Introduction

Not before time, I've decided to start blogging.

I'd better start with a little introduction.

I've always been arty. There was nothing else I really wanted to do. As a young child, I was forever drawing people, so I just assumed that Fashion Designer was my destiny (I couldn't think of any other profession that drew people for a living. Not quite sure where I thought portraits came from). As I progressed through secondary school, it was the only subject I consistently did well at, because I could still draw even if I didn't do my homework or revise (but exams in all the other subjects tended to go less well with that approach!). Also, as art was my main hobby, I was always doing homework, even if it wasn't the homework that I'd actually been set!

I studied art in further education for a total of 3 years at the local college, at various times specialising in painting, photography, film and ceramics and supplemented my meagre O' level results with 4 GCSEs at night school. In the middle of this, I spent a year as a part-time Art Worker for a mental health charity (providing a great deal of new experiences - good and bad - including teaching an occupational therapy art programme, coping with a weekend away involving a drunken staff member and a cannabis stash and being held hostage in a day centre. There's probably a book all of its own in that one year!).

I had also become very interested in making jewellery after my first one year art course. Though I admit my skills and available facilities were limited, my commitment and enthusiasm was evident, so it seemed like fate when a local jeweller advertised an apprenticeship. It would've been perfect for me. I went along to my interview armed with examples of my work. The jeweller indicated some doubt as to whether I had the strength to draw wire. I said I thought I did. His final word? "I'm sorry, but I don't think a bird could do the job!". I noticed a few weeks later that his new apprentice was a student from my art course - who hadn't shown the least interest in jewellery, metalwork or 3-dimensional art at all.

I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art with Photography at the University of Derby in 1995 (a little older than most of my cohorts, due to the above delayed route punctuated by work and unemployment).

When I finally found work that might include some art, it was back in mental health as an activity coordinator on the local psychiatric wards. From there, I moved to a mental health charity in Liverpool as a support worker, based in the day centre, where myself and a fellow artistically inclined colleague delivered art workshops alongside our other duties on one-to-one and group work. I remained here until I had to leave due to ill health in my early 30s.

I won't bore anyone here with the details, but a few years of surgeries and slow improvement enabled me to resume work 7 years later with another mental health charity as Deputy Manager, with particular responsibility for the social/group element of the service (we also offered one-to-one support into mainstream opportunities and employment). I did sometimes get to flex my group facilitation muscles by stepping in to cover art workshops, delivering genealogy groups and supporting our musical staff with my (rather ropey) cello playing, but most of the time I was struggling to manage difficult staff and service users and trying to knit the occasional extra support worker when staff levels were low.

Though the employer changed twice during my employment (due to change of contracts and reduction in funding), I remained active in post until Easter 2015. By this time, I was co-manager in all but name (and salary), with the service manager post being made redundant 4 years earlier. Health issues, almost certainly linked to those over a decade before, cropped up again and I had to stop working (being made redundant 6 months later).

It was at this point that I decided to throw myself into my creative leanings with full commitment (which I had always longed to do, but fear stood in the way of actually abandoning a secure wage for the uncertainty of self-employment). I felt it unlikely I would ever be in a position to maintain a job outside the home again, as my mobility was severely restricted, so I returned to an interest I'd had between my two first art courses - jewellery making (as well as my other true calling - Fine Art). The last three years have been a sharp learning curve, and most of the jewellery I made three years ago I consider to be only fit to be broken down to re-use the stones and beads, but I feel I'm now in a place where I can feel proud of what I'm creating and am adding more strings to my bow all the time (making my own bezel settings being a fairly recent development).

Much of my early work has focused on wire wrapping and weaving. I'm now working in silver and precious gemstones a lot more and building forged and soldered work into the collection. I don't doubt that I'll continue to develop, and hopefully bring some of you along with me for the ride.