I have been involved in the arts and arts education all my adult life. Creativity is definitely what runs through my core. Some of my best childhood memories involve sitting at the kitchen table making Plasticine™ creatures with my mum and sister, making impossible rooms and dens in the garden, Lego™ adventures on the green carpet and under the furniture. I spent a lot of time lying on the floor and imagining what my house would be like to navigate if it, or I, were upside down. A creative mind helped me through difficult times as a child, brilliant and terrible times as an adult and wonderfully emotional and revelatory times as an artist, mother and professional.
I am very lucky to have been involved in all the creative aspects of my career thus far. I've seen some brilliant, ridiculous, bizarre, unpleasant, hilarious and moving work by artists and performers, and have had the pleasure of teaching some amazing and surprising students, being part their creative journeys. I've been behind the scenes and in front of the camera (
Sus) and as I write this feel very privileged at what this creative path has brought to my life.
Sounds good, and it has been in parts. It has also been frustrating and exhausting at times. I struggled for a long time about being able to truly call myself an artist. I worked as an illustrator for nearly 12 years with highs and lows. I was so delighted when I had my first piece published (mum had it laminated) and felt very proud of my £50 cheque. I think that from then on my worth as an artist came from whether people liked, bought or commissioned work; it rarely came from that place within, that creative core that was lying dormant waiting for a bit of nurturing. I gave form to other people's ideas and kept my own tucked away for another time. There are countless books in my studio of thoughts, ideas, dreams that never came to fruition.
Teaching was, as I look back on it now, my creative outlet. I set briefs for my students to help develop and expand their creativity, briefs that I would have loved to have been given myself. I dedicated much more time to my teaching than to the development of my own artistic career, but along the way, all the research and tutorials fed my creative core. I thought at the time that I was less of an artist for focusing on the teaching, but it gave me so much more, a broader more open view to creativity.
I became braver and tried new directions over the last six years, working in arts and arts education in more organisational and research based roles which have given me more of an opportunity to work with people who are at hugely different stages of their creative career and those who believed that they weren't creative at all.
My firm belief is that EVERYONE has the ability to be and think creatively, we are all creative in our own ways. It isn't necessarily with a pencil or some paints, it might be with food or words or music. It might be lying dormant waiting for a bit of nurturing. Being creative saved me, literally. My creativity now filters into every aspect of my life. I no longer make the distinction that I am an artist - I reject the term artist and label myself a CREATIVE. Free to make when I want to without judgement or label, and follow my true creative passion: to bring creativity to everyday life, and help other people bring a bit to theirs.
