Why Bracken & Wrack?
You write with such a deep rooted knowledge of the seasons …. when I read your posts, let’s say about All Hallows’ Eve, May Eve and all the other seasonal times on the calendar, a voice whispers deep inside me saying ‘yes yes yes, this is how you want to experience life, this is how life should be’. - Heather J
I’m Imogen, an artist and writer with a lifelong passion for archaeology, magic, folklore, prehistory, all things medieval and pagan Anglo-Saxon, the wild, the sea, herbs and stars. My greatest joy lies in exploring these, and sharing my discoveries as I tread in the footprints of those who came before me in my native Norfolk, land of the Eceni.
In this I was taught so much by my husband Trevor, an archaeologist and prehistorian who was as happy sitting on the flattened site of a Bronze Age barrow listening to the whispers of the ancestors as he was researching and writing an academic report.
Trevor knew the flow of the rivers and streams and that magical point where they meet; he knew the skies and the winds and the watersheds and had a map of Norfolk spread wide within his soul, so that he could gaze across horizon after horizon in any direction and tell you every settlement that lay in between.
Those are not my skills, and yet this intimacy with the landscape and its denizens, past and present, corporeal and ethereal, holds an enchantment that vibrates deep within me. For as long as I can remember, and certainly from childhood, these bright ribbons of connection have always tumbled into my work as an artist and a writer.
I live in a flint cottage - a former village shop - in a part of north Norfolk that I did not know well before I was widowed. It’s not been an easy journey. Having lost my son, then my father, then my husband, all within two years I have had to feel my way to a fresh start. In the end it all happened very suddenly; husband, home, livelihood all gone. We worked as a partnership in heritage websites, publishing and interpretation and I simply didn’t have the archaeological name nor the tech skills to continue our business alone.
But I had my art background - BA Fine Art (1st); MA Fine Art - and I had always loved to write. I was alone now, and somehow I needed to create a nourishing and sustaining life on a shoestring (indeed with no income whatsoever) with the needs of the wild beings that share the land with me firmly in mind as well.
With the disastrous renovation still not really complete and having been abandoned by the builders I found myself on wild little adventures that became a two year candle project - lots more on that in my Instagram. The cottage and its rather wild garden are set deep within heath-strewn countryside (Bracken) but near to the sea (Wrack). Gradually, I became intimate with my new landscape.
From dazed bereavement to impromptu caravan dweller to someone taking the first small steps towards the simple, sustainable life that was (and still is) my holy grail, the constant has been the sharing of the journey. Through my writing, video-making and seasonal candle project, connections have been made with many wonderful new friends who, it turns out, also yearn to find the enchantment in the land around them. To touch the magical currents that, despite the craziness of our world, flow unabated through everything.
Reasons to subscribe
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You will be part of our band of fellow travellers as we fill our flasks and follow the track past the newly-leafing birches, crunching the last of the dry bracken underfoot as we go.
You will be supporting the work of a solo dreamer who fervently believes that there is another way for us all to thrive and nourish our souls both individually and in community. That beauty and magic are everywhere and ever have been and ever will be.
You will help to inspire further academic and practical research that can be shared by all.
Lovely words
‘You make the everyday full of mystery and wonder … you make the descriptions come alive and I can almost smell marigolds and hot chocolate.’ - Seraphina
‘So beautiful I could be walking just a step or two behind you.’ - Sarah
‘Just wonderful, I love getting lost in your stories’. - Jo
‘I absolutely love your words Imogen. Look forward to your posts every time.’ - Cate
So …
If you need to live wildly, feeling the pulse of the moon, tides and seasons while stretching your fingertips to touch the magic of the scratched, painted face of a medieval saint, let’s stick together.
We’re birds of a feather.
