Finding time

and then not using it...

Hello, thank you for subscribing to my emails, I’ve had a lot of new additions to my email list and I just wanted you to know how happy this makes me! I mean look at that face!

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So there you go, I’ve committed to yet more things and filled my headspace to capacity. It’s madness… at some point, August happened. How is it 12th already…? The reminders in my calendar have come and gone, mostly unattended to, emails remain unopened and bills ... avoided. I have walked into rooms and stared out of many windows. I am a master of procrastination. I started writing this at around 5:30am, not much sleep is happening at the moment as my brain is on overdrive, I’m guessing in an attempt to sort my nonexistent “to-do” list, creating a priority list to address, ignore, and repeat the cycle. I need a holiday!

I’ve done a lot of this lately

Algorithms on social media are messing with my head…

Oddly, there has been an alarming increase in ads and reels sent my way about ADHD, I’m seeing my life played out in amusing videos and relatable stories… over the last couple of weeks I’ve been recording my new online course, and doing repeated voice-over takes so the only explanation I can muster is that my phone has been listening to my ramblings and called for help!

What I’ve learned is that there are many women over 50 who, like me have blundered through life in a chaotic and let’s just say, interesting way! I don’t need a label to know that perhaps I’m not the most neurotypical, sensible, organised, and focused among us, however, it’s only in the years since I stopped pretending to be a nurse that I am comfortable with that.

This was me in 1992!

Yes, I was a nurse, I wanted to go to Art School but that was not to be as it wasn’t a proper job, and there I was, back in 1988, embarking on an interesting tour of hospitals and institutions including the Royal Navy, always slightly rebellious, never in step with the team, never quite grasping protocol. (…if you know, you know!) Once I stopped trying to be the nurse I thought I was expected to be, and allowed myself to be this person, things slotted into place, I recognised myself and I knew I’d reached that self-actualisation moment, that bit where you go “ooh yeah, now I am happy.”

Interestingly, I’m attracting people (usually women) into the studio who have similar personality traits (not all, some are quite normal!) The window display of happy paintings, quirky pottery, blousey flowers, fallen petals, a bit of dog hair, and a few dead spiders seems to lure them in, maybe they feel an instant connection with the chaos! For whatever reason, they come in and our lives are mutually enriched.

I’m thinking of doing more of the lampshade workshops.. maybe maybe.. something for winter perhaps?

My classes have all been full and we continue to make a glorious mess, change the world, drink tea (or gin), laugh and build the kind of connections I have never experienced before. I fall in love every week, each time the most delicious elderly couple arrive. He brings her in so carefully, she has Parkinson’s and quite unsteady, he lends this beautiful creative soul to me for 3hrs to bring more joy and love to the group than I could ever have imagined. And then there is the Naughty Table who have been with me for 3 years, they know how much they are loved, despite their filth! And today I will see the newest love of my life who was lured in by a strange force and our connection is a thing of beauty.

Talking of ‘things of beauty’…

This is the Naughty Table, they wanted to paint lampshades, and it was an evening of belly laughter and pure joy!

By the way, if you like the sound of these classes, I’ve released some new dates for the Autumn, they’re on my website www.sallyellisart.com and for my weekend courses in early 2025. There’s one place left for March, 4 each for Jan and Feb atm.

And then there is the online course (self paced) that is due for release at the end of the month and subscribers will be offered a discount for September purchases!

And finally, a little process video!

I recorded this video after a workshop a couple of weeks ago, the session had ended and I wanted to see where I could take the demo board when everyone had gone! I’m very happy sharing this part of my process with you as it’s the bit where I edit and change my mind the most.

Till next time,

Sally X