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Where did that year go….I just realised I did not do a single blog in 2024….to be honest it was a busy year with so many new projects and ideas coming out it was really full on.


I’m not sure yet what 2025 will bring creativity wise as my mind goes 10 to the dozen most of the time ....always thinking….so many things I want to do or seem like a good idea. I can obviously think faster than I can do and sometimes this can be overwhelming and then I don’t do anything which can then be frustrating and disappointing.


I don’t know if you ever overthink or feel overwhelmed by things you need or want to do…over the years of being an over thinker I have tried to manage my own expectations and I don’t think this has helped.  I think by managing my own expectations I have talked myself out of brilliant ideas and even put myself down which is never good for my self esteem.  I have also tried the daft thing of asking other peoples opinions….and that really doesn’t help anyone.



Sometimes your ideas are bigger than other folks can think of or imagine or handle and so before you have got to the end of what you are thinking they are already saying ….yes dear …which means here she goes again, her and her imagination….they used to say to me …’your imagination will run away with you one day’ I never understood this expression…well why the hell not….I love my imagination.


I googled the saying…it means ….’if you let your imagination or your emotions run away with you, you fail to control them and cannot think sensibly. You're letting your imagination run away with you’……  This is just nuts your imagination and your emotions are you ….the person you are, you dont need to be sensible all of the time ....you need to be free to think and be the person your really are.


I have always had what has been called in the past a 'vivid' or 'over active' imagination but I always tried to keep it limited to practical things …for instance I was a Project Manager in a corporate world and I was very good at it and I loved it….I loved explaining things and always got complimented on my ability to turn a rather dry subject into something interesting and fun….or if we had issues, I never got upset I worked it out and came at things a different way to avoid or fix what they said could not work….I couldn’t have done any of this without my imagination.


Having a vivid imagination can also be isolating, I am sure folks can be jealous or think you are making stuff up or trying to out do them but its not any of that it is just you are so excited to share and bring joy it all comes out a little to fast for some people to handle.


I also know an imagination can be detrimental as it can mean you can imagine things that aren’t good.....like no one likes you or people are talking about you in a negative way…..this I believe is because you think everyone thinks like you and they over think too.....but what I have failed to understand over the years of dealing with these thoughts is ..... in most cases other people aren’t even thinking of you at all they are thinking about themselves and you are not even in their thoughts, you are just imagining it.  There it goes running away with you…yes thats when that saying works ….but not for the fun, exciting stuff.


So after 50 plus years of holding my imagination in check I feel I am now letting it run away with me, bless it I can imagine my imagination is so happy to be free  ….painting, ceramics, writing  ….the list is growing and I love it….I want it to run away with me but I don’t want to miss anything.


I have to be careful not to overwhelm myself, never mind everyone else, but by writing it down I can remember it and go back to it…..it doesn’t all have to happen today but that maybe tomorrows fun…I love a ‘To Do List’….it seems less overpowering and more like just things I want to do, including the boring stuff.



So if you have an idea you want to try and you think you will be laughed at just do it ......don’t overthink and overwhelm yourself with the what if it doesn’t work routine just go ahead and have a go….if it doesn’t work then it doesn’t matter you tried and it wasn’t for you but if it works it maybe the best thing you ever did….and that would be amazing.


Be amazing and shine …..let your imagination run away with you ….let it have fun.




Please visit my website and take a look at my art....this was all done because I tried something I had never tried before and I loved it .....its not always perfect but it is always 100% authentically me........never let anyone steal the joy from your imagination.....you are wonderful just the way you are.




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What a week….do you ever you wonder why people are mean to you ….is it because you are different…different to what ….different to them….?


I was bullied at school so as an adult I have no tolerance of bullies whatsoever and jump in to stand up for anyone who I feel is being bullied ….unfortunately standing up for myself is a different matter….


As I grew up the bullying that had happened to me in my younger years I believe made me act different around people to ensure I was accepted and not stand out, suppressing my natural personality and making me what could be called a people pleaser.


Apparently a people pleaser is a person who puts others needs ahead of their own. They are highly attuned to others and often seen as agreeable, helpful, and kind, but people-pleasers can also have trouble championing themselves - sound familiar?

The problem seems to be that some feelings never really leave you, they lay resting, dormant, waiting for that trigger, the next bully, something that unconsciously reminds you of a situation that affected you in the past.


You can find yourself in a conversation or see something……. a trigger goes off and a feeling you had forgotten about comes flooding back …and the years seem to disappear and you find yourself having a reaction like you did when you first were made to feel that way …..the mind is such a powerful thing.



So in my case the easiest thing to do for my self preservation is to shut down….block it out….but that shuts down not only that feeling but all your emotions, leaving you feeling everything you felt all those years ago and not knowing still how to handle the situation, maybe overwhelmed & numb.

So why do some people seem to make others feel bad? ….I have found over the years its because you are different to them …..maybe your so called difference makes them feel inadequate? None of which you have any control over.


In my case I am naturally happy person, I am chatty and due to my face I smile a lot…..I try not to let things get me down and I try to see the positive in most things & people…


But even my positivity seems to get folks upset …..I have been told I am too nice and my happiness is annoying….these thoughtless comments have definitely affected my confidence…

What then becomes crazy to me is that even by adapting and becoming a people pleaser and being what you think people want is not actually what people want either….you can so easily get lost in who you really are and what you should be ….so what’s the point of even trying to please anyone if no one is happy….especially you?


I feel I want to share something I have never shared before to give an example of how I have been triggered by a situation that took me back to something that in the overall scheme of things was so trivial but so impactful .………


At this point I would like to mention I love to sing and when I sing I have since been told (by a professional) I perform ……


When I was seven years old I was in a choir at school, as I was singing I would have been enjoying the moment and probably jiggling to the music …a right little performer ….at that point I was laughed at and made to feel stupid and embarrassed by some girls in the choir…..I never sang in public again until I was in my 40’s.


At that time I was encouraged by a good friend to join a choir ……the Musical Director was so wonderful and to help me with my confidence I took singing lessons and did some graded exams and went on to achieve a diploma with the London Collage of Music ….and would you believe it was for Musical Theatre ….apparently I am …a right little performer ….if I had not been made to feel so embarrassed and ashamed of my actions at 7 years old who knows my Musical Theatre journey could have started earlier…but that was not the only impact their thoughtless comments caused…..

After I had received my diploma and I had received confirmation from people who did not know me that I could sing, I agreed to do a solo in a concert….this was a big deal…..I started …I got a word wrong …I lost my place…..the choir behind me noticed and fabulously took over and they continued my song until I regained my place, the choir died down and I continued my solo……I stayed on the stage ….I carried on singing….the Musical Director must have seen my face and thought I was going to run….no one in the audience knew that wasn’t supposed to happen, they all thought it was planned as part of my solo and I was actually complemented on how beautiful it was ….me I was devastated….as soon as we got off stage I cried and I cried and I couldn’t stop, I was inconsolable..…I went right back to being 7 years old……I have never sang in public since ……


The bullies from my past had won again…..so even with all the certificates and my love of singing, in my mind that all vanished, I was a 40 + year old woman feeling 7 years old reliving the feeling of being stupid and self conscious … and I shut down. …..my confidence in my ability to perform is again lost….those mean girls won’t remember, or even at the time would have known the affect it would have on me so many years later.


So why am I rambling on about it now….well I was triggered again this week by someone who took it upon themselves to be patronising and make me feel inadequate just because they could not get their own way at that point in time…..the feelings this triggered were awful … I was transported back to god knows where in my past but somewhere I did not want to be.



It seems there are a lot of us out there ….those of us who get triggered by the past, that were subjected to bullying or thoughtless mean people at some time in our lives, some of us lost in the world of people pleasing who put others first and get lost pretending to be something they are not……


If we are affected by triggers from years gone by, we need to share with those we love and love us with no judgement,,,,,,,and find agreement that the behaviour of the bullies and mean people of this world is not acceptable and they have NO power over who we are and how we react - take the love you have inside and around you and push back, be strong, let it wash over you.

I know for myself it won’t stop the triggers…as I said the mind is a powerful thing but holding on to our joy in our own unique way will reduce the impact those triggers and bullies have upon us, it will take away the power from the past and the present and set you free.

So my request to ANYONE that this rambling has resonated with is just be the real you ….



Don't change who YOU really are for anyone ….be confident, be bright, be kind, be everything you want to be, be crazy, be different, be your best self, be joyful, be annoyingly happy, surround yourself with people who love you, animals, nature, love and kindness and happiness…..do what you love to do in your own way…


If you are triggered by someone else’s meanness that takes you back and shuts you down ……just take a breath and remember…… you are perfect just the way you were meant to be….. don’t change you for anyone …..trust in yourself


The inability of people to be as wonderful as you, just the way you are, will drive those mean people just nuts….breathe & smile and remember no one has any power over you …you are your own person and if they can’t live with that, they can jog on….thats their problem not yours …don’t stand back, DO stand out.


BE proud of who you are and the amazing person you have become and will continue to be.


As for my singing……I am sure one day I will sing again….what I do know right now is that when I do I won’t be frightened anymore about how I sound, look or act, I won’t care if I forget a word, those mean girls can just jog on…

Their power over me has been released and I am free.



Whilst you are on my little site, it would be wonderful if you could take time to have a look around and hopefully enjoy my art.

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Updated: Aug 29, 2023

I have had a wonderful week this week and I just wanted to share….

I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I do not see myself as an artist but as an imposter …. but this weekend I had my art exhibited along side other artists and it has had a wonderful impact on me.

I met some fabulous artists who made me feel so welcome, we shared experiences and it seems that as an artist its a standard feeling to not appreciate yourself in the world of art….one piece of advice I received and will keep ….. never compare yourself with another artist….not one of us is the same.


Art comes in such different and diverse forms, different mediums, different techniques….two artists can look at the same thing and see it differently and that goes for lovers of your art too….what is wonderful to one person is not worth the paper or canvas it is painted on to another….but that is what makes art so wonderful…..and comparing your art with someone else’s is just something you should never do….you should always just be yourself ….love what you do and create something you are passionate about and that passion will shine through and draw people who love your art to you.


I also love that artists are so kind and willing to share their art journey and their experiences which I always find fascinating, it is always so lovely to listen to and learn from others who have been through the whole cache of emotions you feel as an artist.

I also met some lovely people this weekend who came to view the collection of art at the Art Show and the conversations I had were wonderful…….


I met a lovely lady who told me she was 94 and an artist herself ….she loved my art….she looked at my latest puffin piece ‘Orkney’ and started to tell me a story of how when she was a little girl of around 8 she lived a Bempton close to Scarborough close to where the puffins and the gannets congregate ….she said in those days the gannets eggs were collected and used as food….. one day she had walked down to the cliffs to watch all the activity of the egg

collecting and as she watched she was looking and leaning very close to the edge of the cliff, a man came over and asked what she was doing so close to the edge …..he then gave her an egg and told her to head home ….he was obviously concerned she was in danger ….she took her egg and ran home safe and sound and they had the egg for tea..……this little story from this lovely lady was so sweet, and to think that my art had reminded her of this memory was amazing….…art moves people in different ways and to think my little puffin picture had evoked this memory from this lady has been very powerful to me ….

….it has made me think differently about what I want to do with my art and what I am trying to achieve …..I want to be able to create an emotion for people ….


I want people to see what I paint and not just see the painting but feel something when they look at it …and that emotion will be different for everyone and it maybe nothing or something, it may bring back a wonderful memory or it may take you to a special place…its the emotion evoked that counts.


I am so happy I took part in this Art Show of 10 artists …that I found quite by chance (a small article in a leaflet I just happen to pick up whilst having coffee) I think things happen for a reason and fate sometimes plays a part in our lives to nudge us in directions we did not realise we were going in….so my journey continues…..


….I am so glad you are part of this journey and I love you allow me to grow, develop and share these little light bulb moments that are having a big impact on me…. thank you for that freedom to be me.


Whilst you are here please take a look at my website you hopefully will see the journey I am on in my gallery & shop.... the different ways I am seeing things as my style is developing and evolving ….the style which hopefully evokes an emotion even if it is only in one person….that means the most.


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Jules Graves
Artist & Maker
East Yorkshire
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