Jane Cormack

When I was seven, I wrote my first short story collection about a series of different yet connected worlds made of sweets, ice-cream, and fruit (with illustrations). I still dream of those worlds sometimes because they were made so real in my imagination. I loved to read and would get through several books on our summer camping holidays in France each year. Then in my teenage years, I wrote songs, raps, and poetry. I wanted to be a songwriter – melodies, lyrics and poetry would naturally pop into my head. I can remember and sing along to hundreds of song lyrics from my younger years.

These forms of word weaving are the most intimate form of self-expression I know – The intimacy is with something ‘beyond’ me; it brings me closest to the essence of who I am and in connection with the larger mystery of life. When I sit down to write in my journals, words often emerge in poetic form.

My first experience of becoming a published writer was when three of my poems were published in anthologies when I was in my early 20’s. This spurred me on to create my own handmade poetry books which were sold in the art gallery I worked in at the time. After that, I studied various writing courses, a correspondence course with The Writers Bureau in the early 2000’s, Travel Writing courses in London with Dea Birkett and Rory McLean and creative writing workshops in Australia with my good friend, writer, and elder Alma Denton.

I landed my first paid work as a freelance writer while I worked in sales for a local newspaper in Queenstown, New Zealand in 2006. I wrote about all manner of topics from gardening and beauty to local businesses (a memorable one was the opening of a doughnut shop!). I left Queenstown, and that job to travel to the North Island of New Zealand where I worked in the art departments of the film and television industry. After a year, I realised that I wanted to be the person writing the stories from which films were made and not the person sourcing props for set.

I eventually left New Zealand after two years, when my visa time was up and returned to the UK, where I began writing my first novel and went on to study an MA in Creative & Professional Writing at Brunel University, West London.

I held my first creative writing workshop (Creative Writing with Music & Movement) in Findhorn, Scotland in 2011. Since then, I’ve worked with creative writing in many workshops, and have worked as a freelance book editor for authors and a Dutch media company, as well as being a researcher and writer in consumer marketing. I’ve written countless blogs and articles and have created multiple workshops, retreats, classes, and online course content.

In 2016 I self-published my first nonfiction book; Language of the Feminine – Awaken the Source of Your Creative, Intuitive & Sensual Self, which I used as a foundation to develop self-discovery online programmes and courses for women (The Language of You™, The Magic of Your Menstrual Cycle, Ancestral Gold, MemberCircle and A Sense of Purpose).

You can find my current writings via my newsletter at Cycles, Psyche & Soul.

In 2009, I began offering my creative workshops for women under Rhythm In Colour – Cultivating Courage in Women to Shine. We combined art and painting (on huge sheets covering the floors) with body movement/dance, music, meditation, voice and toning, with creative writing and poetry. The workshops were well received by women longing to find freedom and tap into their creative flow. This was the beginning of a rich time of development.

I have spent the last 15 years offering my creative and spiritual work with women helping them to know, trust and express themselves in the ways most authentic to them. These offerings have been in the form of in-person workshops, retreats, classes, women’s circles and personal mentoring. And online in the form of courses, programmes, and personal mentoring.

Although my own menstrual cycle has long been my best teacher, I’ve studied various courses in feminine embodiment including Art of Feminine Presence Teacher Training, several courses on menstrual cycle awareness with Red School, Priestess Presence, Munay Ki (Rite of the Womb) and Hey Girls period education. I was involved in Heart IQ (emotional/energy intelligence) work for ten years and participated in small facilitation teaching circles, many home circles, a summit, and retreats. These lived experiences and trainings were again, woven into my offerings for women.

The teachings of the menstrual cycle are so important – an incredible in-built tool for self-discovery and the actual felt experience itself is one I am passionate about encouraging other women to learn. It’s why I have included menstrual cycle awareness in many of my course and programme offerings and created The Magic of Your Menstrual Cycle online course to help women discover the inherent gifts in their cycles, even when it’s difficult.

Read what women have said about participating in some of my programmes here.

*The term ‘menstrual cycle awareness’ was coined by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer of Red School.

Art and design were a part of my world from the beginning. With a painter and maker as a father, and a dancer mother, I was always encouraged to express myself creatively. I studied for a BA honours degree in Design & Craft at Robert Gordon’s University – Gray’s School of Art, specialising in 3D Design. My degree show featured fractured glass lighting and functional glass sculpture, but I realised that precisely ‘measuring’ things was not as enjoyable to me as creating and making in intuitive and organic ways. So, after graduation and travelling in South America for 5 months, I returned to Scotland and began my first business in jewellery and accessory design with the support of The Prince’s Trust. I didn’t have much to begin with, so I became resourceful; making jewellery from sea-glass, beach and river stones, and weaving them with upcycled beads and crystals. I sold them to the ladies I worked with at The Music Hall in Aberdeen before embarking on local markets and fairs. I was lucky enough to meet a master silversmith who lived nearby and who became my personal tutor.

I developed my skills over time, creating thousands of individual handmade pieces of jewellery, a range of handmade greetings cards, 3D recycled glass art panels, tiaras and accessories for weddings and a commission to make a wedding cake sculpture.

My work was sold in Art Galleries, shops and other venues throughout Scotland and I took part in my first Trade Fair in Glasgow.

When I eventually moved to Australia in 2004, I took the business with me and that’s when things really took off. I had a weekly stall at the famous Paddington Markets for designers in Sydney and worked full time as a designer/maker. My work was featured in L’Oréal International’s 2006 calendar. I designed ranges for shops and galleries up the east coast of Australia. At the peak of the business, I had two employees, an online Etsy store and an eBay store, run between my little apartment near Manly, Sydney and Bali, Indonesia.

At the same time, I started painting again and held my first solo painting exhibition at a new yoga studio in Sydney. It was a richly creative time, but after two years, my Australian visa was up! So, I moved to New Zealand. In amongst the other creative work I did in New Zealand, I continued to do the occasional market or festival and worked on private commissions for unique clients.

However, after 12 years of designing and hand-making accessories, I felt complete with my time as a jewellery designer-maker and listened to the call to return to my original love of words.

Songs tell a story in short form that can be remembered through the melody.

In my early twenties I taught myself the basics of guitar and spent several years working part-time at The Music Hall in Aberdeen as an usher – one the best jobs I have ever had. I was exposed to opera, orchestra’s, rock, pop, indie, comedy, jazz; you name it, I saw it (highlights included legendary composer of film soundtracks, John Williams (Indiana Jones, Star Wars) who was touring with the London Philharmonic orchestra and bumping into a very young Chris Martin of Coldplay in the hallway!) I was introduced to jazz musicians from New Orleans and spent countless evenings stifling tears while I sat at the back of the hall, listening to music that soared and moved my soul.

I’ve written an album’s worth of songs and co-performed at open mics, as well as live on Leith FM radio! Although I practiced piano lessons as a child, taking my first few piano exams and reaching grade 8 on clarinet in school, unfortunately, being an instrumentalist was not my forte. And back in the day in the north of Scotland, there wasn’t much choice for going on to study music or songwriting that didn’t involve being an accomplished musician (now there are many).

So, I went to Art School, and went my own way in music taking courses in voice, sound and songwriting including; a 7-week Songcraft songwriting course in Sydney, Australia with songwriter, writer and film director Aminah Hughes, a 6-week Sacred Sound course in Australia studying voice and sound as meditation, Voice of the Sacred Feminine workshops with Peruquois in The Netherlands and Healing the Voice with Jill Purce in London.

Over the years, voice, sound, music and poetry have been incorporated into my workshops and classes for women.

Having a professional dancer as my mother, it was inevitable that dance and movement would be a part of my life. I would go to watch her from the audience of the theatre shows she performed in. Then, I would go back stage and feel like I was in a magical world of costumes, musicians, dancers, actors and actresses. It felt like home.

I started dancing at aged 3 at my Godmothers Dance School and since then, I’ve taken classes and courses in all kinds of dance styles and movement practices from childhood through to adulthood (tap, ballet, jazz, modern, hip-hop, salsa, belly-dance, chakra-dance, ecstatic dance, 5Rhythm dance, Contact Improvisation, Authentic Movement, Intuitive Movement, African dance). I eventually landed on 5Rhythm dance as my natural home of movement because it truly feels like ‘movement medicine.’ I’ve been dancing 5Rhythms for 15 years.

Yoga has been a foundation of my movement practice since I began classes as a 17-year-old with the legendary wise yoga man, Ian Scorgie in Aberdeen. I’ve practiced many branches of yoga and hybrid yoga on my travels over the years, but always come home to the simple teachings of Mr. Scorgie.

Dance and intuitive movement have been a mainstay in many of my workshops and retreats (including online) for joy and fun and for the deep medicine that body movement can initiate.

I first studied entrepreneurship at Art School, then began my first business at age 22 in jewellery and accessory design - the entrepreneurial mind began right away. I had too many ideas to not be an entrepreneur!

Over the course of 25 years, I have studied the many aspects of what it takes to run a business and be an entrepreneur. From bookkeeping/accounting, international import and export in my early years of business to a 1-year Business Leadership Mastery Training, Authentic Speakers Academy, Authentic Business and Personal Branding, Ethical Marketing, The Blue-Print Lab, E-Course Creation Masterclasses, and Awaken Your Impact Boutique Business training; I continue to learn and evolve as the landscape of life and business constantly changes.

Oh, and I worked (and occasionally still do) as a researcher/writer in consumer marketing, tuning into what is on the edge of evolution – so that helps!