The residency with artist Cinna Solar and PHD student Gemma Lucas gave me the much-needed opportunity to pause and reflect. I had to rebuild my business in 6 weeks when we went into lockdown and fell through the cracks of government support for self employed people, at the time it was one of the biggest challenges I had faced in my career. When I began teaching the paper flower making classes that had been scheduled to take place in gardens, at parties and festivals that year online, I never could have imagined the community, connection and sense of belonging that would come with it. I have since taught over 100 online workshops and what we now call Paper Flower Club has taken on a life of its own.

I have been in delivery mode since March 2020 and so was very much looking forward to the chance to work in a way I would not ordinarily be afforded during this project and to spend time discussing and researching ideas around creative connection, the impact it has on wellbeing and the power it has transformative social change. This process helped me evaluate and strategise how to better incorporate these ideas and make space for future learning and development in my work going forward. I began to bottle some of the things we discussed during the residency or that have come up in online classes into short independent paragraphs. I plan to make to time each month to weave concepts around these themes to share, action or practice into the content I create. Below is a snapshot:

On not having to be good at art

Crafting is not a space reserved only for those who perceive themselves to be artistic, creative or have the skill level to make giftable / saleable products. Why is it that so often the story we either tell ourselves or get told is that we have to be good at something for it to be worthwhile? Cos whether it’s flower making, drawing, knitting, sculpting, doodling, dancing, cooking whatever… if it’s something that brings you an hour or two of joy, peace or rest in this turbulent world then does it really matter how good you are at it? The value is not solely in what we produce, it’s also found in why we do it and what it brings us.

On crafting at your own pace creatively

Work at your own pace. Unapologetically. There is no correct speed. Someone completing something faster than you, does not mean you are behind. Here winning is enjoying the process. It’s finding ways of working that suits you. It’s asking for what you need. It’s embracing who you are, and how you learn and how your body works and giving yourself permission to be. If this is only possible for a minute, next time try two. Less interest in getting from A to B as quickly as possible or ‘keeping up’ more focus on how to enjoy taking your sweet time. This is your time.

On experiencing creative connection

From the outside it seemed as if we met for a few hours each week online to learn how to make paper blooms. Some people would come to every workshop, others dotted in and out of the programme. Some people used the sessions to decompress from their days and switch off. Others used it to check in and catch up. People bought places as presents for friends and family to share the experience of crafting together apart. People joined us because this was a space to be and belong with no pressure or expectation to contribute to the conversation. People came to make decorations for weddings, gifts for people in their lives or something for themselves and their homes. There were pets, children, housemates, delivery driver cameos. The weeks became seasons and we noticed the real flowers grow up in our different surrounding environments, we witnessed them bloom, go over and die down. We crafted together through uncertainty, through major changes, loss and grief. We crafted together through moments of joy, success and growth. We made plans to meet in person and go on adventures when the world reopened. We shared long silences. We shared laughter. Throughout this time, we lived alongside each other, brought together by something as simple as a paper craft activity to experience our own versions of being connected by a creative practice.