I am happily busy with lots of commissions for pictures and cards - am currently working on a wedding picture and a birthday one and have recently done my first Civil Partnership card.
In between all this and the usual household and mum duties ("Do your piano practice!!" "You'll be late for school!" etc) I am spending far too much time playing with our new kitten Celeste (a Maine Coon/Siamese x) - she is totally lovely and it's extremely hard to resist burying your nose in her soft, kitten - scented fur.
On top of this I have embarked on an 8 week Mindfulness Meditation course which is really interesting and will, I hope,make me a calmer, more relaxed person - the idea is to learn to be more fully aware and present in each moment in life, rather than on automatic pilot. To sum it up 'Mindfulness' means paying attention in a particular way...on purpose, in the present moment and without judgement' (Jon Kabat-Zinn) I usually steer clear of anything remotely hippy-ish but it makes a lot of sense. The big problem is fitting in the home practice - 45 minutes a day, plus 10 minutes of breathing meditation and a Mindful exercise (this week I am Mindfully stroking Celeste )
I feel quite stressed trying to cram it all into a working day!
My dad has kindly made me a meditation stool which I'm getting used to - keeps your back straight anyway!
Jane Eccles
Jane on Illustration Rally.
