An artist friend and watercolour teacher has two lovely pearls of wisdom for adults who are struggling to rebuild their creative confidence. She says: “There’s no judgement at this table. Nobody is looking over your shoulder and criticising you.” And my all-time favourite: “You’re not creating this for other people, you’re creating this for you, so who cares if it’s shit.” How wonderful!

Looking back without regret This phrase reminds me of an elderly couple I cared for in Haddenham, UK, in my mid-twenties. I lived in their beautiful, ancient home and worked as their cooking, company and conversational carer. They spoke of their life stories and of things they wished they’d done, places they’d wanted to see. Those conversations reinforced something for me: I wanted a life that, one day, I’d look back on with pride and pleasure, not regret. That way of thinking still guides me whenever I make important decisions.

Because I work across a range of creative media, my mind stays constantly bubbling away with ideas. They don’t appear neatly or one at a time; they overlap, wake me from sleep, spring from conversations, or come to mind as my energy levels allow. So, the “finish one thing at a time” concept surely needs to be applied flexibly rather than with rigidity.

Before this life change to an ‘aesthetic’, I was a proofreader for international academics, with a steady workflow on a range of mostly fascinating topics. I loved it, and I loved the contact with people all around the world, all arriving quietly by email. Perfect for an expert introvert like me.

Then that changed when ChatGPT entered our vocabulary and COVID 19 curtailed our lives. I realised that the work emails had slowed to a trickle. Universities seemed to be turning toward AI for proofreading: a tricky proposition given the nuances of writing an academic paper in English as your second, third or fourth language. I wish them all the best! Serendipitously, I was ready for a change.

Do you find it difficult to finish one creative project before starting another? Do you have cupboards, boxes, shelves, drawers of unfinished work? I try not to, but I do – mostly projects I want to get on to before I’m distracted by other ideas. But honestly, I am very easily overwhelmed by life, but particularly creativity in all its forms and genres. I seem to collect ideas from the ether, and bask in their beauty.

I find being constantly on the move exhausting; I just can’t do it (I need a nap most days). Being somewhat rebellious and going against the trend, I’ve found my own way to live quietly and embrace slow craft. Thinking back, a flatmate looked at me, bewildered, as I petit point embroidered a magnificent Dutch embroidery, and said, “I’m sure you were born in the wrong century.”. Actually, I’m sure a lot of artists and creatives have heard that before too!

When my sister and I were young, we would play a colours/number game at night. We would start at number one, working our way upwards, choosing which number, as a written word, was which colour. For example, for me, one = white, two = yellow, three = red, four = green, five = dark blue, etc. Eventually one of us would fall asleep… We three sisters all must have seen things differently. My younger sister once said to a friend, “Isn’t it interesting how the number four is red, three is blue, and if you add them together, they make seven, which is purple.” She received a side-eye response (and she had a different colour association to mine!).

You may have noticed that I am rather new to watercolour painting! Through my daughter and artist friend Jennifer (read A Mentor Appears!), I found that beautiful colourful adventures were waiting for me in this genre. The best news about starting watercolour painting is that you don’t need to invest in a gazillion new products, as a few carefully selected materials will get better results from the get-go.

I’m so thrilled to share this with you! My Sara Meade Design hand embroidered Aotearoa-themed felt ornaments and watercolour sketches are currently part of the ‘Spring to Summer’ exhibition at the Auckland Botanic Gardens! It’s running until 2 November, and there’s an amazing range of botanical art on display. I’ll be sitting at the visitor’s desk at the exhibition in the morning of Saturday 25 October. Do come and see me ;-)

As a securely introverted artist and designer with an inclination towards ruminating, there’s nothing better for me to still my mind than picking up some sewing or Sara Meade Design works-in-progress and being creative. These activities allow me to bring my focus to what is directly in front of me, and then I can intuitively use my love of colour and form to create something exquisite. Being creative really is good for your health!

My BFF Joanna loves a specific range of sky-blue hues. She visited me recently and sorted through my piles of felt creations, scanning for ‘her’ colours. It was so much fun to watch her excitement. She said she would love to purchase enough of ‘her-coloured’ decorations to adorn a Christmas tree dedicated to my designs! How thrilling!

Here are five talented New Zealand artists and designers whose creations make unforgettable gifts, because everyone just loves receiving hand-made gifts!

1.      Sara Meade That’s me! Given that my work focuses on two main genres, I feel confident in describing myself as a double creative. My exquisite watercolour images showcase the imaginative to the more botanically rooted, and I love exploring the qualities of watercolour and ink on various textures. A truly stunning 2026 Calendar will be available for sale soon. And for something completely different, my elegant hand-stitched seasonal felt ornaments celebrate the beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand’s fauna, including the spectacular pōhutukawa, kōwhai, kakabeak, and mānuka flowers. DIY craft kits are now in development. Visit my shop to find a special gift today. 

One of my first creative memories was sewing three felt animals - a mouse, a sausage dog and a pony. I was astonished that a little paper pattern, a needle, some thread and felt, plus my own hands, could create these cute little creatures. I still have them. When I was about nine, my mother discovered that I could use a sewing machine without having been taught (I had simply watched her closely). From then on, I was making my own clothes, forging quite a distinctive personal style, which carried me through to university and beyond. At the time, I relied on the cheapest fabric remnants I could find in shops or scavenged from Mum’s stash. However, I longed for the day when I could wear clothes made by someone else. Something store-bought. Something with a label.

When I think of offering a gift to someone special, more often than not I will lean towards the beauty of handmade or handcrafted. And if you are on the receiving end of a special gift, what could be more special than something utterly unique that is handcrafted with care and passion. So, with that in mind, I’ve written here about why a handmade gift always outshines a bulk-made gift (in my well-crafted opinion, anyway!).

I’ve always been drawn to the creative world. Growing up in a home surrounded by imaginative projects, where my sisters and I had a compulsively creative mother and writerly-creative father, I was offered plenty of opportunities to dip my toes into exciting projects. This website and gallery of my works marks a new chapter for me, based on personal life changes (our three children are all in their 20s now), health challenges (I have a connective tissue disorder that leads to exciting and unexpected events), and my love of the natural beauty around me. I design and create embellished felt forms and figures, wonderful watercolour works, DIY kits for felt figures , and DIY knitting instructions for snuggly baby knits and chilly toes. More products will be developed and available over time and I’m super excited to be planning for these already.