Welcome to Amiyo, this beautiful life...

I’m so thrilled to finally share with you something incredible I’ve been working on for one of my beautiful clients. It’s been an amazing intuitive journey together, from beginning as mentoring sessions in 2017 through to bringing her latest collection into the world and sharing it through its very own online space…

Susie Duggin is an incredible artist, jewellery designer, and maker based in Bangalow, near Byron Bay here on the east coast of Australia. We met back in 2017 when Susie flew down to Sydney for our first mentoring session together. She has such a beautiful and distinctive aesthetic, and was in the midst of creating the most stunning debut jewellery collection The Native Gold Series, where each piece is art in miniature.

The name Amiyo came into Susie’s life while she was creating the collection and for her she describes this as an ancient word that portrays “this beautiful life, enriched by our dreams and visions, made to be a touchstone to remind us of our inherent magic.”

Each piece features native gold in quartz stones that are sourced locally, and carries its own story which is reflected in the names of each piece: “Landscape of the Soul” , “The Beloved One”, and “In The Sky, On The Ground (and in the Sea)” , just to name a few.

Together over the past few months we’ve been designing and styling her new website, and it was an absolutely pleasure to create the visual storytelling, capturing the magic in this collection. Susie came and stayed at my studio and we spent the weekend photographing the pieces in the studio and down by the waters edge too.

After a wonderfully successful, private launch last weekend, it’s my absolute pleasure to be the first to share with you her collection online. So please take the time to visit her world, read her journal, learn more about her and share her work with people you know will love it…

Congratulations beautiful Susie! It’s been such a pleasure mentoring and collaborating with you on this creative endeavour. The intuitive journey is a jungle path for sure and worth every step when you see what you’ve created led by your heart all the way. This is real magic in the palm of your hands, and you’ve shared it with us, there is nothing more special than this.

With love,

Pia xx

Website design & styling by Pia Jane Bijkerk and Susie Duggin

Production and visual storytelling by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Logo Design by Rick Shearman

Jewellery photography by Michelle Eabry

The Sweetest Gift...

“Quietly while you were asleep, the moon and I were talking…” beginning lyrics to The Sweetest Gift composed & sung by Sade.

As an Everyday Alchemist, it would come as no surprise to you that over the past year I've been experimenting on myself. Well not just myself - to be more specific, I've been experimenting with the moon too, observing and playing with my connection to it. And what I've discovered has the power to change everything. It already has for me. I am in the midst of putting together something so incredibly grand, I can barely contain my excitement, but these things take time -  because rather than just come up with a theory, I need to know it actually works. I also know that the moon is currently on trend (which makes me laugh just writing it! That something which has existed for all of time as we know it could be suddenly popular) - there are a number of books popping up about it, especially around abundance because that’s another trend ... and you know how I feel about doing anything 'on trend'! But I also won't dismiss something just for the sake of rebelling, instead I will seek out the resistance. What is important for me to continue this everyday alchemy is that in the process, I make sure that what I've come up with works for the whole - for each of us, for humanity, for Earth.

The first step of this is what led you to reading this right now - my new email. We have become so disconnected from the moon, which is our original time maker along with the sun, that we don't even know what phase it's in. Especially for those of us who live in the city, or are always busy doing (pointing a loving finger towards myself here too, with a busy 7 year old at my heels!). So with this email, I'll be sending it at the beginning of each new moon phase, just so we know at a glance what phase it's in. There will not be any information about the meaning or symbolism behind the phase, or anything along these lines. This is just simply to connect us to the moon, to get to know it a little more intimately, and in time I’ll let you know why.

Along with the moon phase illustration, I'll be adding a quote that resonates with me at that time. And this will not be a throwaway quote with no context - it will be from something I have read, from someone who I value, and there will be a deeper intuitive connection as to why I have chosen that particular remark at that particular time, so there will always be a link for you to discover more if it resonates with you and you find yourself yearning to hear, read or learn more. I will not comment on it, I will simply leave it up to you. I hope you’ve enjoyed this first one as much as I have had listening to the entire interview (I have listened a number of times, there is not one remark that does not resonate with my entire being, it’s a powerful interview that I hope you get as much out of as I have).

With each email, sometimes this will be all there is  - my moon phase illustration and a quote. Other times, there will be images and links below to work I have just produced (like you would have seen below the quote and is what led you here). As with all that I do, I like to create things that ignite one of our five senses at a time - sight, taste, touch, smell and sound. At the moment I am all about the sound: my wonderful collaborative podcast with Shona Smith as well as my monthly downloadable piano compositions on Patreon, & sight: my photography feature stories published in magazines, in my new books, and around the world via my personal clients. Some of these also involve taste and touch and smell too, if you choose to cook or craft something from what I've shared through my visual storytelling. And the reason I am so inspired to ignite our senses is because I know these senses are the ways to our hearts, to connecting us to our intuition and learning to trust and use it everyday. This will always come through my work, and is accessed directly each week with my mentoring clients as well as each month on Patreon.

Please share this post with your friends and family and encourage them to subscribe to the email - there will always be much to connect to, and it will be an opening for many beautiful conversations between those you love.

Thank you to every single one of you who are here right now, reading these words - you've made such a powerful impact on encouraging me to share my everyday alchemy, I value your presence so much and it’s my hope that this gratitude flows back to you through my work.  

With love, 

Pia

Mentoring...

One of the most rewarding new features of my work these past two years has been becoming a creative mentor.

When I was growing up & forming the foundations of my own career in the arts, I didn't have a mentor.  I didn't have access to anyone around me who was an artist.  And while attending university some 20 years ago now, I started observing the journeys of my fellow students and got the sense that life as an artist could be a little less of a struggle with a mentor. Some students had a parent who was a working artist, or an aunt, or uncle, or family friend or they came from a long lineage of creative professionals. I found this intriguing. Imagine being able to call upon that person when you were blocked or needed some support, and heard wise & nurturing words from someone who just 'got it'? Imagine having someone in your life that you didn't have to explain or defend your creative leanings? Could it be possible to be an artist and feel supported rather than be in conflict with your life choices?! These were my wonderings.

...Amsterdam, 2010, writing the manuscript for My Heart Wanders

....................................................................

mentor ˈmɛntɔː/ noun : an experienced and trusted adviser and supporter.

It's incredible to now be in the position in my life to be a mentor - the very person I longed for in my early creative exploration. I work the mentoring and consulting around my projects - each week I am producing photographic stories, working on my upcoming books or developing and hosting workshops.  Today I am able to support creative beings during their processing, help explore and dissolve their blocks, and nurture them through their artistic endeavours: It's such an honour. 

One of the very first client consultations I had was back in 2014 with creative entrepreneur extraordinaire Beth Kempton. Beth disclosed her then-secret book project to me and needed some advise on book pitching and publishing. I was able to help her in those early stages, and today, she launches that very book in London through Hay House Publishing. It's called Freedom Seeker. I've written a little about it on Instagram, and there are some sneak peeks of the beautiful & thoughtful package she sent me in my insta story. I'll be posting about it here soon in my journal, along with the piece she wrote in her book about my own journey to freedom. I'm so thrilled for Beth and feel so much appreciation for being able to support and help her realise her publishing dream. 

Without disclosing too much about my current mentoring clients projects (I've always been a great secret keeper!), some of them are embarking on amazing artistic adventures like visual book publishing, becoming professional photographers, creating online art portfolios that truly represent their style and encompasses all their various talents, and working toward their first art exhibitions. 

If you'd like me to mentor you this year to help activate your creative flow you can click here to book & find out more information about what I can offer you. The package is 3 hours which can be taken as an intensive one-on-one - like a personal workshop - or it can be split into 3 one-hour sessions over a period of 1-3 months. My goal is to see your work realised, so I will be able to assess what you need and tailor the sessions to meet those needs. You can book another package or we can create a tailored mentoring package to suit your long term goals. There are also one hour creative consultations available. 

I'd love to support you in your creative life! Send me an email or comment below if you have any questions about the process. 

Vivent les artistes!!!

xx