When I was seventeen and studying art, I visited the school library for inspiration. During that difficult couple of late-teenage years, books, particularly art books, transported me elsewhere; somewhere where mundane requirements like time and maths lessons and trauma didn't exist. So I was searching for inspiration when I sat down that day. But I was also loo[...]
I’ve wanted to be an astronaut since I was a kid. I’ve also wanted to be a journalist, art teacher, ballet dancer, performance poet, university lecturer, jewellery designer, ceramic artist, writer, florist and farmer. I’ve made pots, necklaces, collages, paintings, clothing, homewares and illustrations. I’ve studied history of art, Marxism, fashion theo[...]
It's a phrase I've heard many times before: "But I'm not that interesting!" Someone has convinced you that your story isn't interesting. That no-one wants to hear about how you got to where you are, what your studio is like, the sort of creative techniques you use. That is BULLSHIT. You are super interesting. Your story is fascinating! You're going to find out exact[...]
On 31st October it’s one of my favourite festivals of the year: Halloween. The festival is also known as Samhain in Pagan, Wiccan and Celtic indigenous religions. Historically, Samhain was a Gaelic festival held at the event of harvest season, marking the end of that time and the beginning of the darkest, wintry days of the year. It was observed across m[...]
I was never someone who chastised themselves in front of others. I did it privately instead. I preferred to do that in the comfort of my own mind where I could use words like 'stupid', 'silly' and 'ungrateful' and no-one would tell me otherwise. But it's a continuous process to change my (silent) self-talk from something negative into something positive; from somethin[...]
A few years back, at a similar time to when I began reading Brene Brown's work, I learnt about Carol Dweck. In 2006, psychology professor and researcher Carol Dweck published a book which outlined the culmination of research on our understanding of where intellectual and cognitive ability comes from. Dweck established that everyone was on a continuum of “implicit[...]
When did you first really start using social media? For me, it was back when Myspace began. (That was 2003, by the way.) So for nearly two decades I've been publishing my thoughts online and connecting with others over everything from politics and astrology to punk music and creativity. I use social media to promote my business, stay in touch with famil[...]
Here’s how hard I find it to deal with criticism: I went to therapy for it. Yep, in a classic bit of middle-class white privilege, significant portions of my therapeutic process have been about dealing with being criticised. A former therapist once reflected to me that “goody two shoes” was an identity I seemed to have inhabited (consciously or not). Being[...]
I spoke to one of my clients recently who is in the middle of a big potential switcheroo in her world. Lots of new information, life decisions and pivoting to make sure her business, her work, her life and everything else fit together well. And one of the things she said was feeling like she’s constantly chopping and changing what she does. Seeing something –[...]