How am I spending this winter?
Book making!
I am illustrating my first book for children, which is a trail transformed in a story about the Isle of Wight Biosphere, commissioned by the National Literary Trust and The Common Space.
It is an exciting experience: I am learning a lot, drawing a lot, and understanding my process, and what might need some adjustments
(i.e. my neck is saying to me that I can't be 10 hours in the studio per day!)
The part that I enjoy the most so far, is the research, sketches and colour tests.
I also found out a way to trick my brain when is time for final art: I just say to myself that's a colour test! and often I get into the flow more easily. The only thing is, it doesn't work for bigger spreads, as every inch of space needs to be calculated well...So, when it comes a big spread, I print my sketch and trace it on paper, and then paint it...but it feels less spontaneous.. So I will keep looking for solutions!
The thing I loved the least, so far is the mental pressure of final art!
I am so happy to have been trusted for this project, and I feel lucky to go to work in my studio and being immersed in the wonderful stories of nature. On the other hand, I know I worked incredibly hard for this, for many years, in every inch of free time I had from my day job.
I recently chose to prioritize my time more, aware of the economic downside of this choice. My life got simpler, time stretched, my mind had less thoughts, and as a consequence of this slowing down, I think my mental health is... thankful!
One of the reasons for choosing this is that this year I am stepping out of my comfort zone a lot, and pushing my introvert boundaries in order to do my work as an artist and educator in the community; in the last 2 months I have been working with children and adults in more than 11 new organizations... so I allow myself a lot of resting time in between each event.
At the moment, I am also leading a home education group once a week at Ventnor Botanic Gardens. In future, I would love to work with smaller children too , as I found a special connection with 3 to 5 years old children...we seem to share the same sense of wonder!