For me a new year brings the opportunity to have a think about what art projects I would like to do but I only start this process in January. I know some people like to get their ducks in a row in December but I prefer to feel my way through the first few weeks to settle into how the new year settles. I lean into my intuition to explore what I feel able to do, for instance, can I create and be gentle to myself by not taking too much on around family life and my 9-5 job. I explore what makes me feel joyful during the first few winter months of the year, what do I need around me to motivate me to pick up a pen or paintbrush to avoid the dreaded art block. So far 2024 has brought me the inspiration to create a portrait sketchbook, an art junk journal which I am documenting on Tiktok and I also decided to do Life Documented 2024, which so far I am really enjoying. Whilst these are heavily journal based, I feel my soul needs the vibrancy of the journals I have created and the anchor I need to document where I am. I do wonder and hope that I can keep these journals up and have no doubt that there are many other creative projects ahead of me but I also have made peace with the fact that I am persistent and definitely not consistent and that is okay! I would love to know what you are planning to create in 2024, is it journal based or perhaps you have some big art projects in mind? I hope you feel you would like to follow along to see what 2024 brings. Thanks for reading, Lou 💙
I love September usually. The memories of going to WHsmiths in the 90s and buying a new lever arch file (which sometimes came with a clipboard!) with matching pencil case, new pens, pencils and cute miniature character rubbers. It didn’t matter that I had the fear of being teased about the choices I made to come later on, nothing actually mattered in that moment, it was all about the absolute joy I felt to be buying new stationery.
Then there was choosing my new backpack, how many compartments would it have, did it come with any freebies, was it lacking enough personality to avoid getting bullied, of course it was, it was probably black! Gosh children can be mean. I now tell my own children to ignore those who are judgemental about what things you own, I wish it was that simple for them.
As the years have gone by, September means new items of stationery for my children, getting my winter boots out and putting away the summer clothes. The thought of the nights drawing in…booo… I love the long summer days!!! but I also love the cosy evenings when you can draw the curtains and shut the world away a little bit. I love the crispness that comes with autumn, Halloween is a favourite of mine and knowing that Christmas is around the corner was always joy. But this year I feel nervous about all of those thoughts that usually offer me such comfort and inspiration. This September is the first anniversary of losing my dad, my absolute hero. And the anniversary of losing my dad is also the reminder that in a couple of months it will be the anniversary of losing my Mum, my beautiful Mum. I find it painful that this is the anniversary of the fact that we were actually running out of time with Mum too and we had no idea. Losing your parents within three months of each other is so unbelievably painful. Grief is so wretched but I know the measure of this pain is because of the love I felt and the love I was offered but it’s insanely cruel to experience.
Have you ever attended a team meeting or training day and the facilitator says turn to the person on your left and share 3 facts about you…my goodness my stomach churns and I cringe. I can guarantee that even though I have 6 million hobbies, 17,000 unfinished projects and a family and cats, my mind goes into blind panic and I just have nothing. The creative part of my brain just completely shuts down! So I thought in a bid to help you get to know me more I would share 10 facts about me.
1) I love weird food mixtures!
2) I don’t enjoy and avoid small talk.
I love people and prefer to talk about the real stuff. But with small talk, I just feel awkward and actually cant seem to manage how much I blurt out anyway so if people try small talk with me, they get a true life account of my current life.
3) I used to be scared of cats – I know mad right!
4) I cannot wear odd socks…
I admire people that can have such indifference to wearing odd socks. Those who embrace the fact that they don’t have to wait and match each pair before being able to get dressed! But for me, even the thought of it leaves me so incredibly uncomfortable. I can probably….just about…maybe…ishly so…through dubious facial expressions and slightly squirming…imagine wearing odd socks, that are kind of similar BUT they would have to have the SAME height on the foot or ankle and the SAME elasticity on each foot, but then again NAH! I still couldn’t, no way!
5) I have 2 tattoos.
6) I used to be scared of worms.
Yep, so scared that when I was about 5, if I saw one in the garden I would run inside the house so it wouldn’t get me. I only managed to get over this when I had children and needed to be brave, ha ha!
7) Tulips, gerberas and painted daisies are my favourite flowers.
8) I am scared of birds but love to draw them.
The Instagram drawing challenge #birbfest (and it is birb instead of bird, I always want to correct it🤣) by https://birdietam.art/ really helped me to fall in love with the shape, colours and textures of birds but the biggest part for me was understanding how many different types of birds there are! I assumed there would be duplicates during the month of drawing them, but no! It surprised me how my fear of birds had restricted my understanding of the bird world to the degree that I was quite narrow minded about all the different types! It is estimated that there are about 10,000 different species of birds in the world! Wowee! You can have a look at some of my birbs on my shop on Folksy, including this Puffin.
9) I am dyslexic.
10) I am embarrassed to talk about my art in public – I know weird right! Happy to post but struggle irl!
I really need to dig into this, I have tried to understand this for a while now. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I had a situation at work just recently where a new-ish colleague asked me if I would like to exhibit with them when we were discussing our art and I just said ‘No thanks’, even without considering it because I just felt mortified that my art would be hung..in a public space…for anyone to see! How can I feel so strange about it out in the world on display but love it when people send me pictures of their prints and stickers. This is definitely something I need to journal about and ultimately challenge!
