It's been a while...

Bonjour, it’s been a while.

Around 14 months or so since my last journal entry here, by the looks of it. A lot has happened since then. So where to begin?

When a lot has transpired in such a short space of time and it feels overwhelming to write down, I know it’s best to start from where I am, rather than try to make sense and order of all that has been. This is my third attempt at writing this catch up post, the first two did begin with a summarisation of sorts, but I know it’s not possible to sum up events when the aftermath is still in effect, reverberating and spinning, creating new events, piling on top of each other. Have you felt this too?

The world as we have known it is wobbling, and it’s not easy to keep your feet on the ground, especially for those of us who feel a lot: There is currently a lot to feel. I’ve learnt the best thing to do is be still. To rest. To do your absolute best to not do much at all.  That’s why, in hindsight, I see that posting and updating what I’ve been up to hasn’t happened. Something had to give for me to make room to rest, to breathe, and it was letting go of these particular ‘doing’ things. It also helped me to make some space to adjust my focus on supporting our family of 3 through the various stages of staying-at-home, keeping healthy, and maintaining a sense of joy.  

I have been quietly creating, continuing to divide my working hours between photoshoots for Happinez, mentoring long-time clients, writing, shooting commissions, sharing ideas and ways of sparking joy and connection on patreon, and supporting women on their creative journeys. So, I’d like to try to catch up as best I can now, sharing some of what I’ve been working on, let’s see how I go.

It’s still such a surreal time for most of us, and there is so much grief. I hope as you read this, you are able to take a moment to breathe and rest in this stillness, releasing the resistance to the unknown that is still upon us.

Pia xx

PS I just discovered you can create spotify music playlists, so I made one called Vivent Les Artistes if you’d like to listen while you create.

Creative Women in Conversation, February 29, 2020

…turned out the beautiful Mistress of Ceremonies Cynthia and I were wearing the exact same colour combination, even with loop earrings and high bun! Nothing like sweet synchronicity to know you’ve met a kindred spirit. X

Last Saturday, I was honoured to be one of the guest speakers at this year’s Creative Women In Conversation event held at the fabulous North Sydney Community Centre. I’d heard so many wonderful things about it from past speakers and audience members, and it certainly lived up to its reputation, I had a fabulous time! I felt so completely nurtured while up on stage, and I’m so grateful to everyone for sharing their enthusiasm for all I had to share, and for the incredible feedback I received throughout the day. This was Shona Smith and my first official live event together which we eagerly announced on our podcast at the end of last year, and we had such a great time. Having been in dialogue for a year now on It’s All Up From Here, we were ready to try our hand at opening the dialogue with a live audience, it was such a treat…

snapshots with thanks to Cynthia Sciberras

We talked about what it means to live a creative life; how ideas form; what some of the most common creative blocks are and what mine have been; how to manage being a multi-passionate creative; the importance of mentoring and using our intuition; and how global events affect the creative flow. We had so many great questions from the audience, each one sparked new ideas and topics that we’d love to extend on in future podcasts and live, intimate events.

I absolutely loved listening to the other speakers, learning more about their work and how they manage their own creative blocks and life experiences while still engaging their creative passions. Sharing this day with them was a wonderful experience.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Joanna Goodwin, the centre’s director, for inviting me to participate this year, she truly is incredible at connecting people and bringing creativity into the everyday, not just through this fabulous yearly event in celebration of International Women’s Day, but also through the centre’s workshops, hosted by incredible artists.

The talks were recorded for the North Sydney Centre podcast, and Shona and I will be adding our talk as a special episode of It’s All Up From Here too, so you can listen then, I’ll let you know on social media when it’s live.

Thank you again to everyone who bought books on the day, and those who expressed interest in mentoring, you can check out the mentoring packages here, or send me an email.

xx