3.

For a year I allowed myself to just "be". I let my dreams sit on the backburner and simmer in the distance; a fire that I knew existed but one that couldn't warm me.

I created from a space of simply finding the joy in it.

I painted.

I wrote poetry.

I learned calligraphy.

There was no need to share any of it. The time was for me to connect to myself and to heal properly.

And now, as I step out of my little cocoon, I feel the warmth of my dreams igniting the fire inside me again.

So, here I am, metaphorical pen in hand... ready for action!

2.

My word of the year is sacral.

All my woowoo ladies will know what I mean when I say that word.

If you don’t know, it’s this:
The sacral is the name for the second chakra; it represents feminity, flow, the inner knowing, sensuality, gut instinct, intuition, creativity, being in the present moment.

For me the word represents following the little inner voice that leads me to things that light me up. It’s connecting to my own guidance system to find that complete knowing of what my next step will be. Tuning in, if you will. This could be on a task-by-task or day-to-day basis, or it could be bigger life purpose goals too. Basically it’s the “heck yeah”, the spark, the inner call.

My word was going to be “yes” because that’s what it feels like, following the yes. But it’s more than that. I don’t want to say yes to things that aren’t aligned for me. This isn’t a year of agreeing. It’s a year of BEING more me. Which goes well with my word for last year, which was simply BE.

Saying yes to things that light me up will actually probably lead me to say no to more things that don’t.

1.

A new project is afoot. Or is it a-face? Either way, I’m moving into a refreshed creative phase.

After a year of privately going about my business, playing with new expressions of creativity and allowing myself to just be me, I can feel myself shifting into a new place … and I want to document it.

So here I present the familiar self-portrait project. Except this time it’s not one a week, it’s one a fortnight… with a few weeks of grace for the ebbs and flows of life.

23 self portraits for ’23.