Australian Women in Art: Jacqui Stockdale
This the first post in a new series on contemporary Australian Women in Art, by creative all-rounder Annette Wagner.
Like most of you, I’m inspired by so many amazing artists, both male and female. I especially have a long list of Australian female artists that I sincerely admire, and have many questions I’d like to ask each and every one of them. It’s no secret that being an artist anywhere requires dedication and determination, however, I want to understand specifically what it takes to be a female artist, here in Australia. It’s no feminist stance; it is merely a closer look and more importantly, a show of support. I’ll be chatting to women currently exploring, actively creating and nationally and internationally contributing to the art world. I’ll ask them questions that aim to explore their beginnings, influences, career highs and lows, finding representation, challenges of being a female artist in Australia, being acknowledged overseas and what they are doing now that we can all support.
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I’m very pleased to introduce Jacqui Stockdale, our first contributor. I’ve admired Jacqui Stockdale’s work for a long time as it evokes something quite powerful from her poised stills, like a theatrical performance unfolding.
Jacqui has won the Doug Moran Contemporary Photography Prize 2012, is a past winner of the Belle Art Prize and the Hutchins Art Prize. She’s had residencies in Barcelona, her work has been shown at the Louvre, Paris and is in collections nationally and internationally.
Best known for her theatrical portrait photography, figurative paintings, drawings and collages, her practice explores cultural identity, folklore and the transformative nature of masquerade and ritual in society. Her most recent work, The Boho series, currently showing as part of the Adelaide Biennial 2016, is a series of portrait photographs, which are part performative direction and part collaboration.
Jacqui with her works The Boho Landscapes
Collaboration with the subjects, including Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins and the striking physical presence of Arun Roberts who Jacqui discovered and felt compelled to include in her series. She has also collaborated with friend and artist Kate Rhodes who worked with her to transform the imminent magical object, a spear, embedding it with personal objects, elevating its underlying meaning and importance. Collaboration with Rose Chong Costumes, which transforms the subjects and transport you to her setting along with her enormous painted backgrounds of Australian bush landscapes, reminiscent of the Impressionists from the Heidelberg School. The framing sets the stage. Combined, the outcome engages the audience and completes the theatrical translation.
After recently meeting with Jacqui, she explained how almost fortuitously this project came together, with both subjects and objects presenting themselves to her during the process of the series. The success of this is evident with all elements coming together, and working well, demonstrating her skill, confidence, intuition and most importantly it allows the viewer to be lost in her performance.
What in your personal life influenced you to choose and pursue a career in the arts?
A combination of having a natural flair for drawing and painting as a kid, encouragement from both parents and an artistic sensibility. The fear of having to choose to be a nurse.
What other jobs did you have before you committed to your art full time?
I worked at KFC, was a cleaner and a life model.
How many proposals did you write before you got your first grant/residency/exhibition?
Good question! In my attempt to write a grant, I would feel ill and dizzy. It took a long time to get good at it, maybe two decades, but now I am fluent. I’d say I wrote about six before I landed a yes.
I discussed this further with Jacqui when we met, and she said that getting assistance from others helped enormously. People who were stronger writers, or were familiar with proposal writing and she stressed how important their support has been, and continues to be, to review her work and provide feedback.
Part of her work Where I Stood with Missy Higgins
How did you achieve gallery representation?
Once I finished my art degree at the VCA I moved to Hobart and after two years I was approached by Dick Bett and represented by Bett Gallery. It was a good start.
Was there a turning point in your career that made you believe that the status of an artist is equal to a ‘worker'?
I’m not sure if it is equal, it’s just very different, and there are pros and cons to being either.
Were you ever discouraged or had setbacks that derailed your career?
Yes, of course. There was a time in my mid-thirties that I felt like there was no one out there. I had just returned to Melbourne after 10 years of living in Hobart, Sydney and Darwin and expected to be picked up by a gallery straight away. When this did not happen, given I was working solidly, I began to get really down. You can see in the work I made from that period how dark I was feeling.
But maybe the work was really rich with meaning, not sure! It started to pick up once I was approached by Helen Gory Galerie in 2006.
What are your least favourite and most favourite things about being an artist?
Least favourite thing is dealing with my tax, most favourite is working on my own terms and having the luxury of living a very creative life.
What do you do to keep yourself optimistic and motivated?
I dance swing and tango, do ten yoga salutations in the morning, then give thanks to the day, run really slowly around the hood, eat good food, breath deeply, jump on the trampoline with my son, laugh with friends and have ping pong parties every so often.
Do you think there is a gender imbalance in Australia supporting female artists operating in our current contemporary art system?
Yes, but I don't feel it personally.
Do you feel that Australian female artists have fewer resources, crucial financial support, to go into making and producing art?
Yes, I think they do, particularly within the realm of motherhood and needing to take more time away from their practice to raise children than men do, though this is gradually shifting as men step in. I know some women who feel guilty about going to the studio while their kids are in childcare. It made me work really hard during those hours, but I always managed a manicure/pedicure. I must say that regardless of these inequalities, I have always surrounded myself with very positive, independent female visual artists (and musicians). Their drive to forge on rubs off on you.
Beyond the specific political and ideological issues involved in the subjection of women, what does success really mean and how is it achieved to you?
Success to me means working steadily on my practice over many years and making a living from my art (as well as being subsidised by teaching, grants, nice patrons).
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
10% talent 90% perseverance.
Jacqui has recently collaborated on film and animation with Michelle Jarni, producing a short film about the process of her ‘Super Naturale’ series of portraits. You can also check out her new series The Boho at various locations in Adelaide and Melbourne.
Annette Wagner is a designer, marketer, creative consultant, artist and writer. She is also on the board of the Creative Women’s Circle. Obsessively passionate about the arts and the creative process, she is determined to not talk art-speak and instead focus on supporting and sharing concepts and insights most creative types crave to know.
CWC Reads: Books on staying creative and organised
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert wrote the blockbuster memoir Eat, Pray, Love, a book long beloved by women seeking enlightenment and escape. Big Magic is her first foray into the self-help arena, and she manages to weave plenty of personal stories and examples into her advice and tips on prioritizing creativity. Some parts of the book can veer into woo-woo territory (Gilbert is a firm believer in magic, literally, which might turn you off) but the messages about finding a muse, managing creativity and a family and handling fear are both practical and inspiring.
Gilbert describes creativity as not necessarily “pursuing a life that is professionally or exclusively devoted to the arts,” but “living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.” This makes it appealing for anyone who wants to live creatively but doesn’t have a traditional artistic practice. The book’s six chapters—Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust, and Divinity make up Gilbert’s tenets for creative living, and are peppered with anecdotes, pep talks and digressions.
Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert is the accompanying podcast, where Gilbert chats with people about overcoming their own struggles with creativity.
Five word synopsis:
Permission to live creatively without fear.
Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
Habits “are the invisible architecture of daily life,” Rubin begins. “If we change our habits, we change our lives.” As the follow up to Rubin’s bestseller The Happiness Project, her new book discusses the extent to how our habits shape our lives, and how to make lasting change.
Like The Happiness Project, the book is very accessible and relatable. Rubin strikes a perfect balance of information and anecdote, and imparts a lot of knowledge without overwhelming the reader. She will help you discover your own tendencies – are you a Rebel, an Upholder, a Questioner or an Obliger? – and explains how to change your habits accordingly. Using 21 strategies, including Treats, Loophole-Spotting and Cues, she uses herself and her family and friends as guinea pigs in what does and doesn’t work when changing your habits. Like Big Magic, Gretchen also has an accompanying podcast called Happier with Gretchen Rubin, which she co-hosts with her sister Elizabeth. Her website also has loads of tips, quizzes and resources on the practical pursuit of happiness and good habits.
Five word synopsis:
Changing our habits changes lives.
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
This book literally changed my life. Written by surgeon and writer Atul Gawande, the general premise is how professionals – from surgeons to pilots to builders- deal with the increasing complexity of their responsibilities. As many professions move towards becoming a Jane-of-all-trades (and we know this is true for many creative types!), the sheer amount of knowledge that we must remember and draw upon is staggering. The answer? A checklist.
In order to reduce inevitable mistakes of human error, we need to use checklists to walk through the key steps in any procedure. After reading this book, I’ve started using checklists in our business, in my daily life and when starting a new project.
Gawande uses many examples from his own profession. A five-point checklist implemented in 2001 virtually eradicated central line infections in the intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, preventing an estimated 43 infections and eight deaths over 27 months. In the last section of the book, Gawande shows how his research team has taken this idea, developed a safe surgery checklist, and applied it around the world, with staggering success.
Five word synopsis:
Using a checklist really works.
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
This is the kind of book to keep on your desk and flip through when you need a boost. Full of hand-drawn pictures and handwritten quotes, it is a little book that packs a punch of inspirational advice on being an artist. Like Big Magic, Steal Like An Artist uses the term artist loosely, so the book is for anyone who considers themselves to be creative.
The book is based on a speech that artist Austin Kleon made to a New York college in 2011, where he outlined ten basic principles to boost your creativity. Kleon posted the text of the speech on his blog, which went viral and became a huge cultural phenomenon. The book expands on these ten principles, with examples, exercises and anecdotes peppered throughout. The advice is solid: Chapter six is “Do good work and put it where people can see it” and Chapter Two tells us “ Don’t wait until you know who you are to start making things.” The ten principles are printed on the back of the book for easy reference.
The ideas and advice really made me think about originality, creativity and work. Kleon explains that “Nothing is original, so embrace influence, collect ideas, and remix and re-imagine to discover your own path. Follow your interests wherever they take you. Stay smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring—the creative you will need to make room to be wild and daring in your imagination.”
Five word synopsis:
Discover your own original path.
Emma Clark Gratton is a writer, editor and podcaster. She also runs furniture design studio GRATTON with her husband. She blogs about mothering and renovating at Worst House Best Street and is co-host of The New Normal podcast. Find her on instagram at @emmaclarkgratton.
Branding basics: Define your brand
By Mirella Marie
This is Part One of designer Mirella Marie’s series Branding Basics.
What is a brand? A brand is more than just a logo. A brand is who you are.
There are five fundamentals that form a brand. One cannot exist without the other, and for a brand to be successful, the fundamentals must work together to communicate everything you think, say and do.
1. Promise
Your brand is a promise to your clients and customers. Incorporating more than just products or services, your brand looks past what you’re selling to reach the feelings evoked in people when they use your products or services. Creating a powerful brand promise is essential, but unless you keep it, your brand will not stand up to the scrutiny of consumers, your industry or the marketplace.
What does your brand promise to deliver?
2. Perception
A brand is identified by the way people perceive it. Developing consumer perceptions that accurately reflect your brand is crucial; otherwise it will suffer limited growth potential. Everything a successful brand does is designed to trigger specific consumer awareness and inspire action.
What perception is your brand creating?
3. Expectation
Consumers develop expectations based on your promise. If you advertise your products or services as being the best in the world, people will expect the best in the world. If your visual communication is careless and unclear, people will expect your products or services to be low quality. If your brand does not deliver, people will become frustrated or confused, turning to your competitors for those expectations to be met.
Are you representing your products or services based on what people expect?
4. Personality
Every brand has a personality. You can determine the personality of your brand by using five key words to describe it, for example: quality, reliable, local, honest, sustainable. Now look at what you’re offering. Do those words accurately describe your brand as it is, or how you wish it were? From the very first impression, people will assess your brand’s personality to determine if they want to engage with it. The best way to measure this is to think of your brand as a human. Ask yourself honestly — would you want to be friends with it?
What would your brand be like if it was a person?
5. Identity
An identity is the visual representation of your brand. The way something is presented will define the way people react to it. If your brand is who you are, your brand identity is what your look like. Humans are highly visual so your customers’ attention must be attracted in a matter of seconds. The most effective way to do this is with an engaging identity. An identity consists of elements such as a logo (name/symbol), typography, colour, copywriting, photography, icons, imagery, etc. All of these visual elements must come together cohesively and consistently to communicate your promise, shape perceptions, meet expectations and define personality. If one of these fundamentals is weaker than others, it can affect your entire brand.
How are you using your brand identity to communicate to your audience?
With so much competition in your industry, does your brand identity stand out, or fit in with everyone else?
Creating a Brand Strategy
To understand how these brand fundamentals work from the perspective of your audience, consider your favourite brands and why you gravitate to them when making your own purchasing decisions.
– What triggers your desire for the products you buy?
– Why do you buy one type of product over another, exact same product?
– What draws you to the services you use?
– What makes you recommend services to people you know?
“Human behaviour flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge.” — Plato
Assess your own purchasing decisions as a consumer, and then use those factors as the foundation for your brand strategy. This way you will better understand your audience, its needs and its motivations, creating the empathy you need to provide an engaging, memorable experience for your clients and customers.
In a world of information overload, the last thing people need is more of the same. What they need is a reason to believe in you.
Mirella Marie is the owner and creative director of Vertigo, a Melbourne based graphic design studio specialising in brand identity and design for creative and commercial clients. She is also a contributor for Women of Graphic Design, a project examining the work of female designers around the world. Join her on Instagram @studiovertigo.
How to quit your day job
By Emma Clark Gratton
You’ve been working on a creative side gig alongside your main job for a while now. You’ve got a few regular clients, are making money and are in demand. Most of all, it’s so fun and rewarding that you spend all your lunch breaks and evenings working on your ‘hobby’. If this sounds like you, it might be time to take a leap and pursue your creative project full time.
The world is full of accountants-turned-writers, executives-turned-photographers and administrators-turned-artists. Kurt Vonnegut ran a car dealership, Emily Bronte worked as a nanny and artist Barbara Kruger worked as a commercial graphic designer. The road from salaried employee to creative entrepreneur is well worn, but like most major life changes, can be intimidating.
There are plenty of motivational posters out there about chasing dreams, being true to yourself and feeling #blessed, but blindly taking a leap isn’t always the most responsible move. The proven path to success – not just financial success, but personal satisfaction – is to back up your dream-chasing with a firm plan of attack, a healthy dose of courage and a touch of faith.
Make sure it’s financially viable
If you’ve been juggling a day job plus a side project, you will want to ensure that you have enough work to stay afloat without your regular salary. Everybody’s situation is different, but I would recommend that you aim to replace at least 50 per cent of your day-job income. This might take a bit longer than you had planned, but it will help eliminate the fear of total failure. That said, sometimes taking a leap with no safety net can be the kick in the pants you need to hustle and work harder than you thought possible.
Set a deadline
Like most things that are worthwhile, leaving your regular salary and venturing into the unknown is scary. And you might find yourself making excuses, delaying your resignation or holding off for way longer than you intended. The trick here is to give yourself a deadline – the end of the year, your birthday, some random date in November – and stick to it. Even better, tell people about it (not your boss!) so they keep you accountable.
It’s not life or death
Remember, you can always go back! Or at least find some other part-time employment more in line with your goals while you focus on building up a business. For example, an IT professional with a side gig as a wedding florist might quit her main job and find part time work in a florist shop while focusing on her own business, until she has enough work to go full time.
Be prepared – mentally and emotionally
Working for yourself is really, really hard. It’s also rewarding, satisfying and in some cases, can make you megabucks. The image of an entrepreneur beginning work at midday, working from a café for a few hours then invoicing for thousands is extremely rare. In my experience, it’s more likely to look like lots of weekend work, constant hustling and a steep learning curve. It’s easy to become accustomed to the lifestyle that is tied to a steady paycheck. Your 9-5 will become your 24/7, so be prepared that you will need a huge amount of self-discipline, motivation and courage to stay afloat.
Look for variety
That said, self-employment could give you flexibility and uncap your earning potential. As a salaried employee, your income is limited to what your boss or your award decides. As a self-employed person, your income is limited to how hard and smart you work. It’s not unusual for a sole trader to have multiple income streams or offer a variety of services (I’m a furniture maker, a writer and a podcaster, for example) so always be on the look out for new ways to make cash and broaden your circle.
Be a quitter!
Once you’ve got enough cash in the bank, some regular clients and your deadline is fast approaching, get ready to quit. Depending on where you work, you may need to offer formal resignation with two weeks notice, so use those couple of weeks to truly prepare for self-employed life. You might need to open bank accounts, formally register your business and inform your clients that you will be more available.
Leaving your day job is not for the faint-hearted, so take a deep breath and take a leap. The rewards will be worth it. Good luck!
Emma Clark Gratton is an interior designer, writer and podcaster who, alongside her husband Lee, runs GRATTON, a timber furniture and architectural joinery company. She blogs at Worst House Best Street and posts endless photos of her sons on Instagram at @emmaclarkgratton
Interview: Kate James, creative coach and mindfulness teacher
In our modern world of beeping notifications, competitive parenting and constant connectedness, mindfulness is becoming a sought-after approach for creative people looking to rest their busy minds. Kate James of Total Balance coaches her clients on balance, meditation and living purposefully.
What drew you to becoming a coach and mindfulness teacher?
I’ve always been interested in people and what makes them tick. I spent over a decade working as a business manager for creative businesses and while I loved the work I was doing, I wanted to help people in a more purposeful way. I considered psychology or a natural therapy but I wanted to incorporate my interest in creative business into my work so when I heard about coaching in the early 2000’s it seemed like the perfect option.
The mindfulness part came about six months after I started the business. Whenever a client was stressed, I would recommend that they learn meditation. It had changed my life and I wanted to share that with other people so despite a real fear in those early days of speaking in front of groups, I began teaching and a few years after that, it seemed like a natural progression to start running meditation and yoga retreats.
Who is your typical client?
My clients are generally quite similar to me! Most are introverts and deep thinkers. They want to do what they love and what they’re naturally good at. Most are creative in some way and many have their own creative businesses. They live to experience life. They care about making their lives beautiful in simple ways - good food, travel not just to tick a box to say ‘I’ve been there’ but more to learn about new cultures; they want to contribute to society in a meaningful way and they’re interested in the idea of discovering and living a purposeful life.
How would you describe your work?
I work with people who want clarity about their direction. Once they have a greater sense of where they want to go (either work wise or personally), I help them feel confident to pursue the things they care about. This often results in a client starting a creative business even if that business sits alongside a more mainstream role that helps pay the bills.
My interest in mindfulness influences how I work with clients and I’ve developed a framework about how to live and work mindfully which I share with clients who are interested in mindfulness.
The most common feedback I get about my work is that I help people to become conscious of how they hold themselves back. I help them to quiet the inner critic so they can tap into their own innate sense of creativity and wisdom.
What does a typical day involve for you?
These days I’m actually fairly structured in the way I manage my time. It’s taken me years to learn how to do this but it has made a huge difference to my stress levels and my productivity.
I wake pretty early and start every morning with meditation and yoga. I get emails out of the way first and if I don’t have early clients, I’ll work on one of my writing projects for a few hours. Occasionally, I take a notebook and a cup of tea into the garden and sit under the birch tree to write.
I always stop for lunch and I’m generally with clients in the afternoons. Some afternoons, I sneak off for a walk along the beach but this doesn’t happen often enough.
I do the financial stuff on Friday mornings and reward myself by taking the afternoon off to have lunch with a girlfriend.
What has been your proudest career achievement to date?
It’s hard to choose one because I’ve had a few opportunities over recent years that have blown me away. In 2009, Tourism NT took me on a weeklong trip to Darwin and Kakadu so I could help them with a PR campaign about the importance of taking holidays. It was the most amazing experience.
Getting my first publishing deal at the end of 2014 was pretty incredible and it’s been fantastic to see the book selling well and to have a second one published this year.
What do you do for fun?
I love to cook so we have friends or our girls and their partners for dinner here. Chris and I also head out of town every couple of months and we do lots of walking and taking photos (a shared passion). Our lives are pretty quiet these days but that’s my idea of pure joy.
What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
Be kind, be courageous and be authentic. Share your gifts with the world and dare to play a bigger game than you had imagined for yourself.
You can find out more about Kate at Total Balance.
Small town creative: how to live, work and create in a regional area
By Jasmine Mansbridge
I am writing this blog post while also preparing for a trip from my hometown in Hamilton, Victoria, to Sydney. So it really is a good time for me to think about what is means to be a creative person living outside of the city and how I have gone about finding and generating creative work opportunities.
In my flying two day trip to Sydney, (which is all the time I can spare away from home at this time of year), I am meeting with a Gallery Director to discuss a future exhibition, face to face (so old school), and meeting up with both new and old friends. Prior to living in my current location, I spent many years living in the Northern Territory. I then moved to rural New South Wales. So over the years I have travelled many miles seeking to both develop opportunities for my work and educate my eye. This naturally leads to my first tip.
Be prepared to travel
While you can 'network' and meet people over social media these days, nothing beats good old-fashioned face-to-face hanging out. I feel like real communication is even more powerful nowadays, given the plethora of the watered-down online type. I actually get very nervous before I travel outside my comfort zone. It doesn’t come as naturally to me as it might seem. But the effort is always worth it. So be prepared to get out and about: to seminars, conferences, and CWC events! Once I even went to New York with my art, but that is another story.You have to be smart about your time, and of course you have to also do the work back at home, but factor travel into your game plan and you will be all the richer for it. If you are like me, you will come home overstimulated and full to the brim of ideas, but hey, when you live in the country, you will have plenty of time to think and absorb all you have taken in and work out your next best step.
Make yourself known
I am not talking about being a show-off, or arrogant, or forcing your ideas onto people (although these things work for some!). I am talking about finding out who is responsible for the 'arts' at your town council or in your local government. Allocate an hour or two a week to these kinds of meeting adventures. If you are shy, bring your business card or a small piece of work to help introduce yourself. You have to be yourself to sell yourself.
Is there a gallery or two in your town? Go say hi, see if you can’t meet the relevant people in charge. Be polite and curious. It goes a long way. Ask to get on mailing lists. Show an interest, if there are things you would like to see happen, see how you can help. Volunteer, be friendly and look for opportunities no matter how small, to start being creative in your own community. Share your ideas and start conversations about the ideas of others. This all takes time and don’t expect instant results. Be patient and consistent.
Make friends, in a variety of places, with a variety of people, across a variety of platforms I guess this is called networking (it is called networking!). But in my experience networking alone does not work. Just because someone has skills you admire, and you both love Elvis on Instagram does not mean you will be real life friends. You might be totally polar opposites on an important subject like your commitment to local business versus their 'profit margin comes first always' ethic. So network away, but be open to everyone in a room. Be friendly, but not scarily so, don’t be the, "I will jump off the cliff if you famous, iconic person tells me so", kind of lady. Just be yourself and have an open mind. The one person you might gel and end up being great mates with might not be who you expected it to be.
Share the love
You don’t own your town, your community or your skill, there will be other painters and writers now and always. If you act like you do, then you will just end up lonely and small. If you start to get bothered by other people’s success, it means it is probably time for you to go to tip number one in this post, and travel again. Be humble, share the love. We all have something unique to offer and the more artists in your town doing their thing and doing it well, then the more likely it is that other people from other towns might do day trips to come to see ALL your cool stuff. So be expansive. Be positive and don’t complain about what you could help change. Be a back patting kind of person, refer other artists for jobs you might be too busy to do, or that they might be a better fit for. You don’t have to be best buddies with everyone, but it helps to be nice. And if there is no drama club? Don’t whine, start one. No murals? Ask if you can paint one! Contribute if you can, with what you are good at and everyone will benefit.
Mind your own business
Don’t worry about what you will do with all the money you will one day make. When your exhibitions have red dots as far as the eye can see, or when your book makes the New York Times bestseller list, that is not when you should start thinking about the business side of things. Start now managing yourself like a business, even if you are making just an itty bit of money. Get a tax file number. Get a shoe box (or make a file on your computer). Keep your receipts. Pay an accountant to do your tax.
Probably all the money you make in the beginning will go on making boring stuff like accountants happen. The garage full of collectable cars is on the horizon. Yes. Dream big but take care of the practical stuff. In this way you will have a foundation for the future of your finances. It also means that you can start to claim all those expenses to those conferences, exhibitions and CWC meetings you travel to. (Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, see your own accountant for specific advice on business/travel matters!)
All the above has been written from my personal experience. There are highs and lows to living in a regional area when you are a creative person. The highs are that on average the living costs get cheaper the further you get from the city. For me, that means my family can live on one wage. It means I can afford to travel and make my artwork. It also means that I can focus on my work for long periods if need be and I can pick and choose what events I want to invest my energy in. These are all big highs. No commute, less stress, and as much community spirit as I will ever need. Did I mention more time to actually make creative work?!
Then there are the lows, the FOMO that Brene Brown made famous. This feeling drops by from time to time. I have to watch that. The planning and effort required to travel can be draining and exhausting. The sense of isolation is also very real at times, and the snobbery you can experience from city folk, (sorry city readers - athough I must say CWC folk have never made me feel this way). There is also the fact that sometimes you feel like that if you just gave up and stopped being creative, no one would probably ever notice, (until 100 years after you're gone, and your diaries are published to high acclaim).
I am wanting to write more in this series and so if you are a CWC reader who also lives regionally, I would love to hear from you and possibly even write your story here. Please get in touch!
Photo of Jasmine by Danielle Thomas from ONE DAY COLLECTIVE.
Jasmine Mansbridge is a painter and mum to five kids. She regularly blogs about the intersection of creative work and family life, as well as her recent projects and travels. You can also find her on Instagram.
The importance of stressing less
By Sonya Watts
It seems like stress has become the loyal companion of a modern workplace, particularly for creatives. In fact, it is not unusual to hear someone saying that they actually need stress in order to wind things up. For that reason, more and more people willingly decide to enter this vicious stress-charged circuit. They fool themselves into thinking that it is the only right thing to do in order to keep up with the fast-paced work environment. Although it is not possible to avoid stress at work entirely, it is necessary to be wary of the health implications that it can have. What it takes is developing strategies that could allow you to reduce its destructive influence.
Spot the stressors
The first thing that you have to do is to get to know the enemy that you are re up against. However, this is easier said than done, as the triggers of stress vary from person to person. Some of them are pretty obvious, like strict deadlines or fear of getting laid off. Yet, others might take some time to identify, as they might not necessarily be directly linked to the work environment. One way to successfully pinpoint the stressors could be to keep a journal where you could write down thoughts about situations that have caused you to feel irritable or anxious. This allows you to reveal patterns and get a clearer picture regarding the stressors in your life.
Set your priorities straight
In order to avoid the feeling of taking a bigger bite than you can chew, it is necessary to start prioritizing your work responsibilities. Namely, you need to be careful when committing to activities that could interfere with the tasks that you have to perform. It is a good idea to create a list of tasks and group them according to their importance. By doing so, you will be able to see what needs to be done immediately, and what can be left for later or completely discharged. As a result, you are in a position to use your time more productively and make a solid schedule. The feeling that you have regained a sense of control over the forces of stress is a great reward.
A work-life balance
All work and no play might sound like a cliche, but it is something that you should avoid at any cost. In fact, the key to living a stress-free life is in creating balance and realizing that you will burn out focussing too much on the one aspect. So, avoid stretching yourself too thin and remember that a break every now and then helps you stay on top of daily tasks. Moreover, your goal should be to create a fulfilling equilibrium between work and everyday life. This task includes planning of family responsibilities, social gatherings and leisure, so try to collect and assemble all the pieces of the complex puzzle.
Open up
If you find yourself overwhelmed by stress at work, you should not keep it to yourself. Instead, you should try opening up and seek for the advice and support from coworkers, friends or family. Some people are uncomfortable with this, which is why a good solution might be to seek professional counseling. Beyond Blue has loads of information on stress management and where to seek further help. Such options might be appealing for those who would like their issue to remain confidential and dealt by a professionally trained staff.
Alarm bells
While short-term periods of stress are normal, it is the buildup of such stress that is a reason to sound the alarm. Perpetually exposing yourself to excessive amounts of stress is damaging to your physical and emotional health. It can also affect the quality of your work. With this in mind, start thinking about ways in which you can reduce your level of stress. Forge an impenetrable armor to protect yourself from this great menace and see it diminishing with each passing day.