artycelia.com

  The weather this year has been dire, this picture was taken on July 4th and is a rare specimen as it features sunlight glancing on the patio. I find it hard to get motivated when the sky is grey but usually when I get into my studio I can find my mojo. At the moment I am working on a few paintings and doing a course in psychic development. I like doing courses, I have diplomas in all sorts of things: mindfulness, CBT, counselling, intuitive healing, tarot, freelance journalism, spiritual life coaching and others. Years ago I did a course in counselling before it had even become a thing, I still have my certificate which is dated  2002. Life sort of gets in the way though, people need you, children need you, partners need you, schools need you, work needs you, parents need you, animals need you, and you need yourself. So, life is busy. But it's not so busy now, my children are adults, my animals have gone over the rainbow bridge, dad needs me, grandchildren need me and my health h

This is my painting of a Divi-Divi Tree. It hangs in my bedroom, it makes me smile.  Aruba's distinctive trees have fascinating formations, they are shaped by constant trade winds, yet to me they seem to symbolise women, strong women, complicated women, women with tangled roots, women battered and buffetted yet still standing proud and strong. So, why. I wonder am I so drawn to them? I have a few in my gallery and I have sold one of the best ones so I have no idea where that one hangs now. I suppose I am what you would call, 'a girl's girl,' always interested in the stories of other women, their struggles, their highs and lows. Maybe it's because I have daughters and not sons.I have never been 'one of the boys', in fact I find that a bit weird, but each to their own. I have a lot of paintings in my studio of women, I've never really thought about it before, but now I am thinking 'what's that all about?'                                       

  The first painting is my interpretation of a Miro. The second painting is my interpretation of the war in Gaza, based on a painting by Fernand Leger c 1927. It's maybe easier to put one's thoughts into a painting, in this one, the flag of Israel bleeds into Palestine, land is stolen, territory is taken, people are annihilated. I find it horribly, well horrible, that Netanayu seems to be following in the footsteps of the very person who set out to destroy his people. I just cannot understand how the world can step aside and allow this genocide. Sometimes I just feel the need to paint a picture.

This is a painting of, erm, the cancerous tumour that I found in my breast in 2021. It's gone now. I felt much better after the painting was completed, sort of serene. Despite the brutal treatment that is chemotherapy, I have depicted the cancer as drifting away, parts of you do drift away while going through treatment, and some parts return while others do not. That's how I feel anyway. I moved house last year. My rented house was too big with just me in it. It was fine when occupied with my daughters, a grand-daughter, a grand-daughter's dad and my lovely dog, but people grow and need to move on. My dog reached the end of his road. The day I lost him was the saddest day of my life. I know I probably shouldn't say that but he was deep in my heart and I loved him unconditionally. I won't ever get another dog, that 'going to sleep' business is a train wreck, one that you are watching and also feel responsible for, even though you are not. I am now living with

Well, here it is! It's MY STUDIO. It is where I can paint, write, renovate, think, dance, study, work, talk, counsel, and tarot. It has taken a long time to refurbish a grotty double garage into this space, but it's been worth it. I have finally moved out of my old, cold, crumbling rented house and moved in with my old dad, something I never ever thought would happen, but stranger things have happened in my lifetime so I'm not going to dwell. The worst part of the cancer treatment is over, my hair is growing back albeit in a crazy curly wurley frizz ball, but goodness, it's here on my head and it is mine. Onwards and upwards.  

                                  'Life Scripts' are stories that we tell ourselves as we try to understand what is going on in our lives. They are like a narration to self and are the way we tell stories about our own lives, in our own minds. These could be stories from the past, the present and/or the future. These stories or life scripts, help us feel safer in life because they make our lives seem predictable and constant with a set of fixed rules- 'things always go this way.' However, these 'life scripts' can sometimes be very damaging to our sense of self, to our relationships and to our ability to reach a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives. To prevent further damage, a therapist will work with their client to examine the life script the client relies on to understand their life. And then to create new scripts that help them move forward, positively to the future  A few examples of 'Life Scripts' could include: "None of my partners have

Do you find it a bit annoying when people ask, "What do you do?" as if what you do to earn a living defines the whole of YOU? I do. Your authentic self is not a train driver, a solicitor, or a builder. Do you also find it a bit irritating when other people ask where you live, as if a house on a street or a flat in a complex somehow defines who you are? Is a flat in a complex less worthy than a house on a street? How about when someone asks who your partner is, or your mum, dad, brother, sister? Do your relationships define you? Has anybody summed you up purely on your possessions. "Ooh, she has a Chanel handbag, and it's a REAL one!" Your authentic self is who you are at your deepest level, your core. Being authentic means being true to yourself. You do this by being true to your thoughts, words, and actions, and having these three match each other. When we aren't in touch with our authentic self, it is extremely easy to go into 'people pleasing' mod