June 2018

I am looking back through my journal as a write this post about June. I had felt frustrated at my slow progress last month and this month was more of the same.  I had been equating slowing down and progressing at a slower pace as something negative, unproductive and to be "fixed". I felt like I needed to have something more substantial to show for the time I had spent in the studio. There were lots of "interruptions"...life kept interfering and when you equate art making to "me" time I felt like I was forced to leave myself till last.  I started to get myself some books from the library whilst my son was in once of his classes.  Reading and reflecting started to turn things around. I realised slowing down was necessary and actually very important for the work that I make. Some of the things I wrote in my journal were:
1. Working from intuition requires deep listening
2. Allowing myself to be vulnerable 
3. The importance of observing and absorbing
I spent most of this month starting multiple new works, and not feeling like I had to finish anything before I went on the something new.  Towards the end of the month I had a couple of wonderful things happen.  Firstly I was invited to take part in a new project run by Sophie from Curatorial & Co which involved working with amazing videographer Flore Vallery-Radot, I hope to share more details on this very soon. The other wonderful experience was running two workshops as part of Kafe as Poume run by Eleni Christou. I ran a crochet workshop and one on soft sculpture at the Community and Refugee Welcome Centre in Lilyfield as part of Inner West Festival 2018.  I love the magical space for exchange and connection created through workshops. This time of self reflection and working with amazing women who are driven, kind and generous has deepened my understanding of what it can mean to be engaged with community as an artist and individual. I have come to embrace that slowness as an essential part of what it means to grow.  I'm very much looking forward to continuing to develop my work alongside concepts of community, exchange and connection.