MELODY VAUGHAN
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I didn’t mean for my blog writing to fall silent; I had a plan for most of December and into early January. But then the holiday season took over and once all the bustle of family and friend visits died down, I found myself unable to start again. I suffer from seasonal affective disorder and for some reason this winter
With the solstice only days away, we’re right in the middle of the darkest part of the year and also the busiest. It’s a combination that can easily lead to feeling over-stimulated and over-tired, the adrenaline of trying to get it all done matched with the lack of time we give ourselves to rest or go slowly. It’s
December is a challenging month on all fronts – professional and personal – that it can be easy to get lost in all the activity and things to be done and forget to look after yourself. All this month on the blog I’m going to be taking self-care as my inspiration and looking at ways you can look
December is a challenging month on all fronts – professional and personal – that it can be easy to get lost in all the activity and things to be done and forget to look after yourself. All this month on the blog I’m going to be taking self-care as my inspiration and looking at ways you can look
I am fascinated by creativity and am always happy to read anything that might give me better understanding about what is happening in the minds of those people I spend a lot of time with – namely highly creative people working in all sorts of disciplines (not just the obvious ‘creative’ arts jobs). I enjoyed this book because
A couple of weeks ago I talked about the impulse to save things and the damaging effect this can have when it comes to saving ideas or holding back in your creative practice.
In writing that post I realised that there is another impulse, closely linked to the impulse to save and to hold
It’s almost half way through November and the challenge of NaNoWriMo. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’m using it mainly as a way to get into the habit of writing daily, and in a more focused way, rather than trying to get the first draft of a novel down (my writing is non-fiction
It is often around this time of year that I feel a slight shift, as the daylight is in short supply and winter feels close at my back. I notice that I switch from feeling full of energy for being outside, and doing things, to wanting to hibernate. I resist this temptation for as long as possible, but
November is NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – and people all over the world will be making the commitment to themselves, and their writing, to sit down each day and write. The aim is to write around 1600 words a day, every day, and to end the month with the first draft of a novel. Ta da!
In last week’s post on Acknowledging the Fear I mentioned the book Art & Fear: observations on the perils (and rewards) of artmaking. It’s such a helpful little book that I thought it deserved its own post. So here it is…
Once we’ve started on our creative journeys things aren’t necessarily easy. It can be tempting to think that just because you’ve finished your BA or MA things will slot into place, that just because you’ve found the material or technique/process that excites you, the work will be made easily, that just because you’ve made the work it will
In last week’s blog post I recommended Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, a short book of advice from one established artist to another at the beginning of his journey. There are many threads within his letters, but Rilke, in particular, seems to advocate cultivating inner strength and a sense of purpose that can only come
This month’s book recommendation is something that has been on my radar for years and I’ve always had a ‘yeah, yeah, Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet – that’s got all sorts of insights into being an artist. I know I should read it, but…’ attitude towards it. Which, of course, was stupid. And I (wrongly) assumed it
September is the time of year for getting back to things (work, school, the routine of our daily lives) after the summer break. The French call this time of year La Rentrée – the return – and it affects everyone, not just workers and students. I like to think of this time of year as the Creative Return
September is the time of year for getting back to things (work, school, the routine of our daily lives) after the summer break. The French call this time of year La Rentrée – the return – and it affects everyone, not just workers and students. I like to think of this time of year as the Creative Return
September is the time of year for getting back to things (work, school, the routine of our daily lives) after the summer break. The French call this time of year La Rentrée – the return – and it affects everyone, not just workers and students. I like to think of this time of year as the Creative Return
Every year I think to myself how odd it is that summer shifts into autumn so quickly, how September often feels a bit sudden. When it really isn’t that strange at all – we are all products of the relentless academic timetable of Back to School in September that long after we are freed of it, the rhythm
This month on the blog I’m talking about a structure for thinking about your creative practice which I have borrowed from the DIY MFA writing programme and made applicable for most creative practices:
In the <a
This month on the blog I’m talking about a structure for thinking about your creative practice which I have borrowed from the DIY MFA writing programme and made applicable for most creative practices:
In last
Last week I talked about a structure for thinking about your creative practice which I have borrowed from the DIY MFA writing programme and made applicable for most creative practices:
In the first
While I was taking a break from the blog I found myself taking more time to listen to various podcasts – especially when I was on the train travelling around the country. I find it inspiring to hear how other people see the world, and how they navigate their own creative careers. One episode – on <a href="https://lateralaction.com/21stcenturycreative/"
It’s currently very hot. So, the blog is taking a break. It will return in August hopefully feeling refreshed and renewed! In the meantime, here are some great places to get inspired about your creative practice and your creative business: Hurry Slowly This podcast by Jocelyn K Glei is jam-packed with lots of great interviews with people who are actively
Ok, so I know it’s not fair to expect much from a book which is, generously put, slim. But when the quote on the cover says “an intriguing meditation on how vital our hands are to our understanding of ourselves and our world” well, am I not allowed to think this is going to be awesome? Spoiler –
The end of May and beginning of June are a flurry of activity for emerging makers. Deadlines and Degree shows, the end of one chapter and the looking forward to what is to come. And this week it’s the turn of New Designers – potentially one of the most important stepping stones out into the world.
I’m so pleased it’s finally June! There were many times all through spring where I wondered if the sun would ever return, whether the plants were going to just hibernate forever. But finally I feel I can relax, my warm weather clothes can stay in my wardrobe and I can finally put away my boots! June, for me, is the
Degree season is here. New Designers is just around the corner. It’s a slightly frenetic and heightened time of year. I always enjoy seeing new work, and it’s hard not to remember being in the same place 4 years ago, the relief at work being finished, the anticipation of what’s to come. But, once you have been going
This month’s book recommendation may look like a personal development book from its title. I must admit that that’s why I picked it up at first, thinking that maybe it contains the secrets to finding your passion in life (and thus will change everything). I’m sorry to say that this book may not actually help you find your
I am on holiday. But as any self-employed/freelancer knows, that doesn’t really mean that I’m not working. It just means that instead of my desk looking out over suburban London gardens, this week my desk has a view of a giant agave and if I look to my left, the sea. In fact I’ve done quite well adjusting to the
This week it’s Mental Health Awareness week. So my twitter feed (in particular) has been full of really interesting events and activities that link my main interests of Craft and Art with a topic that is close to me personally – maintaining good mental health. On a beautiful day like today the heavy grey days of
With the GDPR deadline only 17 days away I thought I’d do a bit of extra research for you, so that if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all you know where to go for the right guidance and information. Please be aware that everything I put in this post is only information I have gathered from
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