Artist, Author and Mother
By Cynthia Titania Anderson
The work and life of the artist and author, Jennifer Lash, was a remarkable act of faith, dedication, determination, courage and love. In fact I find it difficult to say it was for somehow it is. Though she passed away in 1993 she seems very present. Her life and vision continue to inspire and uplift those who knew her and those who have come to know something of her through her art and writing.
Born in England, she spent her early childhood in India during the last days of the Raj. After their return to England at the end of World War II Jini's family found it hard to make the transition; there was great stress in the home. This was especially hard on Jini. She had a passionate heart and was a deeply sensitive and gifted child and adolescent. It was a difficult and painful childhood lacking in love, security, peace and support. She used her experience and her will to determine that she would follow another road and live another way.
Leaving home at the age of 16 she made her way in the world. During this period she underwent Jungian analysis, attended art school for a short time and worked at a variety of jobs. Encouraged by a friend she wrote her first novel, "The Burial," in 1961 which she followed with a second, "The Climate of Belief", in 1962.
She married the photographer Mark Fiennes in 1962 who was then a tenant farmer. Between 1962 and 1970 she had six children and fostered one. The children are Ralph Fiennes (actor), Martha Fiennes (film director), Sophie Fiennes (film maker/producer), Magnus Fiennes (composer), Jacob Fiennes, (gamekeeper), Joseph Fiennes (actor) and Mike Emery, (archaeologist).
During a fifteen year period the family moved many times and Jini was very busy being a mother. Motherhood was a great devotion for her to which she gave her all. She painted but did not write during this period and according to what I have read she felt herself to be more of a painter than a writer. Her paintings are beautiful, mysterious and have a feeling of the sacred about them. They evoke images of Mother Goddesses, nature, sex, birth, life and death. She had a great love of animals and nature, was greatly compassionate, broadminded and accepting. She seems to me to have had an overwhelming need to know, to live life fully, to probe what lies beneath the surface, to understand, experience and express all she perceived.
She did return to writing in 1977. Her novel, "Get Down There and Die," was published by Harvester Press. This was followed by another, "The Dust Collector," also published by Harvester Press. In 1980 her novel, "From May to October" was published by Hamish Hamilton.
In the late 1980s Jini discovered that she had breast cancer. After treatment was completed she set out alone on a pilgrimage to the sacred Christian sites of France and Spain. At this time Jini wrote a remarkable book about her pilgrimage called "On Pilgrimage." Though she had once been a Roman Catholic, by this time in her life she had adopted a broader theological perspective. She was a deeply intuitive and spiritual person with many interests. Earlier on the family had lived in Ireland for a time. This was a place Jini and her husband Mark loved. (Jini was Irish and English.) Her daughter, Sophie recalls: "Jini was excited to bring us up in this incredibly free and abandoned landscape. She was a Jungian who wanted to expose us to the real, root nature of life. She loved the idea that the archetypes you see in myth and fairy stories were still alive and kicking in Ireland." Jini was interested in many ideas and spiritual traditions including the Sufi, Hindu and Buddhist traditions. She seemed to love diversity and oneness and it would seem she saw the light that was the foundation of all traditions. She was clearly drawn to the light.
Some time after returning from this journey her illness returned. Throughout this time Jini continued her search within and continued to write. During this period she wrote what has been called her finest work, the novel, "Blood Ties." Blood Ties and On Pilgrimage are in print but sadly her other works no longer are. They are sought after by many, hard to find and one can only hope that they will one day be published again.
Jini has left as a gift to the world her vision embodied in art and writing and she has left a marvelous family of creative individuals who are themselves giving to the world through their own work and lives. Most importantly she has left a record of her own life which she lived well and with great courage. For those who come from difficult family situations Jini is an inspiration. Through her life and work she proved that the healing power of love is a life transforming reality. This is truly evidence that with will and intention one can heal deep wounds and overcome great odds.
In her book, "On Pilgrimage", Jini said: "I have never doubted
Love to be the central, unifying force that in some mysterious sense connects
all nature, man and beast, insect and stone, to the greater cosmic good
of God. Atman. Nirvana. Heaven.
Some source of liberation. A sum of transposed, live reality,
that is intelligent beyond intelligence, and must remain within mystery.
I had given up looking for the exact words long ago."
The Ralph Fiennes Astrology Page By Cynthia Titania Anderson
The Ralph Fiennes Astrology Page leads to the Ralph Fiennes Astrology Links Page. This page takes you to my astrology articles on Mr. Fiennes chart.
The
Poulton Project: A Distant Mirror
By Cynthia Titania Anderson