5.11 Elin Manon, ‘Illustration, Folklore and Landscape’
Action point: www.ecotalk.co.uk
Welcome to series 5, episode 11 of the Prompted by Nature. How have you been? Imbolc has just passed here in the UK and I can feel the very tangible promise of the lighter months slowly creeping up. The full snow moon has just passed and has been illuminating the early mornings with an almost solar glare - it’s been so bright! I’m in the midst of planning my upcoming e-zine in time for the Equinox as well as working on a few pieces that I’m feeling really inspired by.
Onto to day’s episode.
Today I’m speaking with illustrator, Elin Manon. Elin is a freelance illustrator from Wales now based in Cornwall. Her work is inspired by the natural world, folklore and folk traditions, particularly those Welsh and Cornish. A passion for storytelling and the celebration and protection of our natural world has been a constant drive within her work. Through the power of imagination and imagery, she aims to deepen our connection to the natural environment, reflecting stories of the landscape, in a world that is often focused on the modern and material.
In this conversation, we discuss:
Elin’s creative journey
How Elin’s distinctive style emerged
The place of storytelling in her work
The boundary between Self and Art
Finding the balance between work and creativity
Charging what you’re worth as a writer
Elin’s creative process
The impact that Elin’s early encounters with nature and storytelling (especially the Mabinogion) had on her future work
Why speaking and using Welsh is so important to Elin
Why connecting with creatives can be an important part of enjoying and appreciating their art
The lesson that Elin would like to pass onto you
Elin’s vision for the future
This conversation was so rich and I loved speaking with Erin about her incredible artwork. you can find her on her website www.elin-manon.com and on Instagram @elin_manon_illustration
Past episodes that would work well with this one are:
2.5a Nick Hayes, The Book of Trespass
3.6a Jamey-Anne Redway, Illustration and the Natural World
3.8a Chloe Valerie Harmsworth, Nature-Inspired Creativity
4.10a Elizabeth Gleave, Restoring the Earth through the Arts
5.2a Amy-Jane Beer, The Flow
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Come find me over on the website where you can find all events, my blog, past episodes and link to the Substack and the PbN bookshop. On Instagram, I’m @prompted.by.nature, Facebook it’s @promptedbynature and Twitter I’m @promptedxnature. Remember that the writing prompt for this episode will be up on Tuesday.
Until next time, I’m sending lots of love and creativity. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon! Bye.
Helen x
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Writing Prompt
Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Elin Manon. This is one of those prompts that doesn’t have to be written - it can be if you’d like, and know that these prompts are always more of creative prompts that you can make of what you will - but could be one to use to inspire a piece of artwork like a collage or painting. Whatever direction you’d like to take this in is fine!
So the invitation here is to do a little background research into the folklore of your area. Folklore came up a lot in the conversation and Elin spoke of her connection to the stories of Wales and also of their connection to the folklore of Cornwall. (And by the way did anyone pick up on the link in her story about the horse that comes in the night- the Night Mare? Was I the only one who, upon listening back to the conversation, saw the light of realisation of ‘oh! Nightmare!!’)
Folklore and landscape are bound together - one, I believe, reflecting the other. We see folklore in a landscape when we notice things like standing stones and stone circles and when we visit a space and are told, ‘they say this is where X happened with Y, many, many years ago.’ The land holds these stories and, as humans, it can be a way for us to connect with it. Folklore is what is created when those who know the land the best begin to notice patterns, signs and symbols and transform these into stories we can learn from. For example, in Sussex, where I live, there is a story about how the Wilmington Giant got there. For those who don’t know, the Wilmington Giant is a huge chalk person carved into the side of a big hill. If you look closely, most areas have some kind of folklore attached to them; these may vary depending on landscape, of course, but even my hometown of London has its urbanised versions of folklore, usually involving the devil in some way!
The invitation here, then, is to do a little research into the folklore of the land on which you now live.
What are the stories that exist in this place that may have been forgotten?
Where did they come from and how have they moved and changed with the times? If you can’t find any, why not spend some time outside in your local area connecting with a particular tree or space over the course of days or weeks and see what stories arise from it.
Perhaps you are lucky enough to live close to a natural spring or well - where stories does it hold?
If you live close to a river, what does it say as it moves and flows on?
Perhaps your local park - or even graveyard! - has something in it that has always interested you - what stories might there be in that thing?
Get curious and let your imagination run wild!
A couple of previous writing prompts that might help get you started are the meditation I did for my conversation with Nathaniel Hughes and Fiona Owen, 1.3b, as well as with Nana Tomova, 1.7b. And then the prompt for my conversation with Dawn Nelson (which would actually also be really good to listen to in connection to my conversation with Elin), 1.13b, tells the folktale of the river of Banorie, which you can then use as a writing prompt.
Let me know how you get on with this one. The folk tales of the world are always rich, diverse and, oftentimes, wildly entertaining.
All book recommendations in the 'Folk and Stories from the Land' section in my bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/promptedbynature
As always, you can find me on the website, www.promptedbynature.co.uk or over on Instagram @prompted.by.nature, where I post most of my social media content.
Happy writing!
Helen x
