And now I head to Yorkshire

Over the next few days, I am doing something I love and something I have a hard time doing. I am attending an art course with Juliette Aristides with Workshops in Yorkshire. I love learning, I love traveling, I love spending time with my own thoughts and ideas, to have the time and energy to continue to think about my art practice. I love pampering myself thorough rest and self-love on these trips. What I have a hard time doing is overcoming my social anxiety, it is real, it is hard and it feels crippling at times. But is also what it is and I have learned to live around it, with it and to acknowledge it for what it is. I need extra self-compassion and self-love on these days. I have also learned in the process how good I became at masking my own discomfort through these exchanges, and how much exhaustion this brought. I am still learning as I go how to best support myself through my anxiety and do the things I love, which also include connecting deeply with others.

Today, I will be meeting an amazing artist friend who lives in Leeds: Monair Hyman . Spending a lovely afternoon with her talking life, art, and friendship. I met her during an Art Course in Venice, when my anxiety was so crippling it almost made me miss the trip altogether. This serves as a beautiful reminder of why it matters to push through some of the discomfort to meet the people who are an important part of my art sisterhood / village.

I will also be taking a much needed summer break from all admin work, and I am very much looking forward to soaking in the sun, the rain, and everything else in between this summer will bring, wherever I find myself. Until you read me again. Have a magical July and August.