With One Hand Tied Behind Her Back

I’ve fractured my wrist!

That’s the very condensed version of events on 11th August. A quick drive to Emergency and a temporary cast (apparently I’m hilarious under Midazolam), followed by a visit with the Orthopaedic Surgeon who gave me the bad news that the bones had slipped out again and I needed surgery.

I’ve lived 50 years without breaking a bone. This was new territory and I was a little freaked out. Surgery was booked 2 days later and I have reached the 7.5 week mark. I’m in a compression sleeve and a darn sexy splint and pain is finally under control.

So where did that leave my art?

I totally abandoned it. I tried many times to add more layers to my Fragments pieces but I think I threw a lot of them out and I was shattered. I’d built this huge series in my head and (funnily) under the influence of Endone (aka. Hillbilly Heroin) nothing was happening. Surely Artists before me did their best work “under the influence”, so why not me?! Ripped Off!!

I began to think. What did I already have that I’d put off, that was easy and accessible and wouldn’t take a lot of time and energy, and I could do with my left hand tied behind my back?

Enter my Safe Zone — COLLAGE.

And then #squareathon popped up on my Instagram feed and it all came together. Relief and apprehension. I wasn’t keen on throwing Fragments in the fire permanently, but I needed a moment to attach the jumper cables and pop the clutch and roll her down the hill. I think it worked.

I now have an invitation to join Paper Love exhibition Revival Art and Design and Hang About Framing and Gallery from 9 – 19 October.

Now the Husband has declared I can do this “with one hand tied behind your back”! And he’s right. (The Dad Jokes have flowed thick and fast lately).

Squareathon has ended but my collage-ing hasn’t. I’m sharing the daily things on Instagram, both the feed and in stories, with the Instagram linked directly to my Facebook Art Business Page. I’m so excited and grateful to have allowed all those serendipidous moments to collide and bring me here. I was including collage in my Fragments pieces, but now I know it’ll go in a new direction after this.

I hope this encourages one of you to figuratively tie your hand behind your back, think what gifts, skills, and materials you already have, and take that chance. It doesn’t have to be art-related. This was a great moment to silence the noise of competing interests and just do what had to be done.