A couple of years ago, I started a series ​on my blog called Studio Diaries. It was a way of capturing and sharing the experiences, moments and insights of my creative life. (As I say that, it strikes me that it was also the beginning of the Studio Yearbook!!) Also, I missed blogging as a creative outlet, as a free and open space to follow my muse, a welcoming home for the wild stream of ‘stuff’ that consistently wants to pour out of my creative heart. I thought it would be a way of sharing possibilities, resources and learnings – plus a little bit more of me and my creative life.

I let it go for a variety of reasons, from someone telling me they didn’t love the series  to feeling conflicted about whether to share my own unfiltered process at the studio blog. A Studio Principle helped me decide to give it another go.

A Studio Principle convinced me to give it another go.

Studio Principle: There is room for you.

That phrase dropped into my heart and took hold during a Nia class several years ago. The class was full and we were moving! Our teacher noticed that many of us were pulling back, reining ourselves in because of the crowd. She called out, “There’s room for you!”

I could’ve cried. I had never heard those words before: “There’s room for you.” I decided to believe her and danced.

So, here and now, I am deciding that there is room for me. I’m envisioning ‘Studio Diaries’ as my personal studio space within the Jamie Ridler Studios complex. It reminds me of the open studios at Harbourfront, here in Toronto. Artists go about their work and the public can walk by and gaze in. They might catch someone firing some glass, assembling jewellery or eating their lunch ​ It is at one time both demystifying and inspiring. I hope that will be the case here.

My Studio Diaries will be irregular, unedited and unabridged. They will be just like a diary, the wild and true inner workings of my creative heart.