Mum Stories - Claire Newton
/As part of Isabella and Us. I will be bringing you a brand new blog series where each week a mum shares her story. I believe it is vitally important that we share our honest, vulnerable and incredible stories of our motherhood journey.
** Please be aware that you may find some of the stories potentially be upsetting or they may trigger something for you. If you do need further support please do seek advice from your GP or a mental health professional.
This week Claire Newton shares - Is work/ life balance really possible when you're a mum? Being freelance/ self employed sure has its perks but it can also feel a little lonely, unsettling and 'constant'. This blog post is about how I look to find and create balance and help others do the same.
A little bit about Claire:
“ In 2015, we made the decision to move away from the bright lights of the city and into the dark skies of Northumberland.. We bought a 98 year old home with a view of the ocean and in the summer of 2017, as our little boy turned 3 we opened a yoga/ wellbeing studio inside our home.
Our goal as a family is to spend more time in nature. We have adjusted our life to spend less time ‘at work’ in the typical way and are both passionate about having our son grow up in a calm and creative environment.
For the last 16 years, I have worked in arts management. I am a mentor for creatives passionate about sharing systems for unlocking creativity, consciousness and productivity with a focus on work/ life balance.”
Claire’s Story:
After feeling super burnt out in Winter 2017 from a contract that became tricky, I knew I had a choice. Fall apart or get creative, I chose to create!
I have my wonderful son (who is now five) to thank because, the thing is kids just don't let you rest. They look at you (often at 5am) with all the adoration in the universe and as my biggest cheerleader I saw myself re-invented in him.
The goal - to diversify my income streams, to be focussed on testing and adjusting the way I showed up both for my family and in my work. I made a huge shift towards prioritising wellbeing and personal creativity. It was a game changer!
I also made the decision to show up online!
Late to the party in lots of ways - I'd always just had my accounts set to 'private'. I got curious about what being 'out there' meant, found like-minded creatives and other mums online. What a party!
I started a website for my company and an instagram account.
My focus - to share more of who I am and the struggles of being a wholehearted creative in a society that often seems driven by a completely different ethic.
I’ve been self-employed since 2008. 11 years and a way of life that has seen me travel all over the world, write for publications, work with creatives across UK, fundraise hundreds of thousands of pound for arts and culture for children, deliver festivals, events and make space in it all to hardly ever miss a bedtime story. I’m also a reiki master.
My income provides three quarters of our household income and I’m so proud of the work I do. I make space each week to create – it could be writing, a knitting project or book making (my 2019 obsession). I also prioritise self-care. I have a spa membership and love to spend time with our chickens in our allotment garden.
The Artist Boat
My self-directed coaching programme for creatives brings all the experience I’ve had as a project manager into a playful structure focussed on breaking down fear, enhancing abundance and taking up space.
Creatives can often operate from a place of lack and fear. We get burnt out because we give so much to projects and find it hard to say no to work. By teaching women how to prioritise wellbeing, rest and personal creativity life becomes richer, more exciting. We are able to make huge amounts of space for ourselves.
The intention is to move people through a set of self-awareness practises to sharpen their understanding of their unique gifts and quiet the noise of everything else.
‘Mum-life’ can tell us we’re confined to our four walls, the school run, our exhaustion but when we better understand our Artist Boat we can literally go anywhere we choose.
To daydream is a choice and to bring those BIG dreams into practise is something that exists for us all.
