Our theme for womenfolk this year is ‘balance’. I think we all strive for balance in our lives, between work and life, creativity and productivity, doing and being. Certainly it’s something I am constantly working at and trying (and usually failing) to achieve.
For self-employed creatives the lines between work and life can be even more blurred. When you are doing something you love it can be hard to establish where work ends and life begins and working from home can bring its own challenges around creating boundaries. Being self-employed also often means you have no control over when work comes in and how much of it. You have to be realistic when starting a business and put in the work and hours to an extent, yet this isn’t sustainable forever. When is the right time to start turning down opportunities and learn to say no? Often self-employed creatives have a genuine passion for what they do, they genuinely want to do every project and make the most of every opportunity. Sadly it isn’t physically possible to do and balance everything. It can also be hard to learn to relax and enjoy the inevitable downtimes without stressing and worrying about when the next job/ order will come in. Balance can also often be harder for women to achieve as sadly they often bear the brunt of life’s caring responsibilities, giving them even more to juggle in an already hectic world.
To explore this topic throughout the year we hope to bring some real-life insights from local creative women. We are asking each of our profile participants this year how they attempt to bring balance to their lives as they strive to be successful creatively and professionally. We will also be featuring some guest blogs by local creative women and hope to get back to organising some in-person events and workshops towards the end of the year.
Thanks as always for your support in building this community
Christine