Sunshine in a Jar

Arts and Creativity

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  • Home
  • About
    • Books
      • Book Events
      • Earth Day: Call for Submissions 2021
      • From the Cottage Porch: An Anthology
      • The Writing Spiral
      • Sunshine in a Jar Press
      • Other Publications
    • Reiki
    • Schools
  • Arts
    • Morning Letters
    • Paintings
    • Photography
    • Stage
      • Playwright
        • Hunt Week
        • Once Upon a Rocking Chair
      • Theatre and Music
  • Blog
  • Creativity Coaching
    • Creativity Workshop
      • Eight Learning Spirals for Writing and Life
        • Creativity & Process Spiral
        • Honesty & Courage Spiral
        • Solitude & Self-Awareness Spiral
        • Community & Connection Spiral
        • Ambition & Audience Spiral
        • Perseverance & Diligence Spiral
        • Curiosity & Adventure Spiral
        • Love & Energy Spiral
  • Home & Family
    • Family History Stories
    • Georgian Bay Roots
    • Memoirs
    • Northumberland
  • Poet Laureate
    • Poetry Present
      • Archive of Poets
      • Submit a Poem
    • Poetry Invites
    • Poetry for Occasions
    • Poet Laureate Gallery
  • Northumberland

    May in Northumberland

    May 11, 2019 /

    A beautiful Saturday morning in Northumberland. First, time with my camera exploring Cobourg and Brighton. Then, reading poetry by the water in Presqu’ile Park. Finally, shopping!

    Read More

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    Life is Just Better in the Hills of Northumberland

    July 13, 2015

    Sunshine on Port Hope Beach in Winter

    February 17, 2020

    Pop-Up Exhibition of Art in Your Garden

    July 8, 2019
  • Once Upon a Rocking Chair

    Once Upon a Rocking Chair Debuts in Northumberland

    May 26, 2016 /

    I’m thrilled that Northumberland Players has added my play to their upcoming season. Once Upon a Rocking Chair has been staged once before, having a successful run with StoneCircle Theatre in Pickering Village in 2008. Since then my writing has improved, my life experience has expanded so I am taking this opportunity to update the script, strengthen the play and present an updated, refreshed version of the story that goes deeper into the play’s themes. I’m excited to share this story and these characters with my community.

    Read More

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    Once Upon a Rocking Chair: A Playwright’s Journey

    February 8, 2017

    What I Loved Most About The Process of Staging My Play

    August 15, 2017

    All About the 2017 Production of “Once Upon a Rocking Chair” in Cobourg

    April 29, 2017
  • Theatre and Music

    Top 10 Reasons to Buy Tickets Today to “The Secret Garden” in Port Hope (and to Support Community Theatre)

    January 26, 2016 /

    Secret-Garden-Facebook-header NEW

    Tickets are selling. Don’t miss out! Here are my top 10 reasons why you should click here and buy your tickets for “The Secret Garden” right now:

    10. To experience truly gorgeous music. The lyrics and score are stunning. The vocalists and musicians are outstanding. If I’m regularly getting goosebumps up both arms in rehearsals, then I know that the music will melt you with its dynamic, red velvet texture.

    Read More

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    The Secret Garden: The Musical

    July 28, 2015

    On the Rooftop: VOS Theatre Cobourg November 15-23

    August 22, 2013

    Summer Adventures at the Theatre: Theatre is Alive and Thriving in Ontario

    August 14, 2016
  • Community & Connection Spiral

    “The Secret Garden” Has Many Lessons to Teach Us

    January 17, 2016 /

    “The place was a wilderness of autumn gold and purple and violet blue and flaming scarlet on every side were sheaves of late lilies standing together–lilies which were white or white and ruby…Late roses climbed and hung and clustered and the sunshine deepening the hue of the yellowing trees made one feel that one stood in an empowered temple of gold.” The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett.

    When I was I was sixteen I went to England for the first time, staying with different host families a few hours outside of London. I remember the gardens. Even a small yard was filled with rows of diverse colour, separated by narrow, meandering walking paths. It was such a contrast to the concrete and brick and asphalt dominating the front of the homes. I had never been in gardens that transported me beyond time and place before. The gardens offered magic and peace and escape–a refuge calming my fear of being away from home without my parents for the first time. This was when I learned that gardens were special.

    Read More

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    Meet Felicity Sidnell Reid

    July 27, 2015

    It Takes a Village: Supporting Student Well-Being Using a Collective Impact Model

    July 9, 2016

    Does Your Writing Pass the Bechdel Test?

    March 12, 2012
  • Northumberland

    Life is Just Better in the Hills of Northumberland

    July 13, 2015 /

    Best Decision

    July 2015 marks my fifth summer of living in Cobourg and working in Colborne and Brighton.  My city friends often ask about what life is like outside of the GTA. The landscape is different. The culture is different. The days unfold with a lot less noise and a lot more beauty. Life in the city has its benefits too–but living in a place where the natural world is so much a part of the human world grounds me in a way that the city can’t.

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    Sunshine on Port Hope Beach in Winter

    February 17, 2020

    May in Northumberland

    May 11, 2019

    Pop-Up Exhibition of Art in Your Garden

    July 8, 2019

Hello! I’m Jessica. This is my personal blog with a range of posts from stories about my ancestors to thoughts on life to ideas about creativity and community.

I help people find creative abundance by teaching how we can learn from everything around us, especially nature.

I hope that by visiting you will find something that’s helpful. I’m so glad you’re here.

Do you want to receive email updates from Jessica?

My Poetry

  • The River Under the Road
  • This Elephant Teaches Peace
  • Hometown Hockey
  • And Still She Shines
Subscribe to Poetry Present

Create with Me

  • Order the Book: The Writing Spiral
  • Creativity Coaching Canada
  • Creativity Spiral Workshop

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This Week’s Top Five

  • Use Google Slides to Create a Vision Board
  • “The Secret Garden” Has Many Lessons to Teach Us
  • Family History in Britt, Ontario
  • Arts & Creativity with Jessica Outram
  • Singing the Blues with Primary Students

Recent Posts

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  • Watch Birds and Savour Books
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