Extended CV

Me

I was born into a creative family and learned from an early age that it was important if not preferable to improvise and recycle wherever possible, so I’ve always been inventive and resourceful, whatever my role in life.

I trained in art and design before the real education of bringing up a family and made good use of many painting, drawing and 3D techniques during my involvement in my children’s schools and other voluntary events.

Teaching

In my thirties I trained as an adult-education tutor and taught people how to play with and care for young children. I wrote hundreds of articles about creative play and they were published nationally and internationally over a number of years. I was really shocked to discover how few parents and carers have any confidence in their own creative abilities, how they knew nothing about mixing paint and thought many of my ideas were dangerous. In my courses I gave people the knowledge and confidence to pass on to their children. I have a portfolio of all my published articles and I gathered the resources, enthusiasm and optimism from these courses and put them into a simple but lavishly illustrated e-book entitled “The Artist in You and Your Child" subtitled I Wish I Could be Artistic. If you would like a FREE copy you can download it from the store at www.modernartbypost.com

Writing

My greatest strength for many years was as a writer. The skills connected with it, such as mentoring on a one-to-one basis, fiction critiques, publishing and sub-editing, kept me buoyant and inspired because writing a novel was too boring. A natural development from running the evening course was to design and run Writing Life®, a creative writing course by correspondence. I ran this for ten years both by post and via the internet, helping hundreds of students to attain their personal goals, many of them becoming published writers. It demanded me to learn a lot about marketing and gave me some good experience in promotional work. I'm now running Flash Fiction Contests offering publication and more as the prize. More about that HERE

Publishing

I’ve worked as Fiction Editor and Literary Editor for an independent publisher, have designed book contents and book covers, naturally progressing to publishing my own books and sometimes those of other people. I loved writing plays and screenplays, creating illustrated books (especially e-books) and websites, writing think-pieces and spoof articles (e.g.“Ten Ways to Destroy Your Lover”) and adapting ideas for different artistic media.

Art

Over the years I took part in various arts events, not least as a member of a rural Arts Council, and put on displays and exhibitions of my work (written and artwork) as well as performing spoken recitals of poetic prose. I've had some work published in anthologies but more importantly I’ve had stories and articles published in national and international magazines, and the following books are available from me, online or  when you visit my Open Studio:-

Books:

Pathways to Publication Written with publisher, Trevor Lockwood, this is an in-depth study of what it takes to give your idea - your submitted manuscript – the qualities that will give it a chance to rise above the slush pile.

Creative Writing the Organic Way This was the Writing Life® course handbook but it’s so comprehensive – taking you from tentative beginnings through to bold, full-length works - that it has been described as a bible for aspiring writers. Full of encouragement and good advice.

Hamersma: Inspired with Our Environment The biography of a true artist whose philosophy is relevant and motivating to artists and writers everywhere. See more about this man, who has been described as a “lovely old nutcase” as well as an “artist thirty years ahead of his time” on http://hamersma-uk.blogspot.com/

Writing, In a Nutshell (e-book) A condensed version of Creative Writing the Organic Way: if you’re happiest with your reference books at hand on your computer, this is definitely the way to have it; but you can print any of the pages for yourself to read anywhere, too. Contact me by email if this appeals to you.

Rebuilding Heaven A collection of short stories that vary from – well – cute to crunchy: this is a riotous variety that’s both uplifting and thought provoking. Everyone will find something here that hits the nail on the head for them, as the book is packed with stories short and long, vignettes, a couple of poems and even a song.

Now I Can Tell It: A Prisoner Of War Remembers Stalag VIIIB First hand experience of WWII in breathtakingly simple sketches and words from the artist Cyril Hamersma’s vivid memories that were previously buried for forty years. 80 full colour illustrations, a beautiful limited edition book.

Change

In 2007 it was time to move on:- various circumstances combined to make it possible for me and my husband to leave our home in East Anglia and emigrate to North East Scotland, something we’d been wanting to do for many years. It required some severe downsizing so I only kept a few of my ‘best’ art attempts, my portfolio of published articles, the few copies of remaining books that I’ve written and published, and my basic tools for writing, sewing and drawing.

The one thing I couldn’t shake off, through all the mayhem of change, was my creative temperament; and once settled in Stonehaven I set about exploring it. Suddenly the floodgates opened and all that I learned at college, from my father throughout his life (see http://hamersma-uk.blogspot.com) and through all the artistic know-how I’ve experienced over the years has come rushing back in a cascade of creativity. I am loving every moment of it and I want to open a huge gallery, work at it for 24 hours a day, paint bigger and bigger, brighter and more stunning pieces of work all the time…

But reality prevails and you can buy my work from this site or come to experience the real thing – in my studio/workroom at home (10-4pm, open by appointment).

Throughout life people have asked me what am I? When I said I was a writer they would invariably leap into long monologues about their favourite best-selling authors. Oh dear, don’t bother (nor am I, as an artist, so very au fait with all the great artists, apart from Cyril Hamersma). I was too busy writing my own unique ideas and now I’m engaged in painting. I've published everything I want to share but I still need to be creating something from nothing every day and with over 50 years experience I can do it seriously.  Running writing competitions keeps my hand in. I paint, knit, sew and sculpt from the heart as I would always write from the heart: that's what matters.

This is Me!

Simply call me an artist because I create whatever idea is best produced with the material at my disposal and in the circumstances that prevail. This is me!

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