aren’t we all?

Is there anything you’d like to say to further inspire or stimulate creativity in society?

Be YOU. Be brave. Step out on to the edge of yourself and then right into the very centre of your inner universe. The magic is at both of those locations.

Follow PJ Ryan on:

Facebook / Instagram / Website

The Essence of Nature in Yvonca's Earth-Inspired Art

"You’re so full of character and the world adores your creaturehood, we watch and want to pounce.. you have twigs and leaves braided through your hair.. the scent of sandalwood and vetiver in your aura… the promise of red grapes in your body… the field of loyalty around you which holds those beings who stay loyal to themselves… you see, you make me want to write, to squeeze the colours out of you like a tube of paint..."

~ Jim Kendrick

and a woman full of colour she is...

Speaking to Yvonca about her art is just as fascinating as the artwork she creates.

She indeed carries the scent of sandalwood, of smoke in an autumn afternoon, a fresh field of grass, and all the apples and plants she comes in contact with and nurtures.
I asked her about the works that I am especially attracted to which she calls Land Speak or Earth Art, and I was on a journey only this artist, who is in daily contact with the magic whisper of nature, could illustrate...

Her works carry an ever-changing, ethereal effect, yet organic and wholesome depth - it is like viewing visions or internal dreams locked deep in nature only she has access to; and these deep, mystic visions we have the opportunity to experience through her perspective and interpretation. And what visions they are. She explains that her work is never visual or pre-conceived: it starts as a dance with a plant, and she allows the plant to speak in its own language, she only means to be a mouthpiece for its essence. As a result, her nature-inspired work is very spiritual and faith-based, she never knows how a piece will end up being; for her, it's more about the process of dancing with the essence of wind and plant, and working with nature for the making of an artwork.

She is not unlike a botanist, or scientist. She is often observing the cycles of nature, plants and the growth and process of them - she wants to see what the buds in the trees are doing, how they change, what the animals say, how her land changes from season to season. She stresses that it's the general patterns of growth, the endless variations in nature which fascinate her.

I feel someone who is so in tune with the stability and cycles of nature, as well as aware of the metamorphosis of life, can only be as trustworthy as the nature-derived inspiration she hands out so generously to others through her work and spirit.

She shares with us her artistic process, her gypsy heritage, and the power of being connected to the rhythms of nature.

The Wild Sawtooth Sunflowers

What medium do you usually work with?

more detail (Wild Fox Grape Sweetness)

I have a great fondness for graphite and charcoal if I want to make detailed almost technical drawings. Both are very time consuming and require focused concentration, which I am not always capable of.
I also love Sumi ink, (from burnt pine trees) which has a very silvery gray to its watered-down tones. I also enjoy taking cuttings of plants and simmering them to extract dyes to paint with. And pastels . . . finger painting with materials is sooo satisfying.

How long have you been drawing/painting?

All my life.

Where are you based?

I live in nature, a rural part of Illinois.
I consider myself a reformed gardener... I have a wildlife sanctuary, and I have a relationship with my land. I feel it's reciprocal, the relationship. I want to see what the buds are doing, I use the ashes of the dirt, the wind.
I want to absorb its essence.

Tell us about what motivates you to do your art.

Love.

A great love and need to be in the natural world. Often I become attached to a single species of plant for a season and have an almost obsessive loyal relationship of adoration. In my walks I often/usually find plants/natural objects that speak to me and they end up starring in my work either as subject or brush.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Natural world and my inner turmoil and relationships . . . somehow morph forces and plants are often the vehicle for acting out a drama. Sometimes I am just responding to an unction to create and follow a thread and do not understand until I have made or get feedback. I have great respect for automatic drawing/processes.

Do you have an artwork of yours that is dearest to you? or a series of works? Share with us which one(s) and why.

Waking Shagbark

Haha shhh . . .! I LOVE ALL my children. The Shagbark Hickory Series is a fav. It was an act of love to record/document each step in the seasonal transformation. I feel like the Johnny Appleseed of Shagbark Hickories and I enjoy my relationship with these magnificent trees.

To view each drawing, click on link:

The Shagbark Hickory Series

or a specially made slideshow below :)

I cannot stop doing self portraits, they are so self-revealing and have a huge number of them. The graphite ones still excite me as do the scripture series.

Calling Heaven

i started a joke . . .

The 4 part electric SP’s still amaze me as I did them one each night in a row and they came out of nowhere with no pre-conceived thought. They brought me very healing information.

And I do love the land artworks as well. They are very large and physical works to make.

There is an organic, wholesome feel to your series of works called “Land Art.” It seems like you hand pick elements or materials found in nature and implement them into your pieces.

Tell us about your process, the methods you’ve developed to create such a magical effect.

It is a very ritualized process for me, I love the act of ritual, the planning /preparing oneself to make art/love. There is a delicious anticipation that begins the process. There is a spark involved. I know which paper, I measure and cut to size. Diptychs, triptychs, etc. are cut to the same length and need to be created together.

Night Prairie Triptych

I always use sumi ink, which I prepare in formulas, but the other colors are not definite. If I have made a dye from a certain plant I will at some point always use that plant in the making of the art either as a negative mask or actual brush. I have buckets of tools and inks and supplies and often keep a wheel barrow inside my studio to haul in one trip or a minimum of trips.

Everchanging II

Aside from that, then spontaneity takes over.

The actual painting starts with quietness and prayer.

I seek to be very, very gathered in the present. I have a reverence for the plant world, a listening/centering and then, I begin.

I know I jump and dance and shoosh, it is a physical process, but I am in a different state. I want to channel a voice, an essence as I create. I never have a preconceived idea, not a composition or pattern of movement. I never know what they look like until they dry.

There is experimentation in every piece and I build on that. A structured set of variables begin a spiritual process that harnesses random chaos.

I always welcome the wind to move the material, paper and pigments. I would love to make generations of this process work with another artist/lover/friend, but for now it is my own very private, solitary work.

Everchanging Series

Dancing Prairie Grass

Coming Through

You mainly create large scaled work. Do larger sizes work best for you for this kind of nature-inspired art?

I have some smaller pieces, which are more beginning experiments or tests. I want to create expansive rooms, encompassing landscapes of psychic wall paper. I want to convey “being” in peace, wonder, beauty and I want there to be felt a tangible “aliveness” that the viewer can enter into and experience a shift of consciousness.

This world is too much most of the time for me, I am overwhelmed by the frenetic meaningless activity - I seek a counterbalance of depth, passion, beauty and peace. Peace is not boring, it is a birthing place. I would like to create an entire atmospheric room of morphing installations to envelop others. Spaces that induce change, promote harmony, clarity and healing.

You can’t do that with small works. :)

Your “Tools from Nature” are incredible, you made these?

Tools from Nature

Yes. It started with the idea that different plants create different textures. Because I have informally used many items as brushes, either hammering the stalks and raking the fibers into brushes. I wanted to elevate and document them.

These were more fun to make than to use. As the dryness of the plant material is a disintegrative process in keeping with returning back to the earth, they of course fell apart as I used them, so I stopped.

They are now preserved in all their glory . . until they completely fall apart one day.

barely there

There is a drawing of yours that I’m particularly drawn to that is separate from your Land Art.

It was drawn when you were younger. The eyes for me stood out the most – they are so empty and yet full of intensity… it feels like a very important drawing holding great personal meaning.

Ahh yeah . . . “barely there”. The eyes are very telling. They are disconnected and not the same. The shapes and sizes are different and carry different meaning. I drew it when I was 15 years old. I had been kicked out of drawing class and vowed to continue my own work. I was documenting myself in that time via self portrait because I knew it was important and that I did not have the ability to process a trauma I was holding from my gypsy summer.

I had begun to discover that the hand that draws is directly connected to the gut and is incapable of editing . . the truth is not hidden and whether we want to or not, the hand and gut tell it like it is.

Throughout your portfolio there is a lot of reference to gypsies, and there is even a collection of your work called “Gypsy Stew.” Is there some gypsy in you?

In acceptance lieth peace

Well . . . my Aunt married a gypsy, a Scottish Tinker and I spent some time staying weekends with them as a child and one summer living with them. I would say there is some gypsy in me, hopefully the very finest of their qualities and void of the “less attractive” qualities. Quite by chance, I began a collaboration project with contemporary poet Tim Buckley. I explored art imagery of gypsy influences and he wrote some marvelous poetry in response. It was a rich experience, of mutual respect and admiration for one another’s work . . . . and very healing and cathartic.

Tell us something about you we don’t know, maybe something that you feel is quirky or unique ;) Something you feel that makes you who you are.

How about if I tell what is NOT quirky? It will be a shorter list. :)

When I buy a carton of eggs and I need to transfer them into the plastic egg crate in the refrigerator . . . I move them around a lot. I think, well Bill’s been sitting next to Fred a long time and maybe it would be nice to sit next to another egg for a while. And I think . . stop BEING NUTZ!! But I always still do it anyways. Haahaa.

I think, having had a dear Grandma that had mental health issues, the idea of being crazy always really scared me. Somehow, when I faced that fear and got over it I find I am a lot more lovingly accepting of myself and quirks . . and it is much more peaceful in my head.

Is there anything you’d like to tell other artists and people reading this? Any words of inspiration to encourage or stimulate creativity in society?

Just step out and do it. Don’t do it for anyone’s approval, have a playful approach, be accepting and experiment.

Find other creative people that you click with and enjoy life together. Being an artist of any kind is a way of life. It seeps into everything you do. It is cathartic and healthy and it keeps you more fully alive and because it is a form of vitality. . I think it actually results in aging more gracefully.

It will be a path of inner and outer growth and more actualized people have more to contribute to this world. :)