AUCTION NOW LIVE - BIDS VIA MESSAGE using my Contact form, please.
100% of the sale of 'All's Not Lost' will go directly to @orangutaninformationcentre, so please share this post with anyone you think might like to bid.

'All's Not Lost', inspired by Hope, is up for auction to raise funds for the team who are looking after her and many other orangutans rescued from persecution.

Message me with your bid, please - I'm not placing this artwork on eBay as I want the full donation amount to go to Hope's care at @orangutaninformationcentre. I'll run the auction for 7 days, with updates as we go along on where the bidding stands. I'm donating both the artwork itself AND the cost of tracked and insured shipping.

Hope's baby tragically died during her rescue from a palm oil plantation where they were being viciously persecuted. Hope is now in intensive care, her body riddled with 74 pellet shots, suffering from traumas including a broken shoulder and large, open wounds inflicted upon her by humans. As a mother myself, and as a cell in the body of humanity - a species that is capable of such kindness and yet is also causing so much destruction - this 'story' (much as I hate to call it that) is incredibly poignant. It really makes one feel deep despair at the cruelty in the world, alongside anguish that people are placed in a position where the greed of corporations drives them to carry out such dreadful acts. But truly, TRULY, all is NOT lost - as long as there are people upon this planet feeding back empathy, love, compassion and understanding, and willing to take right action in the defence of that which is life serving, Life Itself will perceive those acts and KNOW what to do to balance and rectify these situations. As long as there is breath in us, we must know that there is still hope. 

It makes for truly heartbreaking viewing, but if you want to follow Hope's story and ongoing efforts to save her, please visit https://www.instagram.com/orangutaninformationcentre.

100% of the sale of 'All's Not Lost' will go directly to The Orangutan Information Centre, so PLEASE alert anyone in the  who you think might like to bid via your social media channels or any other methods at your disposal.

Thank you <3

Jay

#SaveOrangutans #SumatranOrangutans#OrangutanRehabilitation #oic #hope#charity #auction #orangutan#sumatranorangutan #orangutansumatera

FLEXING THOSE ADULT 'UNSCHOOLING' MUSCLES!
I am doing SO MANY THINGS "all by myself" at the moment! One of these is building this new website, and the latest learning curve involved in that process is finding out how to integrate Printful's print-on-demand service into my online store. It's quite the challenge, for sure, but as you'll be able to see if you hit the 'Print Products' link above, I am getting there!

All of this 'standing on my own two feet' is putting into practise many of the 'unschooling' principles I've been advocating for many years, but from the perspective of an Unschooling individual, rather than an unschooling facilitator-parent.

LEARNER-DIRECTED, IN-CONTEXT EDUCATION
Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to learn a new skill when it's something you're either passionate about or NEED to learn for real-life, practical purposes (in my case, in this instance, for example - getting my work out there where people can see it, and becoming financially independent). Learning IN CONTEXT is a powerful experience, and as an adult, it's one that can undo years of erroneous self-limiting beliefs.

AUTONOMOUS LEARNING
I know I am far from the only one who struggles with learning by rote, or without any meaning or purpose in the context of my life. I include actual curiosity and genuine interest in the category or 'meaning and purpose', by the way. A good example is that although they had zero practical application for me as a child, I was always fascinated by - and therefore good at absorbing information about - things like history, poetry and biology; whereas advanced mathematics, physics and the like had me plunging into brain-freeze and the accompanying cycle of external pressure/criticism and resulting chronic self-doubt associated with 'not being good at' those things.

WHAT MOTIVATES US? WHY I CHOSE SANDY...
Here's a little tip I've picked up over the years when teaching oneself new skills which are likely to be less-than intuitive and really quite challenging. Include self-motivating elements which lift one's spirits whilst pushing through the frustrating bits. I knew ahead of time that whilst learning how to create products and add them to my new webshop I was likely to encounter some tech-related frustrations. So I have chosen to work with an image which reminds me of some of the qualities that will serve me well as I dive into the project: in this case, courage, perseverance and determination. I chose the face of my beloved Sandy the Shih Tzu, who taught me so much about these qualities, and whose dear, sweet, funny little face is also just a huge boost each and every time I see it. I literally cannot look at him without smiling! What better way to encourage myself onwards as I 'learn the ropes' of Printful? Seeing Sandy appearing on the products I want to share with the world is truly inspiring as I move forward through all that 'user-error' stuff!

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU...?
I'd love to hear about what motivates YOU when you need that push to go the extra mile. Let me know in the comments below - and give me a shout if there are particular print products you'd like to see Sandy (or any of my other work) made available on...

With love,

Jay