It seems to have rained daily since we got back from Cornwall late July. The Leek & District Show was a bit of a wash out. I have a strong need to be outdoors and although I can cope with wet dog walks, it so much nicer to be sitting in the garden and catching up on admin and stuff.
My Art Degree course has been an amazing experience and I’m waiting in anticipation to find out whether or not I can apply for the Honours year course as it needs a minimum number to go ahead in January. Meanwhile I still feel the question, “What kind of artists am I?”, remains unanswered. It comes with the territory of being a mixed media artist. The course has encouraged me to be experimental and whilst this has been amazing in broadening my horizons, I haven’t settled on a single discipline. The silver-work, photography and textile remain key but there is so much I can do with it.
College projects have been the catalyst and focus for my work and without it I’m finding a struggle at times to be creative in my allotted spare time. Running a business from home means that there’s always a lot of overlap. Putting my mentoring hat on, I have to advise myself to set up boundaries and the biggest change for me has to be the packing up on a Thursday evening of my “office” that resides in the dining room during the week so that the decks are clear and I have a space to be creative in on a Friday – no excuses. Of course this has the additional advantages that I’m less tempted to ‘catch up on admin’ over the weekend and we can actually use the dining room then too. That is if there’s not prints drying everywhere.
Creativity is not something that can be turned on and off and it is common for artists to struggle with being on the right head space at the right time, especially where they are not fortunate enough to have a dedicated studio. As a coach/mentor I am here to support people through these types of challenges. Please call me on 07714 216388 if you think I can help.
In the meantime I’ve turned my focus to a project I’m calling #ayearonthecaldoncanal. If you’re on Instagram or Facebook do take a look. I’ve been keeping a journal and photos since January to observe the changes in nature of my local environment. I have so many photos already I think its time to use then to stitch, felt or print. I may even convert some into silver designs. Here’s a little taster for you.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, may it last well into September (the sunny bits not the rain) and be creative – or buy some art and make an artist somewhere very happy.
Carolyn
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