Creative space
I am one of the one million people in the UK who has the neurological movement disorder, essential tremor, which affects me when I perform everyday tasks. I had all but given up painting, as my shaking hands stopped me from producing the kind of work I visualised, until I joined a series of local workshops and met a couple of wonderful art teachers.
Half way through the first workshop, I was falling behind badly and close to tears with frustration and anxiety, which, of course, made the tremors worse. I simply couldn’t hold the brush steady enough to paint what everyone else was doing easily – lovely, long, straight reeds. After a few deep breaths, I decided it didn’t matter how it turned out. I finished the painting, which didn’t look like anyone else’s, but I decided it was good enough.