These days I don’t wear makeup. It’s not even been a conscious choice as I still have some rattling around the van somewhere. I think it’s more to do with accepting myself exactly as I am – all the lines & wrinkles, the grey hairs & belly rolls.I also have a huge aversion to Xmas presents. Like massive. I hate the obligatory nature of it forced upon us by our capitalist society. I hate how people get into debt just…
Ceremony doesn’t have to be filled with theatrics. The simplest forms will often more than suffice. I woke early this morning feeling the calling of the land – it’s different to my usual need to be outdoors, and I’m learning to follow it, to listen, to accept.So I left on my bike and rode to the hills, rode until legs burned away all the nonsense and self-doubt, rode until I could feel the land and see her voice in my…
Hello friends – just a note to let you know of my last gig for a while. It’s on my Instagram Live @sophiemckeand_outsider from 8pm – 8.15pm as part of the Llagollen Fringe Festival. There’s a whole raft of wonderful North Wales artists on this event tonight so check out @llangollenfringe for more details. I’ve loved being part of this festival over the years and this time is no exception. Thanks for dropping by and hope to see you tonight…
Earlier this year I had a poetry residency at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle in North Wales, with the aim of engaging with the natural environment and the grounds surrounding the castle. It’s the second time I’ve worked on a project there, the first being a few years earlier when I was invited to work with groups of young people from the local school to write poetry in response to the castle. On both occasions I felt a deep need…
#MeAt20 has been trending on Instagram so I thought I’d share mine. In this photo my daughter Rhiannon is not even a week old. She was a bit jaundiced and stuck her tongue out for about the first three months. Everything in my life changed when I met her. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. This is a wierd photo because I’m so happy here, in my dad’s kitchen in Wrexham after getting back from the hospital,…
Continuing in the spirit of opening up some pieces that were previously behind a paywall while we’re all on lockdown… In the summer of 2019 two of our lovely friends, Darren & Aidan, made a commitment to each other witnessed by friends and family from across the globe, including the trees of Bute Park. I was asked to create a ring ceremony for this and was immediately deeply honoured and terrified as it’s not something I’ve done before. I’ve spent…
Sophie McKeandIn response to a week-long creative residency at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle, Jan/Feb 2020 To ascend the steep, tree-lined, bird-song-filled lane and face Chirk Castle’s imposing portcullis entrance, is to do no less than to hike through centuries of time. Multifaceted layers hang like bright linen sheets in the morning fog of these borderlands, of y ffîn, so that if you slow down for long enough you might feel a slight caress on the cheek, or a brush…
It takes time for anything to grow to maturity, and even then, it’ll keep evolving. In my old fast-paced life I’d often feel that creative ideas needed to come almost fully formed or they’d get squashed by my trampling feet, and the judgement of others, as we all stomped out time. Working on radical acceptance and self-love has meant a total reexamination of all the creative and emotional processes I go through, when writing, or connecting, and I realise how…
Finding my balance as an artist / as a woman // the ground shifts / & I stutter / until I understand that the dance isn’t / about knowing all the steps / but learning how to gracefully fall / in love with the process / of becoming. /// thanks for a lovely afternoon @lisaheleddjones and for helping me find my feet with it all ? More on this residency over in my Instagram Story Highlights.…