Creativity and wellbeing? They’re the same thing!

Su Melville is both an artist and knitting teacher and loves helping people rekindle their creativity.

“The key to allowing yourself to create is to stop comparing yourself to others and enjoy the process – it’s a journey and everyone is at a different point on their own path.” HOW DID YOU REKINDLE YOUR CREATIVITY? As a qualified accountant, IT specialist and Mum, I’ve witnessed and experienced a huge amount of stress. It took a breakdown to make me take a rest and look at my life – that sounds very dramatic and at the time it was, but after talking to so many people I realise that it could’ve become a lot worse, I was fortunate to get help when I did. As I rested, I was advised to ‘do something you love’ – if you’ve ever been in this position you’ll know why my reaction was to laugh! However, I remembered that when I was little I loved to colour in. When I was five, I wanted to ‘do colouring in’ for a living – it was that or longdistance lorry driving… I picked up some old forgotten paints and painted a picture – I was absorbed for the time I was painting and I loved it! My neighbours watched my progress (thank heavens for a lack of net curtains) and asked if I did commissions… WHAT MADE YOU BECOME A FULL-TIME ARTIST? For 15 years my little art business had paid for holidays, meals out and a new boiler. My kids had grown up earning pocket money from commissions on sales they made whilst helping me run stalls and had now left home to pursue their own careers (which didn’t involve cold days on windy stalls catching paintings!). I took a break from my art business to work an assignment in the states and whilst there I met some amazing mentors who encouraged me to follow my heart. I took a deep breath and quit the day job to teach others how to rekindle their creativity and to create more of my own work. It was the scariest, most exciting thing ever! HOW DID COVID AFFECT YOUR NEW BUSINESS? Covid hit just as I set up my first workshops – timing was not great – my fledgling business skidded to a halt just as it started. However, I do love a challenge and thinking about how to create workshops without being able to share materials caused me to create Pastel Art Kits. I deliberately chose to include professional materials so that everyone could get the best results from their creations, along with an online tutorial (that was a learning curve!). I’m also able to give back by donating £1 from each kit to a named charity – all the wildlife boxes include a donation to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust. I now have eleven kits available! I also have all the tutorials on a Patreon channel so that if you have pastels already you can have a go at the tutorials without buying a kit. WHAT’S NEXT FOR SU MELVILLE? I love learning, I believe it’s a vital component to wellbeing so I’m pursuing my love for oil paints and fascination of people by learning classical portraiture at The Realist Academy in Warrington – commissions taken soon! The Oils are also spilling into my wildlife painting and I’m regularly exhibiting at Technically Brilliant Gallery in Warrington. I also help other creatives cost their work through a facebook group ‘Costing for Creatives’ – you can’t erase all that accountancy training! AND THE KNITTING? This article isn’t long enough! Suffice to say I never do things by half… I love to share my knowledge so if you would love to learn to knit I teach at Cedar Farms in Mawdesley

every Tuesday afternoon!