I have been dreaming about writing this kind of a blog post for about three years and I have been actually trying to write the words for the last six or seven weeks; from about the time when I gave my resignation in at work.

Yes, you read correctly! I have, after a long period of time thinking about it,  decided to give myself fully to developing my art career and so have resigned from my teaching job. On Monday I go back to school for the last seven weeks of part-time employment. Then I will do one day a week until the summer term ends in order to train my replacement. Then I am a self-employed artist (excited… yikes!)

I used to visual journal quite a lot when I’d read some fabulous quote from this book. Now when I look through it I can see how I have been moving towards this moment for many years. Can’t say I’m not a little scared, can’t say I won’t miss the children at school or the laughs in the staffroom but I am looking forward to having just one job to pursue with total vigour, energy and single-mindedness. When I graduated from art college back in 1990 I  quite quickly got off the artistic route and eventually  began a teaching training course instead.  In many ways this feels like I have come full circle and I’m very grateful to get the opportunity to try and pick up that artistic route again.

I have been re-training and updating my pattern design skills so that I will have two strings to my bow and am hopeful that with more time to paint, pattern design and approach galleries that I will be able to establish a small living from my art.

Only one thing is certain at this stage and that is ‘if you don’t try, you never know’ and I know for sure that if I don’t ever give it a go I will regret not trying. Fingers crossed.