Growing up in my family, i was a very sensitive child, i carried a lot of empathy, i would crave closeness to my Mum, i would want to stay home from school, i would get separation anxiety and often not feel settled. Feeling calmer and settled with outdoor play, creative play, art classes and hands on craft lessons down at the local shops.
Often lost in these experiences of imagination, feeling at ease, excelling at all the practical subjects in the school environment, not quite grasping the concept of academic school work, often feeling very overwhelmed with tests or book work i felt like it didn’t make sense, re-reading the same line over & over, why were these questions so hard? Did anyone else find these tests hard? Why was our achievements based on getting everything right and failing if you didn’t get at least half your questions right?
Never feeling enough, smart enough, competent enough.
Raised to always try my best, effort was important, i was always trying, forever trying to achieve those high scores to fit in and meet those standards, the peer pressure of being stupid, or why couldn’t i reach those marks like my friends. The usual school reports saying if Emma just applied herself or focus more she could show potential, you know, those typical remarks of a square peg fitting in a round hole.
I started to really struggle, multiple visits to the doctor, multiple visits to psychologist, constant stomach aches, constant anxiety, constant panic attacks, constant meltdowns and masking for my school life. Why can’t i be like other kids, why do i feel things so deeply?
Continued through my high school years, it was much the same, finding respite in creativity, the same standard school reports of if she only applied herself better, if only……..
So i turned my hobby or creativity into a small business, by year 9 & 10 in high school i created my own business and with the support of my parents funding my new adventure, i made jewellery and sold it at school, at markets, to friends of friends, this expanding into bags & accessories, i made the choice to leave school, work in a retail store that sold art, craft & fabric supplies, it was the best of both worlds.
This started the life of being an artist, being a creative & being me!
This lead me to drawing, doodling and finding my happy place, i created art journals, and through the support of a friend i was able to get an apprenticeship in a tattoo studio, what an opportunity! Working for minimal wages, cleaning, watching, learning, soaking up all the knowledge of my teacher, it was the best, i slowly but confidently made this my career, some of the best times in my life! I was living my best creative life!
Leading to getting married, have 3 gorgeous children & growing as a mother i put that career path on hold, i spent years of watching my children grow, we created all the time, we were always making, learning, playing, growing, our home was the most creative environment, i was filled with items for creative play, art supplies, outdoor mud kitchens, inside kitchen for play dough making, cupcake making & memory making.
I tried to go back to the tattoo studio as a now mother, i felt different, it didn’t spark that same joy, it wasn’t as exciting, i had changed, i had grown, my life had different priorities, i knew i wasn’t who i use to be so i again, created the life i wanted, i was the type of person that needed purpose, to wake up and do what i love, every day wasn’t perfect but we focused on our strengths and started to blog our family creative adventures, we inspired others and ran some of the most brilliant fun filled hands on sensory kids art & craft workshops, with my 3 children being the biggest inspiration.
We are a rainbow filled neurodivergent family and we empower these strengths moving forward, we focus on our amazing abilities and embrace what they offer, they are not a hinderance, they are our superpowers, we are changing the patterns of not being enough, not fitting the mould and love our very unique brains. Learning that we don’t have to fit the systems, we inspire others to embrace their unique selves and love the diversity this world offers. We learn constantly from each other and understand one size doesn’t fit all.
Blending my experience & passion to study HICAT art therapies was easy decision, to blend all these past experiences into creating the future. Friends asking me to run arty birthday parties, local support to help children with art lessons, schools asking me to teach art. Opening our art space to children healing from trauma, friends children feeling safe in our space to talk about their struggles with domestic abuse, the opportunity to care for foster kids and watch them grow and heal through creativity, watching children make sensory potions.
Our home felt like a sanctuary for both Mothers & children, providing both and indoor & outdoor studio spaces, it was a moment of peace to see how this was needed in our local community, the rules were a little different in our studio.
Watching children be creative but an underlying fear of holding back, scared to get paint on their hands, scared to get paint on their art aprons, to worry about paint spurting out of a bottle, getting crayon marks on the table or table cloth, to look anxious and be scared to engage in create imagination, looking at adults to see if they were watching for approval. There was something different in what i was offering, there was joy, playfulness and mess, it’s all ok in our space, it’s safe!!!
You are allowed to explore, you are allowed to play with glitter, you are allowed to get messy, you are allowed to get muddy, you are allowed to get paint on your hands, you are allowed to try something new, you are allowed to get up from painting and play on the trampoline, you are allowed to make mistakes & learn, you are aloud to express yourself with creativity, you are allowed to play music and make art, you are allowed to be yourself!!!
Now planning for a future of even more adventures & creative memories. Planning and dreaming for an even more magical space to help, support & empower children through art therapies.
There is passion, excitement and joy! There is a purpose in these life events that lead to this moment and it was a natural process of life unfolding at the right time.
There are opportunities opening and feeling like the universe is rewarding me for following my purpose, with ease and the process of flow, life is unfolding and am being guided and whole heartly supported.
Finally, i feel like i am truly myself, no masking, watching children be themselves is a gift! Growing, changing, evolving each day to watch this process of creating an art studio idea grow into a business, planning for the future to be self employed with purpose.
Ema Lou kids art craft 