May 2021: Sticking to my path no matter what

Right now I’m suffering from a shoulder injury / frozen shoulder: one never knows when one is going to be plunged into prolonged physical agony, so I’m beyond grateful that it’s very slowly showing signs of improvement.

With patience, my Tudor Crescent Village In The City project is starting to pick up steam in that residents on my street are engaging with questions I’m chalking on the pavement outside my house such as “What are you grateful for?” Of course some kids had to chalk a dick at some stage, but I welcome any form of creative engagement! I also began Director at Host Leadership, Mark McKergow’s Village Builder training, which I’m feeling energized and motivated by.

It would seem that always when I’m at a low ebb (being out of work), a hugely talented, sexy and hard-working artist comes along to who inspires me not to diverge from my artistic path no matter how hard it gets: the actress, singer and dancer, Tracie Bennett was that angel for me this month. Below is a video of her that I couldn’t stop watching.

A connection of mine, Jaume, said of my composition, ‘Chocolate’, “You’re a bomb of talent - amazing!” Comments like this mean the absolute world to me.

I continued trying to get my mixed media art shop off the ground and came up with an artist statement which some strangers in the art business loved. I also carried on with last month’s project of making a piece of art a day: it’s been such fun experimenting on the dot pad I bought in Amsterdam and stitching flowers out of organic fabric remnants with my new sewing machine. My work it attracting the attention of curators on Instagram but it’d be good to actually sell something.

Working on my allotments continues to calm, delight and give me a sense of connection to the planet. The persistent cold and rain throughout May have made it a difficult growing year, but the gladioli are multiplying fast in my potato patch, the aquilegia I grew from seed last year is flowering, and I’ve had an amazing display of poached egg plant. Alongside this I’m still educating myself about eco-living through listening to the Beaming Green podcast.

The Poetry Project in New York published my poem, ‘Untitled’ which was inspired by an online workshop entitled, Space XXX: Space, Eros and Colonial Entanglements with Daisy Atterbury and Naima Yael Tokunow. You can check it out here: 'Untitled' by Gemma Boyd