I am a director and love my work. I have created a fun, diverse and creative job for myself.

I love making stories that hopefully remind us all of the beauty of human connection and our intertwined stories.

But something happens though, in that marrying of an art that started as a passion and evolved into a job. It is a relationship just like any other. With the passing of time we can sometimes lose track of how to keep alive that spark of creative spirit that feeds everything we create.

I am so grateful for my amazing clients and the many beautiful stories I am trusted to tell. And whilst much of my work is exactly where I set out to be, I am sometimes left wanting to play, yearning to experiment and push away.

I want to get messy and make just because I have something to say. I want to for me, to keep fuelling my passion.

But the further I go in my career, the more nervous I feel about mistakes. I notice this has hamstrung me a little bit. I don’t want to let down my clients or the people around me. So somehow I keep making more of what I already make.

I am hired for what I am known for and what I do. Which on one hand is great and at a time not that long ago was a far away dream I hoped would happen!

But now, a few years in, I notice it keeps me and my work right here. There are so many stories still within me and I need to make them. It’s time for me to step up and come alive.

In 2020, I want to say more and go further. I want to create more heartfelt human stories. Share authentic, inspiring content that resonates and contributes to the world in a meaningful way.

So I’m ending 2020 with my own journey this year. I’ve had to make space for play in order to reconnect with why I got here in the first place. I have learned that I have to create time and make my dance with creativity a priority. I have to feed my soul.

This story and the project around it are my own journey with playing. I have been playing with pottery and my garden and this has ultimately allowed me space to create in a different way but also colours what I do with film and photography. This little 30 sec spot? Well it is me playing too!

This is a story, of me coming alive this year. It’s me trying to speak more of what I want to say, and letting myself be human and messy.

Hopefully this reminds us all of the beauty of human connection and our intertwined stories, and the importance of making space for play at a time of year where we need it most.

Special thanks to Annika Damon for the edit and helping to shoot, and to Zali Bartholomew for filming me in the studio.