http://artistparents.ning.com is getting busy, which is great.
It’s frustrating that ning are now charging for their services though. I’ve paid for the cheapest option, as it’s coming out of my own pocket at the moment. This means we’ve lost our ‘events’ function, which was a great way of promoting and keeping up to date with all the things that people were involved in. Maybe I’ll have to find a way to cover the extra $15 a month..
After lengthy (and boring to describe here) deliberations I have finally decided to use the NAN grant for an APT meeting in Yorkshire, and not resubmit my (rejected) ACE bid for additional funding to hold meetings across England.
Being an artist and a mother has proved to be particularly exhausting just lately, and I’ve had to face the fact that I can’t do everything I’d like to do. The online network (http://artistparents.ning.com/) is getting lively, and various groups are doing it for themselves around the country, so I don’t feel so guilty. The article in a-n magazine seemed to drum up a bit more interest, and I hope to get more opportunities like this to promote what we are doing.
I’ve had a long spell of weighing up all the different priorities in my life; all the usual stuff for artist-parents, so I won’t bore you with the details. In short, after an embarassingly long phase of deep thought, I’ve managed to reach a very obvious conclusion. Mental well being is quite important to art-making and parenting, and stress is very damaging to mental well being. Doing too much is stressful. So there’s the equation. Simple really.
So. Breaking it down into manageable chunks, starting with one meeting in Yorkshire. Just a case of organising it now…
