The Space Between Doing
Why is it so hard to give yourself permission to pause?
To stop.
To think.
To not be doing/making/producing.
I’ve spent more years than I can count being busy.
People ask how I am. I say “busy.” It’s been my normal for so long that I sometimes wonder – when busy becomes the default, is it even busy anymore?
Or just normal? Or noise?
Last year, I took my first real holiday in over a decade. I travelled to New Zealand for the Bind25 Bookbinding Conference, with a two-day workshop at the Bindery at Auckland University of Technology beforehand. I wandered galleries, immersed myself in creative conversations, and met like-minded souls who get just as excited about book arts as I do. I loved my time to focus on learning for me.
After the conference, I headed north for a week. No agenda. No plans. Just some pre-booked accommodation and time. I wandered. Explored. Read.
It was, quite honestly, soul food.
It also shook me awake.
That trip reminded me of how much I’ve been needing time – real time – for my own work. Not squeezed-in-between-workshops time. Spacious, open-ended time. Time to think, reflect, experiment and get quietly lost in the ideas I want to develop.
So I’m doing something I’ve never done before: I’m taking three months off from teaching – February through April – to focus entirely on my own creative work. I’ve committed to a solo exhibition in October this year. The work will explore an aspect of my local landscape as well as new printmaking processes. And I want to give it the depth and attention it deserves.
I’m both terrified and excited.
Terrified to stop. To not teach. To let go of the rhythm that’s shaped my year for so long.
Excited to go deeper. To give myself permission to follow ideas without needing them to be finished or perfect.
Time to research.
Time to ponder and wonder.
Time to develop ideas.
Time to play.
Time to create.
Time to catch my breath.
To my workshop students – thank you for your ongoing support and understanding. This year’s teaching season will start a little later than usual. May and June dates will go live on 14 February. I can’t wait to share more inky, creative time with you soon.
But right now, I’m leaning into the space between doing.
Because that space is where the magic grows.
A quick note about my upcoming solo exhibition Ghosts of Gondwana
This time away from teaching is part of my preparation for a solo exhibition coming up in October.
I’ll share more details closer to the date, but for now I can say this: it has been made possible with the generous support of a grant from the Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation’s Gifted program. I’m so excited, and incredibly grateful and thankful, for this opportunity.
Below are some snapshots of preliminary research…
