Loneliness is on the rise in Australia, I imagine we are not alone, and it is happening globally.   It is not fussy about your age or gender
According to the APS (Australian Psychological Society) one in four Australians feel lonely.  During the 2020 and beyond lockdowns, this number may have been significantly higher.  There is a plethora of information and statistics on the internet regarding loneliness and it’s mental, physical and health factors.  The facts are frightening.
I know when I moved to Melbourne coming up now 27 years ago, I didn’t know anyone.  There wasn’t any family here, initially there weren’t any work colleagues, it was me on my Pat Malone.   I found the loneliness extreme for the first three months.  It was a fight to keep mentally positive.   To meet new people, I attended courses such as photography and golf lessons.   Each of them got me out of the house and meeting new people.  It was an opportunity to break the isolation factor.
Recently, I was running one of my art classes and, it caused me to think back to my own efforts to fight loneliness.  I listened as the conversation hit a crescendo of multiple conversations, laughter and connection.
Could art classes help the loneliness epidemic?  Could those few hours each week, create deeper connections, could they foster a feeling of community and belonging?  I believe it can.  Those few hours of sitting in a room with likeminded individuals, deep in thought, or sharing titbits of daily life, recommendations of a movie or recipe, or a glimpse into family life, as you create, paint, and draw, transport you into another world.  Does a world of connection and creativity, enjoying a new hobby or interest, come from those regular art classes?
What re your thoughts?  Do you think art and art classes could help with the loneliness epidemic?  Please leave your comments below.

Featured Artwork:  Cityscape on the River

As much as we would love everyone to like our art, it's impossible.  We all have different tastes, budgets and opinions. Did you know if you have an artist in your life, for that matter anyone with a small business, you can still support them, it's not just about the sale. 
Your support is just as important as the sale.
Here are 5 ways to support a small business or the artist in your life. 

Follow the business on the socials. Social media plays an important role in helping to grow the visibility and reach of the artist.  If you share their posts and work, this has a huge impact on them being able to build their community.  Liking, loving and commenting on posts also assists with the algorithms on the different platforms and shows you value their contribution. 

Go to the show. Artists participate in open-call exhibitions, solo exhibitions,  and open studio events.  Attending an artist's show or event is one of the best ways to support them. By showing up you are supporting them, showing you care about them and their work.  There would be nothing worse than going to all the effort of putting on an event and there are very few people in attendance or no familiar friendly faces  as moral support.  

Word of mouth is one of the most valuable forms of advertising.  Talking about your family or artist friend to others is a great way to introduce new people to their art.  Ask if they know the artist, if they don't suggest they look them up, or even better, share a link to the socials. 

Attend an art class.  I am a bit biased on this, as you probably know, I run over a hundred art classes a year.  It's a numbers game when it comes to running classes. Classes going ahead generally come down to the numbers being enough for a class or program to go ahead.  If you have always wanted to join a class, why not enrol for a class?  You never know, you might find your passion for art.

Shop local.  Have you ever been stuck with having to buy a gift for a surprise invitation?  Local artists often have framed artwork ready to go.  Check in on your local artist, to see if they have an artwork to your taste and budget.  If you are local, they may even offer to deliver on the day. 

There you have it, five simple ways to support a local artist, family member or friend.  You will be surprised how much they appreciate your support.  

How do you support your local community, small business or artist?  Comment below. 

​Featured Artwork: Cityscape on the river

For as long as I can remember, I have always had a community around me. Growing up in a small outer suburb in WA, I belonged to the church youth group, at school I was part of the Rotary club for juniors.  Being part of a community has always been important to me. I continued to build a community well into my adult life, including founding Connect Her Women's Business Network. A pesky little virus ended that prematurely. 

Community is where we come together to serve, through service, we then grow as individuals.  It creates an opportunity to learn, teach, experiment, develop and well-being. 
There is a certain joy in sharing knowledge, learning from others, trying new things and opening up growth opportunities, whilst building new connections. 

Recently, I visited a new community of creatives.  I was blown away by the diversity of artists, the acceptance of new people, the sharing of knowledge and the offering of genuine and authentic feedback. 

The artwork you see here came from a conversation at the beginning of the morning and led me to experiment on the day. It is completely different to what I normally produce, it was fun, it was exciting and most importantly, it was created in a safe environment. 

Communities can come in many forms from art classes, creative circles, and monthly paintouts to pizza and paint days.  Belonging to a community and developing relationships with other creatives is a surefire way to grow and expand your skills.  You never know what life brings!


Do you belong to a community or would you like to be part of one?  Comment below.  

"The stories of our mind, become the stories of our lives."  I'll never forget this saying; from the CEO of a company, I was involved with a few years back.  What we feed ourselves comes out in our skin, hair, nails and our figure. Yes, let me tell you, I have a sweet tooth and know if I give in to the chocolate cravings, the scales find out very quickly.


So too is what we feed our brain.  You know, the little nasty conversations we have with ourselves. Those snippets of useless information such as, I'm not good enough, no one will like this, I have no talent, I'm a fraud, I'm useless at this. Toxic conversations we have with ourselves.  We would never talk to our best friend, family member or neighbour this way, yet we allow ourselves to participate in this one-way hurtful conversation. 


What if we turned the conversation on ourselves and spoke as though we were speaking to our nearest and dearest, replacing admonishment with praise?  Hurt for joy, negative for positive, sadness for happiness?  Imagine how we would feel about what we do in life.


It doesn't matter if we're talking about creating art, gardening, writing or any matter of hobbies or tasks.  Being kind to others starts with being kind to ourselves.  
Next time you are about to have a nasty conversation with yourself, take a breath and replace the negative chitty-chatter with a healthy dose of positivity and praise.  You know you can change your story, it might just change your life.  

Do you have positive conversations with yourself?  How do you stop negative self talk? Let us know in the comments below.