THE HARE ON THE MOON
By Joanna May
Overview
In 2019, wildlife conservationist and artist Joanna May launched her first treasure hunt with the release of ‘The Hare on the Moon’. The book is filled with beautiful artwork and a charming story about the mythical hare on the moon’s quest to return to her home in Wiltshire, England.
Hidden within the book’s fantastic tale and illustrations are clues which, when solved, will reveal the magical words and coordinates that can be submitted at JoannaMay.com. The first person to submit the correct answer will win ‘Three Hares on a Golden Moon’ – a one-of-a-kind painting on gold leaf created by Joanna May, representing an ancient Celtic fertility symbol, which in January 2020 was estimated to be worth £15,000.
The Hare On The Moon Treasure Hunt Book By Joanna May.
Three Hares On A Golden Moon
The successful hunter will have the right coordinates and words to a final destination and will fill them in online. The treasure awaiting them is a painting of the Celtic symbol of three interlinking hares made with gold leaf. It’s current estimated value is £15,000.
Sourced from: Journalism.co.uk
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Book & Map
Artist Joanna May Displaying The Zodiac Paintings In Her Gallery.
After producing her first paintings for the Zodiac series which were featured on BBC’s Spring Watch programme in 2006, Joanna was told that the style of the artwork was reminiscent to that of Masquerade, a famous armchair treasure hunt book from 1979 by Kit Williams.
Having grown up as a massive fan of the Masquerade book, Joanna was inspired to turn her zodiac series of paintings into a treasure hunt book of her very own, entitled The Hare on the Moon. The book features a hare at various different landmarks around the Wiltshire, England area such as Stonehenge, Avebury, and even Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury, Somerset.
With a hardback, gold foil, and embossed cover measuring 370mm x 246mm this book is a work of art in itself and one that is truly eye catching!
Within the pages of the book you’ll find beautiful works of art depicting the hare from the moon on her quest to collect the magical treasures from sacred sites around Wiltshire which are linked to the stars of the constellations of the zodiac. Accompanying the illustrations is the story of the hare’s journey, starting from when she sacrifices herself for a mystical traveller who places her image upon the moon.
The story allows readers to follow the hare’s journey as she is mentored by the moon on a quest for her freedom to return to Earth. The challenge involves collecting treasures from different sacred sites from around Wiltshire where she must learn from the constellations how to obtain the treasures and return them to the man in the moon. Once all of the treasures are collected the hare will need to complete a final task which will return her to the Earth.
Page From The Hare On The Moon Treasure Hunt Book Showing The Zodiac Painting.
Two Versions Of The Hare On The Moon Are Available the Joanna May’s Website:
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The Golden Hair Trail Map To Supplement The Hare On The Moon Treasure Book.
The Hare on the Moon map – The Golden Hare Trail is a recent addition to the treasure hunt that can be bought from Joanna’s gallery or the JonnaMay.com store. While the map isn’t necessary to find the treasure, Joanna has said that it does contain hints to help you along with The Hare On The Moon treasure hunt.
The map is another aesthetically pleasing addition to this armchair treasure hunt which leads readers on a journey through the Wiltshire landscape seeing all of the mystical locations that the hare visits on her quest for freedom. The Golden Hair Trail comes with an itinerary for a 7 day vacation in Wiltshire, when you can journey through the area with recommendations for routes to take, places to visit, places to stay, and even places to get lunch.
For those who take the trip out to Wiltshire to fully enjoy and appreciate the map, Joanna has set up a challenge whereby if you visit the places on the map and return to her gallery, Joanna will reward you with up to seven tokens as well as stickers for children to enjoy. Look out for the clues hidden at each of the twelve locations on the map.
Clues Of The Treasure Hunt
Sourced from: JoannaMay.com
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The Treasure
The first person to identify the key words and coordinates found from solving the clues in the book and submit the answer to JoannaMay.com will receive an original one of a kind Joanna May painting – Three Hares On A Golden Moon which depicts three hares interlinked by their ears creating an ancient Celtic fertility symbol over a moon of gold. The prize painting was estimated to be worth £15,000 in January 2020 and is currently being kept on display at Joanna May’s gallery in Devizes until the correct solution is submitted.
Three Hares On A Golden Moon is a beautiful painting on gold leaf which was created by Joanna May especially for The Hare On The Moon armchair treasure hunt.
The Prize: Three Hares On A Golden Moon An Original One Of A Kind Painting By Joanna May Valued At £15,000.
“I realised it would be a perfect prize because it is connected to the lunar cycle and is, in itself considered to be a puzzle.” – Joanna May
To win this beautiful painting, an extraordinarily important site is the ‘key’. You must solve the puzzle, which will unlock the spell that has placed the image of the hare on the Moon. This will allow her to come back down to Earth as a mortal hare, to her beloved Wiltshire.
Three Hares On A Golden Moon
Sourced from: JoannaMay.com
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Q & A With Joanna May
Contemporary Artists And Wildlife Conservationist Joanna May.
Thank you for taking the time to discuss The Hare On The Moon with me. I have to say, once I received your book and opened that package containing the book I was blown away, it’s a truly beautiful work of art and extremely well put together.
With the addition of the map for the Hare on the Moon trail which you recently released it all comes together really well and makes for a great experience for those armchair treasure hunters out there. I have my book proudly dominating the top of my treasure hunt book case at the moment, it’s definitely eye catching. It must have been a great feeling of accomplishment when you launched your book in 2019 after I suspect years of development.
Q. I’ve read that you have said that you were inspired by the Masquerade treasure hunt book by Kit Williams from 1979 to turn your zodiac series of paintings into an armchair treasure hunt book of your own. How much would you say the influence of the Masquerade has had over your own treasure hunt, was it just the spark that ignited the flame or would you say there is a stronger influence that participants of the Masquerade may recognize and have a bit of nostalgia about in your hunt?
A. My father worked for a Publishers in London and brought home all the latest illustrated books for me and my sisters. Masquerade was one of the books that inspired me to be an artist, I actually didn’t get very far solving the clues, but I was 14 years old at the time. It had a profound influence on me because I was ‘blown away’ by the detail. We all loved the concept of the book and never forgot it which did ‘ignite the flame’ in later life. I had no idea I would get well known for painting the hare and it was my new surrealistic hare paintings, the ‘Zodiac Hares’, which were launched on BBC’s Spring Watch programme which reminded my clients of Masquerade. This inspired me to make them into a story and treasure hunt book.
Q. When you were making the Hare on the Moon was the process of making puzzles and ciphers something new you had to learn and tackle specifically for the book or do you have some experience in participating in other treasure hunts, and if so, which have you enjoyed the most?
A. I hadn’t got involved in a treasure hunt book myself, apart from my early attempts as a teenager. It was all new to me and I made sure I didn’t look at Masquerade or any other treasure hunt book so I wasn’t influenced on how they had gone about it. I wanted it to be uniquely my way of constructing the clues. I did really enjoy the process. The only other person who looked at the construction was my husband because I needed some fresh eyes to check that they thought it was hard enough but fair. We believe it is solvable.
Q. If you didn’t have experience of participating in treasure hunts before, do you think you’ll be tempted to have a go at one now that you have published your own? If so have you got your eye on one you would like to try your hand at, what attracted you to that one specifically?
A. I would love to have the time but alas my work is full on, balancing the gallery, book and map sales and also keeping up with booked commissions. I am learning so much more about the solutions to previous treasure hunt books from websites like yours and meeting serious treasure hunters when they come into my gallery. One treasure hunter came in who had solved ‘The Last Fairy’ and showed me the treasure he had dug up of a golden wand, it was thrilling to meet him and see the treasure. He was kind enough to give me a book called ‘Treasure’ by Dan James. I will have fun looking at it, but I believe most of the clues have been solved.
Q. What would you say is your favorite type of cipher/puzzle that you have come across in your research or previous experience with treasure hunts?
A. Well, with my limited experience I did like to see the workings out of ‘The Last Fairy’ when he explained how he did it. I was surprised that it had taken 10 years to solve, but it goes to show if you know the answer it always looks easy.
Q. Having read the book and looked over the other materials including the map you have recently released I must say that I’ve had a great time exploring and learning the mystical and ancient places around Wiltshire. It’s easy to get lost down a rabbit (or maybe I should say Hare) hole when looking these places up. Would you say it is necessary for someone who is unfamiliar with Wiltshire and these sites to do some research to be able to solve the treasure hunt?
A. I think my answer here is that it is all in the book so you don’t have to be from Wiltshire or know Wiltshire to be able to solve the puzzle. Though, if you can visit the sites in the book it will make for some wonderful days out.
Q. I’ve read that the solution will be in the form of several words and map coordinates. Will this be obvious to those who solve the solutions or will there be a level of intuitive interpretation involved for the participants to determine these?
A. I believe that the book is logical not intuitive but there are levels of clues and one leads to another.
Q. My understanding is that at this current time the correct solution has not been submitted. Has anyone come close?
A. I have some serious treasure hunters working on it and they are posting their progress to me via social media sometimes and I am waiting with bated breath but, as of yet, it is still unsolved.
Q. If you were to gauge the difficulty of this treasure hunt, where would you rate it on a scale from Easy to Expert level?
A. I would say ‘middle’, I still believe a clever teenager has as much chance as an Oxford Don.
Q. The prize painting of the three hares on the moon is truly beautiful and whoever wins it will surely be displaying it with pride. However, there may be people out there who are wondering, how much is the painting worth, I’ve read a lot of different amounts ranging from £3,500 to £15,000. Is there an official figure?
A. My paintings to date have sold up to £15,000 and gold leopard and lion paintings produced back in 2007 sold at £10,000. ‘The Three Hares on a Golden Moon’ are more detailed than those so I would say around £15,000.
Q. If you could offer hunters one piece of advice about how to solve the treasure hunt, what would it be?
A. That is a very good question – I would say please stick at it, it is solvable and too many people buy the book and believe they are no good at puzzles and give up too easily.
Q. If the treasure hunt is a success do you think you will produce more in the future, or was this a once in a lifetime experience for you?
A. I would love to produce another one, I have some ideas but for the moment I am very busy promoting ‘The Hare on the Moon’ the newly released map ‘The Golden Hare Trail’ running my gallery and drawing and painting for my clients.
Q. Should participants in the treasure hunt be cautious of any red herrings or false clues in your book?
A. It is very easy to see things that aren’t there, but I haven’t purposely put any red herrings in the book.
A huge thank you again for taking the time to discuss The Hare On The Moon with me and answer some questions!
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Conclusion
Joanna May with her published treasure hunt book The Hare On The Moon.
You can find out more about The Hare On The Moon and buy your copy of the book and map with the links below
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THIS TREASURE HUNT IS IN ITS ENTIRETY IS AN ARMCHAIR TREASURE HUNT THIS MEANS THAT TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE YOU, ABSOLUTELY AND EXPLICITLY, DO NOT NEED TO ENTER PRIVATE LAND, CLIMB ONTO OR MOVE ANY OBJECTS, OR DIG IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.
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Written By
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ADAM L C
Director of Areas Grey
Adam is an avid treasure hunter, seeker of adventure and the creator of Areas Grey. After travelling for almost half his life and cataloguing over 100 treasure legends along the way. He decided this was simply far too much treasure for one person to chase! As a result he created Areas Grey so he could share his stories, connect with other treasure hunters and put a little more adventure in the lives of the treasure hunting community.
Adam is a Private Investigator and former Wilderness Guide with a passion for history and archaeology. With the skills, knowledge and gear, Adam is always eager to go on the next fortune seeking adventure and connect with fellow treasure hunters along the way.
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“It is a unique painting in gold leaf which took two months to create. The three hares with the interlinking ears are a Celtic fertility symbol which is also connected to the lunar cycle. It is considered to be a puzzle, in its own right, which can lead us to a powerful and deeper understanding of life and the universe.”
– Joanna May, 2020
