Hiraeth is a Welsh word describing a deep, nostalgic, even spiritual longing or homesickness for a place and time that is lost, distant, or may have never even existed.

The village of Corris, Wales, and some of the Wander Tags I made there. ©Amy Guion Clay 2026

So it is after 2 months of recently living in Wales - first on the coast of Pembrokeshire, and then in the mountains of Snowdonia - I have come to understand this poetic Welsh word Hiraeth.

It perfectly describes the existential longing for places that may or may not exist. It’s a deep and enriching melancholy that can never really be fulfilled, yet it compells me forward.

And it is that longing that brought me here - to Wales - and inspired my latest body of work called “Wanderings”. 76 paintings on travel tags that reflect the mystical, magical world of Cymru (Welsh word for Wales).

A river in the nearby village of Dolgellau, Wales. Wander tags in my studio. The slate walls in the village of Corris. ©Amy Guion Clay

Walking in the Welsh hills and along the rugged coastal paths of Pembrokeshire, I reflect on the ancient longing for place. I have talked about this longing in a multitude of ways in my blog posts, because it is the driving force of my travel/art related work and lifestyle.

At my artist residency Stiwdio Maelor in this tiny Welsh village of Corris, known far and wide for it’s history of slate mining, I found a simple palette reflecting my surroundings - varying shades of, well…Slate! Just 4 colors - Black, Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White, and metallic Bronze for good measure.

I challenged myself to stay within the bounds of this limited palette, and after finding some simple paper luggage tags at the local hardware store, I decided to limit my format as well.

A few of the 76 Wander Tags I created in Wales. ©Amy Guion Clay 2026

This created a sense of deep narrow focus, from which I could explore all different kinds of mark making without thought of color or substrates. I seemed to thrive within these restrictions and discovered a productivity I rarely experience.

In the end, I created 76 Travel Tags. Each one unique and expressing a singular moment in time, never to be repeated again. And if not for my longing for wandering, none of this work would even exist.

All 76 tags on my studio wall. ©Amy Guion Clay 2026

Thinking about Hiraeth, I was reminded of the great writer/thinker Hermann Hesse who so eloquently ruminated on the push/pull of the longing to wander and to also find home:

“My life hovers between many poles and counter poles. A longing for home here, a longing for wandering there. A longing for loneliness and cloister here, and an urge for love and community there. Like the day between morning and evening, my life falls between my urge to travel and my homesickness.”

“I am a nomad … one who searches and not one who keeps. Maybe some day I will have come far enough for travel and distances to become part of my soul, so that I will have their images within me, without having to make them literally real any more.” Hermann Hesse

Another view of the Wander Tags installation. ©Amy Guion Clay 2026

Over the years, I have become friends with my wanderlust, my longing for places in my imagination. My restless spirit is part of who I am, and I wouldn’t trade it for the sometimes mishaps and disappointments and the missing of loved ones, because many glorious adventures also lay ahead. Hiraeth is part of the Celtic makeup of my ancestors, and I own my place in the succession of mystical longing.

The lane in Corris, Wales, on the way to Machynlleth. ©Amy Guion Clay 2026

I hope to have my Tags uploaded to my store as soon as I can, so stay tuned…

Do you also feel called to explore the world from a sacred longing? Share your thoughts about Hiraeth, and how that might play out in your own life!

Hiraeth - The Longing for Place - The Wales Edition

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