Photo: New Year’s Resolutions

It’s September, one of those typical glorious September days of soul lifting sunshine, warm enough not to need a coat but not so hot to be sticky or worried about showing too much flesh. The kids are back at school and no longer an impediment/excuse to get things done.  I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. At that time of year, I just want to keep cosy and eat hearty food, basically hibernate until Spring. Now I am a parent of school kids (6 and 8 1/2), the start of the new academic year has become more significant not just for the kids needing new shoes and starting new things but also me.

Being a freelance artist, I juggle working part time and looking after my children as there is only so much spending on childcare I can justify (they go 2 days a week to give me a couple of longer work days) plus I relish the opportunity my career choice has given me to be there for them and be part of their childhood. Like many others, I have spent my summer working even more part time while the children were off school. I am lucky that their Dad is also freelance and takes on a share of this but as a web designer (aka RAGINGtrifle who did this site of course), he is busier & earns more so I do a higher proportion of holiday cover. The concentrated time with them really emphasises how much they grow and develop each year. New things they can do and old favourites they no longer want to do. You can see the future, them no longer needing you so much and what then?

This is why I am writing about new year’s resolutions now. This is my new year. A time for new me or at least let out the me who has busy focussing on kids, waiting to shine. I am trying to give myself Fridays as personal development days to focus on work that is not part of my general design & workshop commissions. I have already failed by agreeing to a meeting next Friday but it is near the Manchester Museum so will combine it with going to go back to have a better look at their new research facility, The Study, and take some photos of the Manchester Craft Mafia exhibition I am part of – more on this in another post as new me is going to try to blog more too. There is a local Zumba class that starts at 9.30am so have joined that to develop my body too (I have never been to the gym or an aerobics class of any sort before so this is a big thing). I have finally set up a professional artist page on Facebook (please like) and I have renewed the Crafty Wotnots domain with good intentions of relaunching my selling of handmade soft toys, brooches and my new line of lino prints & cards. Don’t go looking for it quite yet, I need a few more Fridays to get it back up and running. Now back to the studio before school pick up, well, back to tidying the studio after a summer of stolen moments and random dumping, it seriously needs some attention ready for this new creative drive. Go me!