On giving ourselves permission (+ last call for April-June cohorts).

A few weeks ago an email landed in my inbox. It was from a mother I worked with in 2023. It illustrates the power of learning to gift ourselves permission to create.

BTW this is the LAST DAY to sign up for next week’s cohorts of The New Mothers’ Writing Circle. A few spots left here. (+ have a nosey at the BBC’s film you’re new around here / WELCOME! :-) )

Here’s the email.

“Over the past 12 months, I have been making and submitting quilts to exhibitions and shows. It’s not writing obviously, but you gave me the understanding and confidence that my voice and experience matters. That it’s not boring or uninteresting to be a mother and that it’s okay to love it and hate it too. And that, if you want, it can be at the centre of your existence — and your art.

I made a small textile quilt about queer motherhood in response to an open call from the Queer as Muck Collective for an exhibition in Sett Studios in Edinburgh, last April. And it got accepted.

My next project foraged plants from the nearby woods and I made dyes from them. I dyed panels of cotton muslin and made them into an oversized curtain. That was chosen to be in another exhibition.

I made a quilt for the Scottish Quilt Show at the start of March a couple of weeks ago. It was an abstract wood landscape, made from natural dyed fabric and hand quilted. I was completely shocked when I found the gold ribbon for the contemporary category next to my quilt in the show.

I also joined Visual Arts Scotland so I could submit to one of their annual exhibitions and my queer motherhood small quilt was accepted for that.

All of this to say — thank you. I think about you often and the effect you’ve had on my life, whenever I make time for myself to explore how I feel about my life and motherhood, and as a reminder that it’s okay to share my work. And because of you, I even call it work to Alfie. I tell him I’m going to work to make pennies and other times I’m going to work on my quilts, and he accepts both as my time away. As if he knows how important it is.

I guess the immediate benefits of the Writing Circle are a bit easier to explain, but it has had such a long lasting, traceable effect on me that needs to be shared too.”

Obviously I had a little cry when this came in. Being a solo-freelancer banging your own wee drum in a corner of the internet can feel pretty… errm —niche? This gave me the rocket fuel I needed that day.

More of my own writing and less drum-banging in the coming weeks I PROMISE!

Catrin.