Growth Unlocked - Embracing Every Piece of Me: The Power of Being Multifaceted

7th February 2025

Wow what a week. So after the ground shaking revelation of I'm going to do whatever art I want I have had a big week of growing into my big girl boots.

For so long, I believed that success required focus and a consistent well displayed niche. That I had to pick one path, one niche, one identity and devote myself entirely to it. I thought I had to be just an artist, that my love for painting and illustration should be the singular defining trait of my creative journey. But I’ve had a realization: I am not just one thing. I never have been. And I never will be. And that is my greatest strength.

I re-found art in 2022 after my nan passed - this wall is the result of healthy escapism I utilised to handle my grief.

I am an artist, yes, but I am also a fantasy writer, a world-builder who dreams of realms and characters that demand to be brought to life. I am a Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast, a lover of storytelling, improvisation, and the joy of collaborative creativity. I am an illustrator, capturing not just the beauty of nature but the magic of imagination. I am a spiritual self-help guide, deeply connected to the esoteric, to energy work, to the mysteries of the unseen.

Beyond my creative pursuits, I am a teacher to my children, guiding them as they grow and discover the world. I am a support system for my husband, walking alongside him in this life with love and unwavering presence. I am a visionary or a better world who sunk eight years into criminology with published papers around situational crime prevention (their hidden under my maiden name). I am a friend, a confidante, a therapist to many—offering insight, understanding, and a safe space for others to be themselves.

And here’s the truth that has finally settled into my bones: every single one of these things is relevant. Every single piece of me is useful, valuable, and worth sharing. I don’t need to force myself into a single mold, to strip away parts of my identity in the name of branding or consistency.

For too long, I felt the pressure to find a niche, to define my work in a way that aligned with what others before me had done. But I am done trying to fit into a space that was never meant for me. There is absolutely no reason why my social media, my business, and my entire online presence cannot be a reflection of all that I am.

I am not here to be just one thing. I am here to be everything I am meant to be. And I trust that the right people—the ones who resonate with my authenticity—will find me. My success will not come from narrowing myself down but from expanding into my full potential.

From this moment forward, I give myself permission to embrace it all. To create fearlessly. To share every part of me. To honor every passion, every calling, every role I play and to display that to the world. Because this—this wholeness—is what makes me who I am.

Self portrait - 2024 - me 34 years old with the neighbourhood turkey

One final point, there is also nothing I regret. I do not regret the eight years I spent studying and researching situational crime prevention because even though I do not work in that field it taught me so much. How to write and how to research, the importance of community and appealing to human nature to prevent crime and genuinely the goodness of people. I don't regret the twelve years I spent in the same job that when I left people literally told me to not let the door hit me on the way out even though I had died for the company over and over again. That job taught me to see my worth when no one around me could, it showed me my strength and tenacity and has made me always, always no matter what job I do be kind to my co-workers even if they are an absolute dangus. At the end of the day we're all just doing our best with what we have.

I don't regret the vet nursing degree I started but dropped after one semester incurring an insane amount to be added to my HECS debt. I don't regret it because I learnt that it wasn't for me and that in my opinion there's a more holistic way to care for animals. I guess what I'm trying to say is, every part of you that you are embarrassed or ashamed or disappointed in should not be that. Every part of you has been integral and essential for you to be the person you are right now in this exact moment. Every second of your history even the bullying, tormenting, harmful experiences have made you un-fuck-with-able but also kind to others, its made you have funny stories you tell others to break the ice but also good advice to give others going through the same thing. Its made you you. And you are perfect because you are the only you that will ever you, there will never be another one. And you people, you outlandishly different and completely one of a kind are the people I am looking for for the next stage of my journey. So jump in non gendered bitches- we're going revolutionising.

Austet (Isis) - the first piece I used fabric to go along with my art and I realised I was on to something, mid 2024.