Life with Spoons and creativity

Reflecting on my "life with spoons"  

During the recent online meeting for staff with disabilities, 

we talked about "spoon theory" and life with spoons. 

https://www.healthline.com/health/spoon-theory-chronic-illness-explained-like-never-before#1 

I usually express myself better and more fully through my visual creativity and through art. 

I’ve created this digital painting about what "spoon management" means for my life - juggling being a full time carer, working part time for the NHS, thinking about further studies, being a full time Mum, a housewife, being an artist with many dreams, being a person with a number of very complex chronic health conditions and just being neurodiverse me. 

Yes, life seems to be very full, but also positive and hopeful. After many years of not seeing a clear direction for my personal development in terms of career / study progression, a door seems to be slowly, very slowly, opening... step by step... I have tried to paint how all of this links with my "spoonie life". 

Art is a journey, a journey of new openings.

This painting is about life juggling with spoons, a life of many colours, 

a life of joy, pain, hopes and dreams

 

New paintings

 

Journeying through the life and many colours of life 

My Viewpoints painting

 I created painting for Viewpoints exhibiton:

Title:

Viewpoints - journey towards connection

As I painted this artwork, the journey took me through times of connections and disconnections, discovering and rediscovering the views of those around me, together with feelings and thoughts deep within me - a journey growing into new openings and new viewpoints.

https://sheffieldflourish.co.uk/gallery/

Tree of Life

Tree of Life - broken and healing

I painted this painting over several days and I call it: Tree of Life - broken and healing.

I started painting this picture on 31st July, after watching Star Trek Next Generation epizode Dark Page - for me very powerful and inspiring story of bereavement, trauma and healing.

New beginnings and unpacking of my books

Recently I started a new job, 4 hours a week, admin job I can do from home even now, when shielding formally paused. I find this role very meaningful, fulfilling and lifegiving. And yes, I already worked many extra hours for this role, unpaid.

On sunny days I used our garden as my little office, under our dog Saffron's sleepy supervision

And I am building small home office in our bedroom.

And for the first time after 2 years since our house move I started unpacking 20 boxes of my books. Pete kindly brought all those boxes to our bedroom from his attic office and made for me bookshelf and found for me lovely second hand bookshelf... Lots of memories in 20 boxes...

And I started to dream again about some future studies, to follow my PATH :)

Creativity and being connected

I attended online meeting of one group who invited me create logo for them...
Digital creativity in action  - unfinished for now

It might seem paradox, but while shieldo
ing, new ways of connecting with people really helped me -
church online meetings and also work online groups.

Especially online weekly group Shielding Drop-in, organized by my employer, made an amazing difference and in a way it had opened the door to the new beginnings / journey of tranformation, renewal/healing of broken trust, finding my lost self confidence, giving me courage to step out and move forward... new beginnings, openings, growing...

Shielding and creativity

I have been shielding since 1st April and shielding will be paused on 1st August .It was good to be able to start going for walks since June. I have done lots of painting and lots of gardening while shielding. Here I will share some of my recent paintings. I will write about gardening another time.

Painting in self isolation and shielding from Coronovirus

I cannot leave house for 12 weeks so I had been painting a lot:

New paintings

Missing the words

For a week I had been trying to process the shocking news about Jean Vanier... I miss words, so I keep painting... painting my prayers.... and I am encouraged and inspired by Irene's blog and through reading feel connected with L'Arche London, my first L'Arche home and community when I arrived to the UK in September 1996....

http://www.tuffrey-wijne.com/?p=780