I’m feeling incredibly grateful today. We’ve just reached 50 members here in Smidgen of Calm, and honestly… thank you doesn’t quite feel big enough. Welcome @Julie Burns !!! 🙌🏻💜 This little corner of the internet was created to be gentle, encouraging and creatively nourishing a place where showing up as you are is enough. Seeing it grow into a warm, supportive community means more to me than I can put into words. Thank you for: - being kind - sharing your creativity - taking part (in big ways and quiet ones) - supporting not just this space, but each other Smidgen of Calm really does feel like a little pocket of safety on the internet and that’s because of you. Here’s to slow creativity, shared moments, and whatever unfolds next 🤍 I’m so glad you’re here.

Today was one of those proper artist dates that fills your cup right up. I spent the day at the Victoria and Albert Museum filming, wandering, noticing details, soaking in texture, pattern, colour… all the things that make my creative heart do a little skip. I captured so much footage (brilliant 🙌)… which does mean I now have a rather large editing mountain to climb 🙈 but it will be worth it. Museums are funny places they’re not just about what’s on the walls. They’re about ideas. Craftsmanship. Stories. The quiet reminder that humans have always felt the need to make things. For now, here are a few little glimpses from my day before I disappear into editing mode ✂️🎥 And tonight… we’re off to the West End to see Matilda The Musical 🎭✨ From museum corridors to theatre lights I’d say that’s a pretty perfect London day. 🙌🏻❤️

Today would have been my dad’s 86th birthday. I lost him in September, and as you can imagine, days like today invite a lot of quiet reflection. The very first Smidgen Post has been created with that feeling in mind. This artwork is about reflection pausing, remembering, and holding space for the people who shape us. It reflects his life, and the way I still feel him with me, especially when I’m making art. The pic below is of him and me on his 70th birthday and amazingly he flew me round our local area in the plane behind, it was an experience that will stay with me forever 💜✈️ If you choose to join Premium, this is what you receive: - ✉️ The Smidgen Post a monthly piece of original artwork, sent with care - 🌿 A slower, more intentional creative space to return to each month - 💛 Artwork made with meaning, not mass-produced, always personal This first print is already waiting inside Premium, ready to be claimed. It feels really special to be sharing this one it’s gentle, thoughtful, and full of heart. If it resonates with you, you’re very welcome to join us. Sometimes art says the things we can’t quite put into words. A smidgen of calm, Kate

Lately I’ve been revisiting my old printing plates etching plates, lino cuts, collographs and it’s reminded me why I never throw a single one away. 🙈🥰 Each plate holds decisions. Hesitations. Happy accidents. Moments where I learned something by doing. Even when a print doesn’t turn out how I imagined, the plate itself becomes a piece of artwork a record of the process, not just the outcome. I love that about printmaking. It asks you to slow down, to respond, to work with the material rather than against it. I’m currently deep in the middle of writing and building a printmaking course, and this reflective rummage through my plates has been part of that process. I’ll be diving a little deeper than “how to make a print” into why certain marks work, how different plates behave, and how to read what a plate is telling you when something doesn’t go to plan. Printmaking rewards curiosity. And patience. And a willingness to learn as you go. If you’ve ever looked at a print and wondered how on earth did they do that? or felt the pull of ink, pressure, and texture I think you’ll really enjoy what’s coming. More soon 🐝✨

You asked for more of my walks… so I listened. 💜 This video is just a simple wander through the area I’m lucky enough to call home. The light was soft, the air felt gentle, and for a little while everything slowed down.🌱🙌🏻 There’s something about walking familiar paths that feels grounding. The same hedgerows. The same turning in the lane. But always something slightly different if you look closely. I love that you want to see more of this. It reminds me that Smidgen of Calm really does feel like a little pocket of safety on the internet somewhere we can just breathe together for a moment. 🥰🫶🏻🌱 So here’s your permission to pause. No rushing. No striving. Just a few minutes of quiet company. I hope the sound quality is ok I was editing on the train 🙈💜 If you’d like more gentle walks like this, let me know. I’m very happy to keep sharing my little corners of the South West with you 🤍