Kids, Work, Midlife Crisis and Studying a Research Masters Degree!

I can't remember at what point I thought,'I know, I haven't got enough to do, lets do a masters degree!' But, do you know what? I am so glad I did as I have started a discovery that is not only important for my practice and career but also for my mind.

I have studied and educated myself on and off for the last twenty years. A HND in Figurative Sculpture, a BA (Hons) in Ceramics. I am a trained Sports Therapist and have worked in quality management for most of my adult life.

This all told me that I was searching for something yet to find.Or, maybe just never satisfied with what i've got?

I have struggled for years with social confidence and anxiety but only recently started to accept that I need to address it. I realised that , after going back to work full time, leaving me with no free time to paint, was having a serious detrimental effect on me. My need to create was not just a choice but important for keeping me sane!

3 young kids, a job and a freelance art business would probably test most people but after struggling to exist for a while, I knew creative expression was integral for my very being.

Sounds dramatic I know, but it was like a revelation, a light bulb moment. Now I just had to find a way to be me. My practice had to mean more than painting pretty portraits and landscapes. I was feeling the desperation to express something from my subconscious and release the suppressed. I had stories to tell and knowledge to share.

This became the beginning of my progression into the world of postgraduate study and a purpose for doing so.