My Artist Residency in Motherhood is done. Six weeks – or 42 days – of writing one page a day, of staying calm and creative amidst the daily disruptions and busyness that are still part of my life as a mother, even though my four children are nearly all grown up. Over the last six weeks, I’ve written my pages at home and while staying at remote bush properties. I didn’t develop any sort of stable work routine, but I’ve ticked off each day with a real sense of achievement. This residency has helped me remember that I’m a writer, and no one can take that away from me, even if all I do is write one page a day.
I’ve entered the final week of my second 21-day Artist Residency in Motherhood. I’ve been chugging along nicely and the page-a-day has become an effortless part of my daily routine, but I’m ready for something new. I’ve just completed an 8-week online course through Writing NSW – Advanced Memoir Writing with Patti Miller – which came my way courtesy of an Arts North West Micro Grant. I enjoyed being a student again in Patti’s course and learnt some useful things. I also met writers from across the country and heard wonderful stories. The weekly group workshopping on each participant’s writing was a fascinating process, and I’m continuing a mini-version of that process with two of the writers I met in the course. We’re going to make our way through the 20 x Workshops in Patti’s course book Writing True Stories, and share up to 2000 words each week. A new challenge ahead!
Well, I made it to the end of my 21-day Artist Residency in Motherhood – and I’ve decided to extend the residency for another 21 days. Yes! The process has been so good for me. Such a simple thing – write a page (or more) a day, mark that day on the Excel spreadsheet, and then let it all go until the next day. Three weeks ago, I had my usual rigid plan of waking up before dawn and knocking off the page first thing, but by the end I was fitting in the page whenever I could … and that was absolutely fine. The pre-dawn routine has its place, especially when deadlines or due or when I’m deeply moored in a writing project … I’ve done that a lot in my life with good results. But for now, this relaxed approach feels good for my creative soul and I’m sticking with it.
Week Two of my Artist Residency in Motherhood (ARIM) is over, and it went along quite differently to the first week. The early morning routine that I enthused about in my last post was abandoned while I spent five days in the bush with my lover – staying in a mud-brick bunkhouse with no electricity or phone reception, cooking over a campfire, and marvelling at the sight of fireflies each evening. Such magical creatures! The bush camp where I stayed was in a mountainous area of wet sclerophyll forest – full of birdlife and wallabies and the occasional tick or leech. Each morning, my lover and I had breakfast down by the dam at the property, where we watched a friendly Willie Wagtail couple take turns protecting eggs in their cup-like nest on a low branch that hung over the dam. In-between parenting duties, the Willie Wagtails performed all sorts of antics and were very funny. In terms of the work/life balance, the scales definitely weighed heavier on the ‘life’ side – but I rested and relaxed and slept well and still managed to get my page done every day, usually by mid-afternoon. When my laptop ran out of battery, I wrote my page longhand. This second week of my ARIM residency has shown me that I can have a wonderfully indulgent week in the bush and still make progress on my writing. One more week to go and I’m feeling good.
I completed the first week of my Artist Residency in Motherhood (ARIM) earlier this morning – a residency where I’m taking the pressure off my creative practice by writing just one page a day, at home. I finish the page first thing each morning (well, after I drink my coffee and write my journal). With this new ARIM routine, I’m achieving something every day, which makes me happy – and I feel like that by seven o’clock in the morning. Some days I’ve written more than one page, but most days it’s been just the one. I haven’t had time to develop the new writing yet, but I’ve got the makings of a stand-alone excerpt from my memoir, and another one on the way – which is more progress than I’ve made in months. I’ve also noticed that I’ve already morphed into a healthier work/life balance … although I have to admit, I’m looking forward to a proper sleep-in soon. Two more weeks to go!
Tomorrow I’m starting my first Artist Residency in Motherhood (ARIM) – a self-directed artist residency to empower and inspire artists who are also mothers. A few weeks ago, I heard about ARIM through Aleshia Lonsdale’s informative talk on residencies that she did for Orana Arts. If you’re a regional artist in NSW, Orana Arts is an inclusive Arts organisation that has lots of wonderful opportunities and talks for artists working in disciplines. The ARIM site has a D.I.Y planning tool to help you work out what you want to do on your residency, and writing a personal manifesto is part of the process. Here’s my manifesto:
In common with many parents, the birth of my first child in 1990 changed many things in my life. One of these changes was that I became an artist – a writer. Although developing and maintaining a professional commitment to my creative writing career has been challenged by having four children, I’ve held fast to my writing dreams. It still seems to be a commonly held belief that being an engaged mother and a serious artist are mutually inclusive endeavours. I don’t believe or want to perpetrate this.
Lately, though, I’ve been feeling frustrated that even after 31 years of parenting, I still find it difficult to get uninterrupted time alone. My youngest child is now 17 and will finish his high school education at the end of 2022. In this last stage of active/at-home parenting, I want to change my work habits. I am currently working on two separate writing projects – a memoir and a novella. During my self-imposed 21-day artist residency, I want to write a page a day from either of these projects with ease and enjoyment. I want to take the stress/pressure out of my writing practice, but still make progress on each of the works. I also want to set up a better life/work balance. When the 21 days are over, I hope to be able to continue writing a page a day with ease and enjoyment.
To achieve my goal, I need to change my routine. A page a day isn’t much and won’t take long. I intend to wake up between five and six in the morning and write a page first thing – so that my intention isn’t lost in the busyness of the day that follows. If I do more than one page over the day, that will be a bonus. The main thing is not to put pressure on myself and to be happy with a page a day. Many books are completed in this way. I will be accountable to myself and write a weekly blog about this process. My residency starts tomorrow – and finishes on Sunday 14 November.
