Creativity – Zoë Brigley

Loving Vincent

on October 24, 2017October 24, 2017 By zbthompson

I saw the film Loving Vincent last week, and it was just incredible. Here is the blurb: “I saw 50 or 60 painters painting, and someone told me: ‘Oh it’s you! I’ve been painting you for six months.’ Probably a lot of them knew my face better than I,” jokes Robert Gulaczyk, who plays Vincent van Gogh [...]

Poetry: why experiment?

on April 4, 2017April 4, 2017 By zbthompson

I heard today that some of my poems are going to be included in the anthology The Edge of Necessary: Welsh innovative poetry 1966-2016. I started thinking about the particular kind of experimentation that I enjoy, and where that urge comes from. It put in my mind a particular moment. In 1985, when I was 4 [...]

Motherhood and creativity: some thoughts on time

on April 30, 2016April 30, 2016 By zbthompson

One of the most positive things that has come from motherhood for me is the sense of time and ritual. Before kids, my life worked on the principle of spontaneity – whatever I wanted to do in a particular moment I did. No timetables for me. But as a mother, I have found a new appreciation [...]

Motherhood is Valuable for the Creative Life

on April 20, 2016April 20, 2016 By zbthompson

Whatever way you look at it motherhood entails sacrifice. While the all-sacrificing mother is a reductive and unhelpful stereotype, it is a fact that as a mother you have to give up time, space, and energy for your children. This could mean stopping what you are doing every few hours to breastfeed. It could mean [...]