2023 was a year of repeated grief. My loss was continuous and overwhelming. I embraced colour to resonate with my emotions on a daily basis, and spheres to express the eternal love within my heart. By working with colour and spheres, we can mindfully channel our energy, focus the mind, aid meditation, and relieve ourselves from negativity.

​

The humble bauble is massively underrated. It is expected to sparkle, shine and hugely impress, for a few weeks each year but then, so rapidly and easily discarded. For me, these small nuggets of colour gave me hope and sanity. I found bigger baubles to paint, everything inspired me, around me and from within.

​

The witchballs hung above me at the croft and in the studio, re-energising my space. By early 2024, I was suddenly sidetracked by another idea, expression through "words".

​

The last witchball to be painted was in February 2024 after losing my soul dog Kiki Dee. The smaller baubles were placed in an old decorated steamer trunk. However, during the Christmas period of 2024, I combined the last driftwood I'd collected with Kiki and my other dogs at Tidemills, Sussex, with the baubles to create a "Grief and Hope" tree. I'm waiting for it to shine during Christmas 2025.