"I'm an artist, but..."
...join us and finish the sentence.
There is so much currently crammed in to every small inch of my brain that I feel mildly confused at all times. I imagine if I lay on my side long enough, all the things would start to ooze out - a thick, sticky, sparkly substance, like one of those fancy slimes that ASMR TikTokkers love. I carry a little nagging feeling around like a stone in my shoe - there’s something else I should be doing, isn’t there? There’s definitely an email that hasn’t been sent, medication yet to be ordered, kit that needs to be booked, kid shoes that need to be purchased.
And it’s not all admin - I’ve also been saying a lot of yes to a lot of life. A quick trip to Rome? Yes! A talk about life and art for a bunch of cool photographers? Yes! Meeting one of my favourite authors and listening to him talk about how he writes the magic he does? Yes! Midweek art exhibition and margs and Air at the Royal Albert Hall? Yes! Being photographed dancing in my underwear? Yes! Impromptu late night date night? Yes! Yes! Yes!
It’s all moving and maybe summer is here? Usually this kind of time is where my morning pages really come in to their own - I get all this shit down on paper, in a safe container outside myself - but I noticed that for the past week I’ve spaced out during the first half page of writing, only to lamely return for another half page before gently closing the book and putting it to one side. I keep returning, yes! But letting myself space out and being in stillness feels more important than pushing myself into the flow of words. I’m just swapping one form of meditation for another.
And there is little creative action outside of paid work, of which there is a perfect amount. A blessing! It’s rarely like that. But now I think about it, creative conversation is the exception to this lack of creative action.
We held the first Artful Conversation two weeks ago and it was so fucking good. This isn’t a comment on us as hosts (but it should be said that the three of us can host a damn good time) because the goodness came from the collective- having a space to conversationally meander and wonder aloud, together. I haven’t had much time to reflect yet but this I know - it wasn’t a place where you would be told what to do, it was a place to be heard and seen and think out loud with each other. We’re not art prophets who will tell you what you should be doing, we’re not selling you a way to make more money from art, we’re not pushing you towards a new skill.
What we’re offering is something a little less tangible and much more rare - a space to think deeply about process and meaning and your role in your acts of creation. Last time we ended up talking about how much art we make and what of that we share, who gets to partake in different art forms, what art really means to us, what societal messaging we’ve been holding on to about who gets to be an artist… it was messy and full of laughter alongside moments of quiet contemplation.
And don’t just take my word for it! Attendees (conversationalists?) Chloe and Zoe shared some beautiful reflections of the evening.
We’re holding one more Artful Conversation on Tuesday, this time online. The beauty of these conversations is that it’s the participants who help steer them, so whilst we will send you some things to think about beforehand via email, ideas that you can bring along with you, much of what we talk about will organically happen on the night. It’s like improv! Like a real life conversation with your very best art friends!
This is the last time we’l be in the same time zone for a while and so the last planned conversation - we would really, really love to have you.
