'Pauses you can feel, drawn from nature'

Noticing conditions that help us grow.

Through illustration, books and workshops, I explore small moments of noticing that help children and adults reconnect with themselves, each other and the natural world.

BOOKS & FIELD NOTES

Exploring the conditions that help us grow.

ILLUSTRATION

Stories, brands and products that encourage connection.

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Creating experiences rooted in nature, curiosity and noticing.

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SHOP

Take a small pause home.

We had a wonderful family reunion this weekend. It was a total joy for us to spend time together and celebrate being a family with an age span of nearly 90 years.

On returning to Edinburgh with my elderly mother she picked up her mail from the letterbox and read the front of some of the junk mail promising ‘summer wellness, eternal joy and offering to make our holidays perfect! ‘

It felt irrelevant, bossy and a million miles away from the weekend we had just shared together.

I feel ‘summer wellness & holiday perfection’ are not theirs to give but ours to make.

Some special moments take effort and other simpler moments we just need to notice 🌱

Thank you family 🤍
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#beautifulmoments #generationstogether #momentsofnoticing #notebookdesign #kirstytoddillustration

Water… Scotland has too much atm and south of the border they are counting down the days until next week’s storm. In the meantime the thin hay crops are gathered and the deer find moisture from flowers and plants. I have never known them to eat agapanthus but this year all the blooms have all gone! Only flowers that have survived are prickly ones and pungent fennel !!
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#coastalvibes #westernisles #august2026 #kirstytoddillustration

I am slowly reading a fascinating book at the moment. It is called ‘ Why doing Nothing can change your Life’ by Joseph Jebelli.

I am learning all about our default network, and the science behind why a culture of overwork is killing our brains. Why it is scientifically important to spend time listening to music, reading and interacting with nature and how achieving a balance between doing and being is the secret to sustained productivity.

So very interesting to know the ‘why’ behind what we have always really known deep inside….. that time out balances time spent focusing.

This fact blew my mind- Our brain works more fully during time out and is dubbed down when we focus 🤷
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#timeoutsociety #listeningtomusic #sharinghappiness #takeamoment #kirstytoddillustration

Taking time out beside Lake Annecy…
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#feelingcalm #beingtime #timeout #now #kirstytoddillustration

Last weekend I was in the Alps watching The Etape du Tour which is one of the hardest races in the world for amateur cyclists to take part in.

There was a great deal of courage on display on every level and it led me to think about courage a bit more.

About being small in a big world, how to keep going when things are tough and how nature keeps growing despite any change in the elements.

I have written down my thoughts in my latest Field Note. As always it is condensed down to take only 1 minute to read, found on my website. Link in bio.
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#couragetogrow #onestepatatime #keepgoing #natureinfocus #kirstytoddillustration

I have been working on a project that has had me up early and to bed late…. and my brain is tired. It is time to do nothing for a while and recharge my batteries before the next super exciting commission starts…🌱

I went for a walk today and became obsessed with the colour of the hayfields and the grasses…. to the point of it becoming a Rothko meditation 🧘🏼….feel better now !
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#rechargeyourself #timeout #walkinginnature #hayfields #kirstytoddillustration

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INFORMATION

To contact Kirsty click on the email address below

todd.kirsty@outlook.com

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'Pauses you can feel, drawn from nature'

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Noticing conditions that help us grow.

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Follow us on Instagram

INFORMATION