Arriving back at the start and beginning again

Good morning or good evening wherever in the world you’re reading this from.

Whether you’ve been a longtime reader (I’ve been blogging since 2010!) or have just joined me here in 2023, my name is Amy and I’ve been quiet over here since my third baby arrived last year. I have posted updates through my podcast (search Mixing Babies And Business™ wherever you usually like to tune in) and have been sharing my parenthood and professional development work, speaking engagements and ideas over on LinkedIn.

But here? Here has gone a bit quiet. And I’m about to change that.

I wrote this as a bit of a back story but it’s ended up feeling more like a love letter from my present self to the woman I was before I started to blog and share my adventures and experiences more openly 13 years ago.

It’s been quite a wild ride but it’s nice to know where I’ve arrived at and ponder what I’m about to dream up next.

I grew up on a small dairy farm outside of Ottawa in Canada, and since my early 20s, have lived in Australia, England and Ireland, finding my way back to Canada in my early 30s.

During this journey spent living and working around the world, I met and married a man who grew up on a small sheep farm outside of Galway city in Ireland and we started a family, which now has three boys, ranging in age from 1.5 to 7 years old.

But we don’t live on a farm (yet).

Despite our rural origins, we’ve always lived in urban settings, cities (Brisbane > London > Ottawa) and even a small charming village (Naas in Co. Kildare). In between our first four “homes” together, we’ve spent time staying with family members in Canada and Ireland, as well as sleeping on friends’ floors as we settled into life in bustling, always busy, London.

Before I started all of this travel, I was working with an art school in Canada, which I adored but alas, adventures were calling me.

Since I left in 2010 and have returned to Ottawa once again, there’s been many paths I’ve explored, industries worked in, strangers who’ve become friends. But I’ve always tried to make time to pursue art, any way I can: photography in every place, printmaking, drawing and watercolour painting community courses in London and lately, at ceramics studios in Ottawa.

During the past eight years especially, I’ve felt a stronger pull toward writing, creating things, sharing ideas and connecting others. This has manifested in becoming an accidental activist, pitching and presenting alongside my kids as babies, designing parent-friendly professional development, hosting and producing five seasons of my very own podcast.

I’m currently writing my (second) book for release before the end of this year, about how I’ve done all of those things alongside having three kids. If you haven’t read my first book, you can buy it in digital and print versions and if you have Kindle Unlimited, it’s currently free!

So here I am, back where I began. Back to Ottawa. Back to using my voice. Back to art. Back to writing. Backing myself first.

I’ve been drawing since I was little and have lots of inspiration in the form of photos from my travels over the years. But it wasn’t until I was introduced to the world of ceramics and pottery in 2019, working with a local studio as a marketing client, that I started getting back in touch with making things by hand.

This exploration period meant I got to create many beginner wheel thrown pots and handbuilt projects over the past four years. In the middle of it all, I decided to launch a line of fine art travel prints of my photos. But then I became pregnant with our third child and whittled down my workload and creative processes.

My third baby and body required more rest for me, so I put my art prints on hold but still managed to take four wheel throwing courses throughout my pregnancy and postpartum period!

Trust me, sitting at a wheel after having the baby was much easier for me than during pregnancy but it’s interesting to see the differences in the pots I’ve made over the years.

Now that September has rolled around, my youngest is starting at daycare and the older two are getting back to school, it’s time to pick up where I left off! I’m celebrating this new “season” and gifting myself time to explore and play with discovering my signature style. I can feel it emerging.

There are piles of photographs to sift through, snapshots of moments in time to grow from but I have never fully given myself permission (outside of making pottery and still life drawings) to focus on making art.

Aside from community courses, I’ve been a regular patron of libraries, galleries and museums wherever we have lived – these have been sanctuaries for me as a new parent and a remote worker. A place to always go, simply “be” and connect with others’ ideas, viewpoints and creations.

For now, I’ll be curating more fine art travel prints in the lead up to the holiday season, with a plan to release them again now that my health is back on track. I’ll also be practicing pottery as life allows, it’s the one creative pursuit I have which makes it impossible to multitask and look after children with…especially when mud is flying at the wheel!

I have always believed everyone deserves to design a life that works for them and their family. This is probably very related to the fact that I grew up surrounded by my family and their business, living on our small dairy farm.

I started this blog and now creative brand, Notes From Another Land, as a means to live out my belief and document my experiences as an expat abroad over the years.

What followed on from it has been a separate social impact movement around Mixing Babies And Business™, which has been great to see evolve and make progress over the years.

But over the coming months, I’m setting the intention to take more time to create and implement a regular art practice, while beginning to share and sell my work again. My intuition is telling me it’s right next step and like all of the other leaps in life I’ve taken, only time will tell how it all unfolds! For now, I’m hopeful.

Stay well everyone,

– Amy (+ Family) xx

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