Tag Archives: mental health

Six Layers (and Knowing When to Stop)

Since October, I’ve been working on a monthly process, painting a large canvas, then covering it over to begin again. It’s intentional. Each layer represents a feeling or experience, painted over by the next, like life, where so much sits beneath the surface. Some months I returned the canvas to white; others I worked straightContinue reading “Six Layers (and Knowing When to Stop)”

Falmouth: Wind, Water, and Space to Think

In March, I took myself off to Falmouth for a week. I’d never been before, and it felt somehow much further away than it really is. I went by train, which slowed everything down in a good way. No rushing, no driving, just watching the amazing landscape change. Falmouth itself felt full of contrast, wideContinue reading “Falmouth: Wind, Water, and Space to Think”

Finding connection

Last week’s word was connection: from the Latin connectere, meaning “to bind together.” It began as something physical: tying, linking, fastening, and has grown to describe everything from relationships to any place two things touch. I’ve been playing with acrylic and watercolour inks this week, wetting the paper and dropping inks and letting them findContinue reading “Finding connection”

Roots!

This week’s word is roots, quiet, steadfast things that hold life together. You rarely see them, yet they do all the work, anchoring, feeding, connecting. The word itself is ancient, from Old English rōt and Latin radix, which also gives us radical — literally “to go to the root.” I love that: to be radicalContinue reading “Roots!”

Standing on the threshold……

This week’s word is liminality, from the Latin limen, meaning threshold. It describes the space between what was and what’s next: the moment of suspension before transformation takes hold. Doorways, bridges, shorelines at low tide. They sit between states, quietly holding their breath. Portals. It feels especially relevant now. The year itself stands on aContinue reading “Standing on the threshold……”

My creative hug for October (and a peek at my big project)

October’s been full of small experiments that have made me get excited about my art again. My Creative Hug project, a loose structure built around a “word of the week” and a larger project, has given me that nudge I’ve needed. Each word sparks fresh activities, readings, or just little shifts in how I seeContinue reading “My creative hug for October (and a peek at my big project)”

My Word of the Week: Curiosity

As part of my Creative Hug, I have a word a week to inspire my art. This week, I’m doing everything with curiosity – in my drawings, my walks, daily life. I have enjoyed learning the etymology of “curiosity”. Historically, curious took quite a journey. In medieval times, it was almost an insult – suggestingContinue reading “My Word of the Week: Curiosity”

My Creative Hug!

Winter can be a difficult time for me as I navigate chronic fatigue and longstanding SAD (seasonal affective disorder). But I’ve learned that the rhythm of the seasons can also be a guide, a way to create structure, meaning, and light in the darker months. This year I’ve designed a Seasonal Daily Art Practice toContinue reading “My Creative Hug!”

Art is a daily mental health boost!

Art is connection, not decoration We underestimate the power of our surroundings. The things we see every day—walls, colours, textures, shape our mood more than we realise. That’s why art isn’t just “decoration.” A painting you truly love can shift your whole state of mind. Maybe it’s a calm landscape that soothes you after aContinue reading “Art is a daily mental health boost!”