Is Cloning the answer?

Some days I feel like I’m spinning plates while juggling balls - all on a tightrope. Other days it’s less Cirque du Soleil and more comedy sketch: plates wobbling dangerously, balls rolling under the sofa, and me thinking that cloning myself might finally be the answer. (Although let’s be honest, my clone would probably forget what it was supposed to be doing and get distracted by something shiny.

Between running the gallery, keeping my studio practice alive, powering through my MA Fine Art, planning workshops, and family life - it can feel impossible to keep everything in the air. There are deadlines on top of deadlines, WhatsApp groups buzzing, exhibitions to curate, workshop planning and canvases waiting patiently for me to return with fresh eyes and fresh energy. The juggle is real.

But here’s what I’ve realised: the juggle isn’t just chaos, it’s also rhythm. Some plates spin faster, some need rescuing, some drop - and that’s okay. Nothing terrible happens when one slips, and sometimes it even frees up a little more space.

The irony is that in the middle of all this “too much,” there are moments of surprising clarity. I see how each part feeds the other: the gallery gives me community, the studio gives me space, the MA gives me challenge, and my family - well, the jury is currently out on that one

No, no! They give me the motivation and grounding that makes it all not only necessary but possible. And joy. They do bring joy.

It can't be about doing it all perfectly though. It has to be about carving slithers of space, again and again. Sometimes that means saying no, sometimes it means asking for help, sometimes it means laughing when the plates scatter. Because maybe the art isn’t in managing the circus act flawlessly, but in embracing the wobbles and seeing the beauty in the movement.

We live in an age that tells us we can have it all. But the truth is, I don't want it all, all at once - and having it all doesn’t mean doing it all at once. There’s only so much time, only so much energy, only so many cups of tea a day can fuel. So no, I can’t do it all. But I can do enough - and sometimes enough is just right.

This academic year, as I juggle my MA Fine Art alongside running the gallery, preparing new workshops, and ferrying children to their growing lives, I’ve realised the key is rhythm, not balance. Balance suggests a perfect stillness - two sides equal. Life is rarely like that. Rhythm, though - that’s sustainable. Sometimes the family takes the beat. Sometimes it’s the art. Sometimes it’s the gallery. Maybe what matters is noticing when the rhythm is shifting, and not being too hard on yourself when the music changes.

The upside of the juggle? Life never stands still does it? Ideas spark off each other. The gallery informs my own practice, my MA brings new ways of thinking into workshops, the kids remind me what really matters, and painting… well, painting is the thread that holds it all together.

So no, we can’t do it all, all at once. But we can do what matters, when it matters. Lord knows I'm great with a deadline.

If you’re juggling too, I see you. x

Grabbing a bit of Vit D outside the studio Image Jo Thorne Photography