Reframe Your SIDE PROJECT
A four-legged robin, a monster and details of our next workshop
Before we get into this, a PSA: On 15th April, 12-1.30pm at Projects Ship Street, we’re running Reframe Your SIDE PROJECT. It’s a 90-minute workshop for people who want to get out of their own way and get moving on a project they care about.
Book your place here, or send us a DM for a free ticket if you’re a member of Projects Brighton or a paid subscriber to our Substack.
When I was seven, I drew a robin with four legs. My teacher pointed it out in front of the class, and everyone laughed. That settled it in my head: I wasn’t observant enough to be good at art. I passed my felt tips onto my little sister, and my teachers and parents encouraged me to write, which I was good at.
I believed that I could write, but I was no good at the visual arts, for nearly thirty years. Then, at 36, I volunteered at a box painting workshop at Charleston Farmhouse. One of the participants didn’t turn up, so I was invited to join in. Hesitantly, I picked up a brush and painted a weird monster inspired by a book I’d been reading.
At that workshop, something clicked. It wasn’t “maybe I’m good at art after all.” It was something much more useful than that. I realised I don’t see things like everyone else.
I don’t think my problem was ever ability. I think I’d just been measured against my teacher’s definition of what the skill should look like, which was: a drawing of a bird should look like a real bird. And being a child, I’d accepted that definition without question.
Thinking about this recently made me wonder if a lot of side projects stall for the very same reason.
Creativity is emerging as a critical fifth pillar of health alongside nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management. We started SIDE PROJECT to help people feel good about their creative practice, and make it a regular priority.
Our next workshop, Reframe Your Side Project, is on 15th April, 12-1.30pm at Projects Ship Street. This is not a “how to be more productive” session, or a goal-setting exercise. It’s something a bit more personal than that.
We’ll be looking at the belief underneath your project. The unexamined assumption about what it should be, who it’s for, what success looks like and what becomes possible when you let go of that.
There’ll be time to work on your project too, which, based on our first event, is the bit people didn’t know they needed but loved the most.
Places are limited – it’s small and worth showing up for.
£10 a ticket, or free if you’re a SIDE PROJECT subscriber on Substack or a member of Projects Brighton.
Book your place here or send us a message.
If the four-legged robin resonates, maybe we’ll see you there.
4 legged Robins sound pretty cool!