I hope you have all had the best Christmas possible and wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Creative New Year. Ours was still a little quieter than pre-pandemic as we chose to restrict our activities in the run up to Christmas Day so that we could celebrate as a family. The highlight, for me, was playing a new ‘cheaters’ addition of Monopoly on Boxing Day with Joe (son), Riley (grandson) and son Callum and his wife Lulu who came up from London for Christmas. Who knew that Callum was such a cheat!! Nothing fancy but so special.

It is that time of year when many of us look back at the previous year and make some plans for the following year. 2021 started in a pretty bleak place here in the UK and was a year in which too many families lost loved ones and all of us were affected by the stress and uncertainty that comes with lockdowns and restrictions. But 2021 was not a repeat of 2020, we are in a better place than we were thanks to vaccines, home testing and better treatments for Covid. Our NHS, social care workers and scientists are truly amazing.

When I look back at my year I see a lot more positives than negatives - life has not been ‘normal’ but it has been good. And you guys played a part in that - the support I have had from those of you who read this blog, buy from my shop or sign up for one of my workshops has been brilliant. I would especially like to take the time to thank those of you who have taken the time to sent me an email or card. You have made me laugh, made me cry and made me feel loved and supported, thank you.

So, my positives …..

I have found my way back to MAKING ART! Big happy dance!!! And it feels so good. I started the year tentatively working on pieces that were ‘process’ driven. I had no inspiration as such other than the joy of making. Using colours I love and my favourite breakdown printing techniques I have made a series of pieces called Cadence. The early pieces were rubbish but I kept going and have made some pieces that I think are beautiful. And, it turns out, that others agreed - Cadence 7 won the Art category at Festival of Quilts in the summer. (Yes, I got tearful!) This affirmation that I was on the right track has given me confidence in my creative process, something I lost in 2020. There will be more Cadence quilts as they are just joyful to make but I have ended 2021 making the first pieces in a new series …. I don’t want to jinx it so haven’t posted any images yet but I am rather happy with it so far.

I caught up on the majority of workshops that had been delayed from 2020. There was plenty of rearranging during the year and I’m grateful for the patience and understanding of my fabulous students. Alongside those workshops that had already been scheduled for 2021 this meant I taught many workshops ‘back to back’ which was exhausting but so, so satisfying. I also had three guest tutors in the studio; Ruth Brown, Rosie James and Christine Chester which was fun. I kept my Covid safe practices in place throughout the year and will do so into 2022. Thank you to my students for complying with this - the studio has felt like a safe place the whole time.

I am also rather proud of myself for developing my first online workshop. It was a massive learning curve completed in a short period of time whilst the studio was closed over the winter. I launched Breakdown Your Palette in March and have loved the interaction with students from all over the world.

Launching that online workshop also helped raise money for YoungMinds, a charity that supports young people with mental health issues. In total we raised £345, thank you. Definitely a positive.

Despite everything, when I look at the positives, 2021 was, on balance an OK year. And despite the uncertainty we face going into 2022 I’m looking forward to sharing many more positives with you.

Leah x