on the tyranny of goals and targets

on the tyranny of goals and targets

In the correspondence I have with the wonderful people I work with as coach and mentor I am often struck by how harsh they are with themselves, how much their confidence and wellbeing seems to hinge on achieving this or that creative goal. Indeed, the wider world of...
These are Trying Times

These are Trying Times

It’s fair to say that these are trying times. Each news bulletin seems to bring more evidence of the madness, destructiveness, greed and mendacity of those who hold power. My Twitter feed is full of righteous anger, denunciations and calls to action to fight for the...
Casting for Hope

Casting for Hope

That I live right beside a good trout fishing loch and have yet to pull a fish from it is a source of some embarrassment. As a girl, my dad taught me how to bait a hook with a worm, tie it to a bubble float and fish for shy brown trout in the fast-flowing Highland...
On Drawing, Water and Time

On Drawing, Water and Time

“Immerse” 2022, Acrylic and silver leaf on aluminium panel, 90cm x 110cm Water and time are deeply connected. Over the last year I have been making a series of large scale works that explore this connection. I watch the water and then I try to draw it. I catch it in...
Be more Agnes…

Be more Agnes…

If you’ve read my book The Clearing you’ll know I’m a big fan of the artist Agnes Martin. I’ve been thinking about her work and life a lot recently. When the world is falling to bits and it feels ridiculous to spend my time drawing pictures I remind myself of what...