This Wild Soul
Art, designs and photography for the wild at heart. Through brush strokes and captivating photography, This Wild Soul creates work to inspire a sense of wonder for the world around you, uplifting your spirit, and making life a little more magical.
MY STORY
So I'm Alice... a girl from the UK with a playful spirit and a ridiculous laugh... My soul breathes on creativity and adventures and if I had my way I'd get both in before breakfast!
Some things that totally fascinate me include:
Nature
Different cultures -their ceremonies and rituals
The Universe
Mythology
Animals
Psychology
Science
History
and the creative arts in all their weird and wonderful forms!
....basically, I'm curious about everything.
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When I was little, if I wasn't outside running about in the woods, I was crafting and making art. As a teen, I put my outdoorsy side to use winning rowing National Championships and competing for Great Britain. From there, I went to study Politics at Newcastle University and ended up Captain of the Boat Club. Putting all my time into rowing... I left feeling like I'd pushed down my creative side to make space only for sport and an injury shortly after graduating made me decide to hang up my oars and finally let myself breathe into my creative side... I auditioned for London's drama school Arts Ed. My year there got me back into play mode and since then my head has always been full of creative ideas!
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I'm a big laugher and recovering perfectionist (still riding that struggle bus...). A cancer scare a few years ago meant I had to have two vocal operations and I couldn't talk for a while (challenging for someone who can never shut up!) at the pre-op the doctor didn't think I was taking it seriously so told me the consultant thought it was cancer and that was why they'd scheduled it as an emergency... as you can imagine... the fear was real. In an effort to make the best of it if it was, I wrote a bucket list for if I had 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years! Thankfully it wasn't... but I still ended up spending several months that year unable to talk and the whole experience had a big impact on me. Since then I've made it an active priority to check things off my bucket list now, rather than wait until I "retire". I've thrown myself into new experiences and allowed my sense of curiosity and fun to guide me more freely... it's honestly lead to some incredible, often ridiculous adventures. It's also given me a taste for learning new skills so I've taken acting class at AMAW studios, studied art direction and technical drafting with Film Design International at Pinewood Studios, designed and painted theatre sets and wrote a short play for a London theatre company which was part of a sold out show. At the same time I've licensed and sold my art, designs and writing worldwide and coached athletes to win their own National medals. -It's been quite the ride!
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My biggest influences over the last few years have been travel and Burning Man -a wild art/music festival held in Nevada Desert. I've been lucky to go several times, with a group of very kind hearted humans who always leave me feeling very inspired. Participating at Burning Man honestly is like being part of a universe of open hearted creativity, possibilities genuinely seem endless and I always leave bursting with ideas. The experiences there and the experiences I've had travelling over the last few years -seeing different cultures and perspectives, that every society has its norms and ab-norms and they're all just different, there is no one way to do things... -it's all very healthy and freeing, and a great reminder of how similar we all are and that at our core, we all share the same simple hopes and fears.
My most memorable culture shock to date was arriving in Varanasi on my first ever day backpacking in India (if you know you know) the air thronged with atmosphere -smoke, incense, honking horns, cows, hustlers, women in exquisite saris but no shoes, chiming bells and ritual everywhere. Every place I've visited since has seemed relatively tame by comparison.
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I'm incredibly grateful for experiences like those and they always make me crave more. Travel has made me care more about environmental and humanitarian issues, as well as making me feel braver and giving me a wonderful sense of freedom. It's also shown me that rather than trying to conform to the mould of one country, we are perhaps better off navigating our own paths...
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For me, I feel most alive when on the road, laughing round a campfire, camping out under the stars or in flow state during a creative endeavour.
When I come home, I want my space to feel like a mini oasis (although it's often like a messy art studio), be full of things that lift me and inspire me to keep growing!
This ethos is embedded in much of my work and I hope it has that effect on you as well!
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Join me for the journey @thiswild.soul
-hope to see you on the road!
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Sending much love,
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Alice
x
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Little Things I love
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Days spent in sunshine
The smell of a forest after it's rained
The sound of the ocean
Smiles and laughter
The glow and crackle of a campfire
The sound of kids playing
Sunlight glittering on a river
The feel of grass between my toes
Dancing my socks off
Stars on a dark night
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Some Things Still On My Bucket List
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See Petra in Jordan by starlight
Adventure through Mongolia during the Horse Festival
Kayak through Bhutan
Backpack through Central & South America
Van-life it across Canada and America
Explore Dharamsala & the ruined city of Hampi in India
Do Day of The Dead in Mexico
Paint a street art mural on London's Leake Street
Race the Rickshaw Run
Prance about in masquerade at Italy's Venice Festival
Photograph the Northern Lights
Do Afrika Burn )'(
Learn to dive
SOMEHOW get tickets to Glastonbury
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