THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY! (and the first few days of June!)

In the last few weeks I have felt a bit stretched - but May has been full of landmarks, frustrations, little victories and promises fulfilled, some big, some small and in all sorts of random areas of my life.

In no particular order, here’s just three of each:

Landmarks include the online release of American psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig’s Zoom interview with me about my ‘Know Your Crazy’ (KYC) book and boxset. You can see it at: https://bit.ly/3hxqYi5

I helped nurse a close relative back to health after a major operation – they are now passing landmarks of their own!

Rather more sadly, Chris and I marked the first annual anniversary of the deaths of two close friends.

The main frustration has (not surprisingly) been the ongoing story of Covid 19 and how it is interfering with plans we would love to make!

By rights I should have been in Colorado last week! Rene Harbison invited both Cindy da Silva and me to join her for a few days of All Things Outdoors and All Things Spa. She suggested that the three of us ‘Know Your Crazy’ women take some time to celebrate our collaborative effort – the ‘KYC’ book and box, ‘decompress’ a little, have an adventure and make a few plans. Oh well…ONE DAY!!

The ‘Chris White Experience’ has hit a few obstacles with companies that we need to use for the output of physical CDs. They are suffering the effects of Covid 19, even closing. However, these are obstacles we can overcome and we will continue to produce output, but we really do feel for the plight of some of those involved in this area of creativity.

Third frustration – Technology – don’t ask!

My first little victory is that what should have been a ‘Know Your Crazy’ book tour last year, (so starting as another frustration), has morphed into an online monthly Book Club (little victory), which I am enjoying immensely. It really is great to hear how the pictures resonate with people in such different ways, and has been good for me to reassess all of my pictures. The fourth of these Clubs is on Wednesday 9th June and we will be looking at 3 images - ‘Internal Fear’, ‘External Fear’ and ‘Life Is Magic’. Maybe see you there? You can get there via: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73769713639?pwd=bDNLYU9RRkRMWGozVjJYeUxIQkJjZz09

I had my second Covid vaccination

I mowed a lawn! Haven’t had one of those for over 40 years. I am loving our new spac

So – promises fulfilled. The ‘Know Your Crazy’ team was finally ready and able to make a donation from the funds raised by the generous contributors to our 2020 ‘KYC’ Indiegogo campaign. Rather than setting up our own charitable fund, it turned out that the smartest way to use the money was to make a donation to an already established charity. We donated $1000 to ‘Arteamor’. This charity helps children affected by violence, abuse and human trafficking and works with them using creativity. You can read more about Arteamor here: https://www.arteamor.org

Again, connected to the Indiegogo campaign - The unofficial soundtrack to the ‘Know Your Crazy’ project is ‘Hold Your Head Up’ (a Chris White / Rod Argent song). The three women who purchased the campaign’s Diamond Perk (plus some of their youngsters) have now been into recording studios to add their voices to an A Cappella version of the same. We are working on that mix right now in the UK. More about this one soon.

And one promise I made to myself - I finally threw out (and gave away) some old clothes that will never fit again! Does that count?

Well - THAT was quite a useful exercise!

Covid restrictions loosened up a bit recently, and having finally been allowed to entertain friends and family at home again, I think the most interesting lesson I (re)learnt in May was, that being in close contact with children again, reminded me that living ONLY in the present moment really does have a lot going for it!

Happy June!

MENTAL HEALTH AND THE ‘KNOW YOUR CRAZY’ BOOK

Time and again I learn about little differences between the UK and USA.

Since launching a book in the USA whilst living in the UK, I have become conscious of celebrations being marked at different times of year, eg. Mother’s Day 2021 in the UK was 14th March, in the USA it will be 9th May.

Regarding awareness campaigns, again we are different - Mental Health Awareness Month in the USA is the whole of May. In the UK, Mental Health Awareness Week is 10th-16th May and Mental Health Month occurs in October. Internationally, mental health awareness is symbolised by a green ribbon, and World Mental Health Day is on Sunday 10th October.

This March, along with my ‘Know Your Crazy’ colleagues, I was part of a Zoom* with Maya Azucena (singer and activist) and Dr. Robi Ludwig (Psychotherapist and reporter). The Zoom event was called ‘Embrace Your Crazy’ and was a conversation about our ‘inner critics’ and also covered the subject of hysteria.

This introduction to Dr. Robi Ludwig has led to more interviews and frank conversations with her about mental health. To my delight, she rates my ‘Know Your Crazy’ book (and the boxset of prints) highly.

We have talked further about the immediate impact of pictures and their usefulness as a communication tool, a ‘shortcut’ allowing us to relate our inner feelings and emotions – often with more instant accuracy than words.

The ‘Know Your Crazy’ images do confront us with our anxieties, fears, our confusion, comedy and tragedy, but in an unthreatening and creative way which makes starting up a meaningful and honest conversation a lot easier.

I am really happy that the pictures spark constructive communication. Even in my own experience I have had feedback from a very wide demographic (a 14 year old girl and a 90 year old lady spring to mind). I have also heard from men.

Our society is becoming more honest about speaking out, but the mental health sector is chronically underfunded and unable to reach or help everyone in need. We live in anxious times and the strain on the health system is all too apparent.

Help usually begins with ‘being allowed’ to be truthful and frank. Simply being heard and being allowed to express uncomfortable feelings, either with a friend or with a professional, can prevent worse mental states developing.

Visualising and expressing thoughts via art is not a new concept by any means but I am glad that this book has helped some people to recognise some of their own states of mind. By shining a light on specific feelings we can often find that they are insignificant, even funny.

Words are easy, actually seeking help for real can be the most difficult part, but I am inclined to favour believing that humans are basically kind, and that we want to help each other. Reaching out, being vulnerable and honest are risks sometimes worth taking. Nobody can help us if they are not aware that there is a problem.

I wish you all a great month of May and ‘a good mental health month’ every month of the year.

*You can still see the “Embrace Your Crazy’ Zoom, organised by Cheryl Benton/The Three Tomatoes here: https://youtu.be/n6_qo5fU63E

*My interview with Dr. Robi Ludwig will be aired soon – details of that and my monthly book club can be found at: www.knowyourcrazy.net

Inner Landscapes

This December sees the release of a book of my drawings - ‘KNOW YOUR CRAZy’. It is officially released on 15th December and you can find out more about it at: knowyourcrazy.net It has been a rollercoaster journey, but in the middle of November I received 5 books in the post from Rene Harbison who has done such an amazing job printing these drawings, and all the hard work and the steep learning curve has been REALLY worth it.

The next big thing will be receiving a boxed set of 8”x10” prints - I can’t wait to see them. I have had a number of interviews since the books got made. Though I am not used to talking so publicly about my visual work, a couple of things have already become apparent when talking about these drawings. Firstly, it has been brilliant to realise that these pictures resonate so immediately with people, but even at this early stage I am becoming aware that when explaining the initial inspirations, I am wanting to hold back a bit. Not because I disown any of these feelings or mental states, but that I am a bit reluctant to ‘overwrite’ the instant personal reaction a viewer gets from seeing the images for themselves - and I love hearing about people’s own interpretations of the pictures.

The book itself was the brainchild of Cindy Da Silva, and has since, with the help of her amazing team, and with the vision of Rene Harbison, become an actual physical book. And a boxset of prints! And I love it!

This brings me to the second thing I have become aware of being asked about - and that is what it is I want to say with this book?

I have come to see it as as a book that starts conversations about our ‘inner landscapes’. Sometimes these are tricky subjects. Though it is quite a lighthearted book at first glance, it resonates and connects in a very deep and basic way. It lets us know we all experience many of the same insecurities, joys and foibles and it is ok to laugh at ourselves or get ourselves help. It is complex being human!!

A percentage of the profits of this book will be going towards the ‘Know Your Worth’ charity. Our hope here is to give a talented female the means to get into further education within the creative field. We will always need more women in the arts.

Once more a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped with getting the book out there. Also a huge THANK YOU to everybody who contributed to the crowdfunding campaign - I will be seeing some of you soon for a chat and a singing session! Look forward to it. I wish everyone a wonderful 2020 Christmas.

Keep safe and keep going.