So this blog’s title is one of my most used email signs offs! Quite often when you have to communicate, re-interpret and re-understand for a living things get lost. We are human and I’ve learnt the way we understand something to be is not always how it actually is…
This month I am SO super focussed on delivery across four of my freelance projects I doubt I’ll have much time to write but I would like to write more about them. To celebrate the wonder and whimsical creativity a diverse set of managing arts and cultural projects brings to my life.
So a round up of the last week – Thursday – Thursday just for fun and because people seem to find it interesting and it makes me feel super proud about everything I’m working on and all the lovely people I get to see.
Last Thursday started with a phone meeting with TATE Modern. I am co-ordinating a young people’s project as part of ARTIST ROOMS for Berwick Visual Art and I can already tell there’ll be as much debate as there will be creating – lots to get our teeth stuck into!
Then I headed down on the train (25mins) to Newcastle to meet with a colleague from National Trust and textile artist Yvette Hawkins. We met at the wonderful Intermezzo Coffee Shop and enjoyed lattes in the sun whilst we considered ways in to using plants for natural dying workshops and sharing with the community on Holy Island.
On Friday, I was in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea with a wonderful audio artist called Lindsay and her array of noise making materials for under 3s. The participants and families were an absolute delight and we got some wonderful recordings in the bag for a very exciting set of outcomes for our ‘Voice of the Child’ project.
On Saturday I had a lovely day off – went for a run, to my yoga class and spent the afternoon soaking up the sun at home with our family and then to a BBQ. Really chilled but we left early and didn’t drink any vino because…
🤣🌻🌻
On Sunday it was a working day for me in Ashington managing our pop-up Lotus Flower origami stall for arts activism project ‘Colour to the Grey.’.
Monday came round all too quick and I headed up to Holy Island to drink the best coffee in the North East at Pilgrims Coffee and meet with National Trust Colleagues. I also gathered petals and took photographs in the walled garden as information gathering for our participatory project. I squeezed in a huge food shop on the way home and caught up on freelance admin later that evening.
On Tuesday it was project admin catch up day at home and I had a few phone calls to make before our little boy’s transition into pre-school. I was so emotional about it (apparently all the feels are completely normal) and I actually fell asleep on a patch of grass along the road whilst waiting for him for half an hour – boy was it needed.
Yesterday I met my lovely colleague who is director of Newcastle baed production company The Empty Space at Ashington YMCA for our Skype catch up with lead artist Amy Lord who runs the BEST named company ‘Lemonade and Laughing Gas’ and wrapped up the day finishing some admin.
Today has given me chance for a slower paced day. I’ve been using the pomodoro technique to finish off bits for clients, clean the house and will be shortly heading up to Berwick to meet our young people’s group for ARTIST ROOMS.
So if you are sat bored in a hot office dreaming of another life I would TOTALLY recommend freelance working – you set your schedule and can clock off when it’s sunny if you want to. ☀️☀️☀️☀️🙏🙏🙏
I tend to do bits of work in the evenings when Dave’s at work too but on the cons list I’ve have to say it’s very hard to take a block of time off when you’re busy – you don’t have a visible presence anywhere so the emails keep coming in unless people are too hot to send them of course.
The juggling is an art form in itself – if you’d like some intel on how I do it shoot me a message and I’ll do a post! 🌱💓🌱