The Gardener

I’m a recovering perfectionist and a practising (in the truest sense) artist, who loves cats, teddy bears and expensive beauty products. (It should be noted that I also love dogs, donkeys and pretty much all animals but 'cats' just fitted better.) I stare in the mirror a lot and wonder where that sixteen year old girl went. The girl who wanted to go to art school and do wonderful things like interior design and photography but somehow got sidetracked into doing something a whole lot different (and a whole lot more boring). Anyway, I took a detour (a long one) which saw me doing some amazing things. I also made great friends, learned lots of interesting stuff and met the man who is now my husband.

But after many years in the creative wilderness I could ignore my creativity gene no longer and with a great leap of faith I finally walked through the doors of that art college. I wanted to do a little happy dance right there. I didn't. But I had the image in my head which was just as good. And what a place! Wish I'd gone years ago. I might even go back.

Books! I love books. The feel of them. The smell of them. An hour in a book shop is heaven to me. I have a voracious appetite for reading, fuelled by my curiosity and love of learning. Reading four different books at any one time is not unusual for me. I’m fascinated by the paranormal, the spiritual, the esoteric and the holistic. I’m passionate about art, its history and ancient civilisations. I’m interested in comparative religions and philosophy. But I also love reading novels about crime & mystery (Ian Rankin, Agatha Christie) and fantasy & science fiction (Terry Pratchett, Jasper Fforde and Philip Pullman). I adore Salley Vickers (Miss Garnett’s Angel is one of my all time favourite books), love Sparkle Hayter and can happily read chick lit if the mood takes me.

Now, when I’m not reading, or staring in the mirror, then you'll find me in my garden. Gardening is something I'm really developing a passion for. It's just so therapeutic. And I love getting my hands in that soil. Does this make me a proper gardener?

I'm very bad at finishing things. It's annoying but there you are. I've learned to accept it. No, that's not true. I haven't accepted it. I've buried it and pretended that I'm fine with it. I'm not. The list of courses and classes that I have started and never completed is a long one. I started an Open University Humanities Foundation course once. Loved it! Didn't finish it. I have huge regrets over that. I guess it really is no surprise that it took me so long to get to art college.

Therefore the list of stuff that I have finished is a short one:

I have completed training and initiation into the First Degree in the Usui System of Natural Healing and received my Reiki First Degree certificate in October 2005. In December 2006 I received a certificate in Personal Performance Coaching from The Coaching Academy and in December 2008 I received my Style Coaching Diploma from the Style Coaching Institute. And in 2012 I attended a one week Portraiture course at Edinburgh College of Art, going on to submit further work for assessment (for which I was awarded 10 credits).

So I tentatively move forward, hopefully in the direction of my dreams but probably taking a few more detours. There'll be stumbles, backward glances and many times I'll just come to a complete stop. But as long as there are crayons to count, the sun will be shining in my garden