MELODY VAUGHAN
*please be aware that many of the older posts have formatting issues due to the migration from my old Squarespace website to here. I am slowly updating things but it could take me some time.
Yesterday was the Spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, one of my favourite moments of the year. As well as providing a natural point to stop and consider aspects of balance in my world, I also feel so grateful that the light is only increasing from here, and that longer days are on the horizon. Each year, as the fingers
This year, more than any other, January has felt to me like an inbetween time. Not only the inbetweenness of limping from winter towards spring, but also the experiences of continuing to deal with Long covid and having emergency work on our drains. Each of these situations – my ongoing convalesecence, the uncertainty with the house, my relationship to winter
One of the biggest challenges for me when I started working freelance/self-employed was how to maintain the structures of ‘work’ that help me most, but adapt them to the way I work best. For a long time I expected the frameworks or productivity tools/hacks that I’d used as a student or in the workplace to somehow be applicable to my
This autumn I made a particular effort to notice how the light was changing in my immediate environment. I watched each day, around noon, to see how and where the sunlight peeked over my roof and into the back garden. I was fascinated to see how different it was from the height of summer when the light would sweep all
The other day I had an interesting conversation with a couple of creative practitioner friends and we were talking about all the ideas that we have that will never become actual things. And we lamented that in many instances it’s actually the ideas that we love about our work, rather than the doing/acting on them, and wouldn’t it be lovely
Here are all the Coaching & Mentoring in a craft context posts in one handy place: Featured Sep 28, 2024 Quitting my newsletter update: why that was a good thing and also not. (Alternative title – new email list!) Sep 28, 2024 Sep 28, 2024 Jul 14, 2023 What’s it like to work with me? Jul 14, 2023 Jul 14,
There’s two ways people work with me. The first is the most obvious – they identify a need for themselves or in their practice and they approach me. I’d love to say that the majority find me on their own, through my Instagram or website, but it seems that there is actually a small group of lovely advocates for my
Photo credit Yeshen Venema [Don’t fancy reading all this? Fear not! I’ve recorded it so you can listen to me tell you directly] In the Q&A yesterday I tried to define what this work is and I found it really hard. I think that’s because every client is different, everyone’s needs are different, so I can’t possibly hope to describe
How do you describe what you do? The 1:1 work I do focuses on the intangible side of a creative practice. I offer an undefined space for you to reflect, explore and understand your unique creative process. What would you say is your style or approach? I like to say that this work treads lightly between coaching and mentoring, taking
Photo credit Yeshen Venema If you’ve spent any time on Instagram lately I’m sure you’ll have noticed that there are a lot of coaches out there. And not only that, but they all have quite specific niche aspects that they work on. This is fantastic for you, and for them, as it makes deciding who to work with quite a
Ruth Singer, is an artist & maker exploring personal and collective narratives through textiles. She creates for exhibitions, commissions and projects. She also write books, supports other creatives through mentoring and consultancy / research work and loves generating her own projects, artist residencies and making things happen. How do you describe what you do? I help creative people work their
Sharon Adams tells stories through crafted objects. Deeply rooted in the farming landscape, her practice is directed by an intuitive response to the local and her emerging relationship to her homeplace. Seeking out points of connection with its lines and surfaces, textures and patterns she produces objects and drawings informed by a life-long relationship with a landscape that is both
Photo credit Yeshen Venema Often when people get in touch with me about working 1:1 they tell me that they’ve been thinking about having some coaching/mentoring for a while and that now feels like the right time. So it seems likely that maybe you’ve been considering getting some additional support for your creative practice or business, especially with these things
All this week here and over on Instagram I’m going to be focusing on coaching and mentoring in a craft context. I’ll be sharing how this now makes up the majority of my creative practice, and why, as well as talking more generally about how this kind of support might be useful for you and your practice. I’ll also
At the end of this week it’s the Spring equinox. Of all the seasonal markers I’ve chosen to make part of my own rhythm and ritual this one feels most significant. It’s a quiet moment – not flashy like midsummer, nor darkly brooding like midwinter – in fact it’s most likely to be grey and dreary. But it offers me
This month marks my blog’s 4th birthday! When I began writing it I included a monthly book recommendation, something I’d been reading on the theme of creativity, personal development, that sort of thing. Somewhere along the line I stopped doing it, despite those posts beings some of the most popular, and despite people still asking me for recommendations when they
Welcome to January! Typically this is my month of reflecting and planning, but this year I’m taking it slowly letting all that happened in 2020 settle. Why not join me as I lead a very low-key and mindful journey into 2021. Along the way I will share the process I go through as one year ends and another begins. Following
I’m really excited to share with you my brand new New Year Creative Practice Review course. For the past few years I’ve offered a series of guided reviews which have gradually become more holistic and less specific. Your practice is uniquely yours, so you don’t need me pretending there’s a one size fits all way to do this. After 2020
All this month on the blog I’ve talked about the process I go through at the beginning of each new year, of reflecting on who I am in that moment and the things I value, and of reviewing the events of the previous year in detail so that I know what I want to carry with me into the next
The year review is the densest part of this process because I will go through the entire previous year with a fine tooth comb. When I first started doing this I used to only go through my work diary, noting all the meetings, client sessions, teaching, workshops, travel etc that I might have done. And recognising the full extent of
In my last post I shared the process I go through each new year, as I assess how the previous year has gone and prepare for the new one ahead. It’s only recently that I realised that it has 3 distinct phases – reflection, review & planning. For a long time I only did the planning part, spending a bit
We’re fast approaching the end of the year and with it thoughts of the future begin to occupy the quieter moments. But after a monumental year what will reflection and planning for 2021 look like? I can’t speak for anyone else, if you feel that 2020 needs to be forgotten as quickly as possible, I can’t blame you. But, for
I used to get wound up about this, feeling like it was some kind of moral failure to have my enthusiasm taper off, that it was just a matter of working harder, pushing through and all that other bullshit we’ve internalised from the world of ‘proper work’. But now, instead of blaming myself, I’d rather ask questions that help understand
Something I’ve been thinking about recently is my role in the work I do, and what happens in the sessions that I facilitate. I’m trying to understand it so that I can change the way I communicate about my work to others. Often the ways I’ve said things in the past, the explanations I give, haven’t quite hit the mark
Along with the intention this month to write on the blog more frequently, I’ve also been trying to listen to more podcasts. For some reason this is something I find hard to do. There’s something about the format that doesn’t quite work for me. I appreciate the immediacy, the connection of hearing other people’s voices, but sometimes podcasts are just
First I must thank Instagram for, yet again, providing me with a starting point for today’s daily blog. I had a busy work day yesterday so didn’t get round to writing, and it’s amazing how quickly the inertia sets in. I was ready to write off today as well, but then I noticed quite a few of my favourite feeds
This morning I took part in a zoom discussion with makers about sustainable and responsible making practices. I think in my mind it was going to be more of a discussion, but it mostly felt like I was giving a talk. Perhaps that’s just the way it needed to go to start this process off. But, I find these kinds
Image: Yeshen Venema Photography This morning I saw an Instagram post from The Female Lead that said “Surround yourself with women who would mention your name in a room full of opportunities” It’s posts like these that make me wish Insta would upgrade the Like option to accommodate the ‘hell yeah’ and ‘this is everything’ sentiments. In a nutshell, this
Returning to a daily practice after a break always take a little more effort than I’d like. Today I noticed the struggle getting here, to my writing, as well as going for a walk and doing some yoga. I think that something has shifted in me over the weekend, seasonally as well as emotionally. I gave myself some gentle space
It feels like we are in a kind of limbo, as we wait to see what will happen with the American election. Although my anxiety from earlier in the week has calmed down and I am no longer doomscrolling and checking the news feeds incessantly, I am still agitated and a bit preoccupied. I wanted to write today about maintaining
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