New website, new blog… and coming soon new studio with plenty of space to be creative – keep up-to-date with my blog to find out more about what I am up to!

There have been a lot of firsts for me this week – writing this, my first blog for my new website www.words4art.co.uk, taking my first steps towards running my own businesses, and moving into my first studio where I will make ceramics and run my writing service aimed at artists, designers and makers.
I have even constructed a six foot long workbench – most definitely a significant first!
It’s certainly a time for new beginnings and, given that I am now officially ‘middle aged’, I am quietly pleased that even at my time of life it’s not too late to start afresh, find new challenges and take risks that will push me out of my mid-life comfort zone.
It’s a fact that many emerging artists are people who have switched from often very successful and lucrative careers in order to follow their creative dream. It’s a gamble, whatever age you are, but for people in their forties, fifties or sixties there is also a sense that if you leave it too long, it will be too late.
Conversely, there is perhaps more to lose if things go wrong than if you are a twenty-something without financial and family commitments.
But of course, unless you try you will never know whether or not you might have made it as an artist or maker. And from my experience these first few weeks have already given me a deep sense of satisfaction and joy that I know I would not find in a routine 9-5 job – I am excited, invigorated, full of enthusiasm and buzzing with ideas.
Who knows where it may lead but for the moment I feel very fortunate that I have been given the opportunity to allow this new chapter in my life to unfold.
The future is certainly in my own hands now but, as the philosopher Peter Drucker said, ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it.’ And that’s certainly what I plan to do.
Creative corner
As a ceramic artist and gallery assistant, I am lucky to see the work of many artists, makers and designers and to enjoy a variety of exhibitions and creative events. Invariably I take inspiration from the work of others, whether they use clay or a different medium, create 2D or 3D work. Each month in this blog I will focus on an artist who has struck a particular chord, an exhibition that has inspired or a creative event that has challenged.
I love the work of Jane Eccles, a figurative artist who works in oils. Her paintings have an intriguing narrative that allows the viewer to create their own stories around what’s going on in the picture.
Sometimes, her pictures feature a single figure but with a setting and title that suggests much more than a straightforward portrait. In The Letter, for example we see a girl sitting on her bed, dressed as if to go out (or has she just come home?) with a letter strewn on the floor. Who has written the letter? Why is it dropped to the floor? Who is the girl? It’s a simple enough image that resonates with anyone who has ever received a letter bearing good or bad news, but the added detail – the pictures on the wall, the pattern on the base of the bed, the folds of the fabric on the bed and the girl’s dress – all conspire to produce a beautifully evocative yet mysterious scene.
Other pictures are of seemingly ordinary scenes but with a rather extraordinary twist. Take The Kiteflyers – what is the man on the right looking at and why is he carrying flowers? Why is the girl at the forefront looking so coyly at the viewer? Why is there a playing card tucked under the corner of the rug? The picture, of course, raises more questions than it answers but it allows the viewer to build a story around it – and no doubt each viewer will weave a different tale around what they see!
You can see more of Jane’s work at www.janeccles.co.uk. Her paintings are also available at the Greenstage Gallery, Bishops Frome, near Worcester – more details at www.greenstagegallery.co.uk.
The Letter © The artist The Kiteflyers © The artist