I was at Salisbury College of art with my good friend Sue.

I was studying graphic design and although it was a great course in many ways, I knew that I didn’t want to go on to work in a design studio creating branded napkins for a living, climbing my way up the ladder.

It may have a been a sensible and methodical life choice but that wasn’t how I rolled back then!

I bought my first vehicle, a 1972 VW combi and went to work on it with painted Fablon ( who remembers that? )

We drove through Europe, picked grapes, did pavement drawings for money, scoured Italian junk yards for car parts, filled sketchbooks and had the most fantastic time.

still can’t get over the fact that it’s 40 years ago…😬

Choosing an alternative lifetstyle isn’t hard when you live instinctively. Perhaps I would have earned more money but being tied to the same thing every day was just not an option for me back then. I was excited to explore the world, live a creative life and see what could happen.

Many artists do not see themselves fitting into a societal norm and to pursue our creative ambitions, we have to take part time work to subsidise that.

I have worked as a sandwich delivery girl, made fresh pasta, painted shoes, worked in galleries, decorated georgian houses and more. All of those jobs made me who i am today and I don’t regret my choices…