A bit about me…
I am a designer/educator/coach/researcher. And most recently a mindfulness guide. The question that inspires me most right now is; How can mindfulness help us to navigate change and be more resilient during creativity and learning?
I have been exploring creativity, resilience and learning from many different angles for the last 20 years. I have an MA in Creativity & Innovation from The Edward de Bono Institute of Thinking (Malta). I also trained in psychodrama for 2 years. A method that encourages spontaneity through play, drama and embodiment.
I taught design & design thinking for 18 years at Massey University, College of Creative Arts in New Zealand. Where I also ran workshops to help NFP’s and charities navigate change or break through siloed thinking.
I returned to my own creative practice while living 2 years in New York before returning to my home in Scotland. Here I am developing a new venture called LOOP MINDFULNESS & CREATIVITY.
My inspiration
Moving from New Zealand to New York I knew meditation was going to be my key to sanity but 2 months in I had already let it slip. I needed some kind of constant reminder. I also had many blank walls. So I set out to create a series of contemporary mandalas. Mandalas are used to help the meditator focus on something else other than our whirring thoughts
As it was winter I started with a bare tree branch, however the processes of repetition & symmetry became more important than the motif itself
Reducing the motif to a simple circle, I went in search of an image that would evoke a feeling of balance & 'rightness', that was still complex enough to engage attention like traditional mandalas
As the work evolved the idea of imperfect symmetry evolved too. Perhaps inspired by my own struggles to let go of perfection through meditation practice
