A Visual Memoir…
The Key of Jaye
A Sense of Wander . . .
This midlife chapter begins with a whimsical yet practical experiment: growing lettuce on my apartment patio.
Curiosity pulled me deeper into the rabbit hole until that patio became a Certified Wildlife Habitat. Then, at the end of one magical, smoke-and-poop-filled summer, your main character was abruptly dumped by her brooding Wolf Man. 😭
Naturally, the creative outlet abides—and often returns with a vengeance. 😈
50+ Solo Dates began on September 4, 2026, when I took myself to brunch. What started as a post-breakup brain dump is becoming a visual memoir: the open-world, storybook-RPG version of my actual life, where reality blurs with the adventures of my illustrated alter ego, Thistle McGrimm, and her feline familiar, Curses.
This digital art diary unfolds through essays, photographs, illustrations, video, and whatever strange little portal opens next.
Some of the magic is metaphor. More of it is real than you might expect.
Wander with me as I grow ever curiouser and curiouser . . .
She ✨Gnomes✨ Some Things
CREATOR SNAPSHOT
I’m Jeannine “Jaye” Rochon: a fifty-four-year-old storyteller, artist, garden witch, professional maker-of-things, and analog soul navigating a profoundly digital world.
I’m also a Telly Award-winning video editor, opera-trained singer, web designer, visual storyteller, and owner of Clever Unicorn, LLC. In other words: I Do Things™.
By day, I help authors and other interesting humans translate their ideas into cinematic content, websites, and storytelling systems. By moonlight, I create darkly whimsical art and objects, write strange and personal things, tend a tiny wildlife habitat, and document the unfolding lore here.
Different portals. Same woman holding the key. ✨🗝️💫
Portals & Side Quests
Other Places I Make Things
Clever Unicorn
Cinematic storytelling for people with something worth saying. Author websites, book trailers, visual content, and creative systems designed to make good work unforgettable.
Sparkling & Dark
Darkly eclectic goods for whimsical creatures: gothic accessories, enchanted home décor, wearable mischief, and useful objects with a little magic in their bones.
Author Jaye Rochon
Bestselling short stories for children and folklore grimoires that weave art, storytelling, and easy, practical magic into busy lives. I’m also writing my own true-crime story—yes, it’s a memoir 👀—and a rock-and-roll eco-fantasy series.
The Memoir . . .
Latest Post
The Scene of the Crime | Solo Date 2
The week after a breakup can feel both impossibly long and unnervingly fast. I don’t think age or experience makes it any easier. I got dumped on a Sunday—our standing Sunday Funday date night. Exactly one week later, I returned to the scene of the crime. Wait. I’m...
Digital (+ Analog) Garden
The Blog Witch Chronicles
The Hermit Retreats, the Empress Orders Breakfast | Solo Date 1
Recently, a man I love decided to retreat from a relationship I thought we were building together. He didn’t have the capacity to show up completely, so he pulled back—not only from us, but from society in general. I understand the impulse. Things feel bleak. There is...
Coffee grinder? Oh. You mean “bean tornado?”
The Coffee Witch Doodle: Adventures of Thistle McGrimm & Her Cat, Curses 🖤🐈⬛👇🏻 Click Here for More Thistle & Curses Adventures! 🕷️📚🔮 Created and imagined by Jaye Rochon / TheKeyOfJaye.com Artwork shared under Creative Commons...
Some Thoughts On… The “Analog Bag” (and Why It Gives Me Hope)
I've been seeing this whole "Analog Bag" trend floating around the internet lately, and as a 54-year-old Gen-X woman, I have to laugh a little. I mean . . . I am an analog bag. 🙃 Apparently we're calling crossbody bags, backpacks and hobby totes "analog bags" now,...
