I look back and know my path has been very varied and quite enterprising at times, but not lucrative. I was supported by my husband while bringing up my children; I was very fortunate there, it was the times I lived in where it was an option, and I was supported financially and left to get on with things, I could be a free spirit.
After being inspired by somebody who was commissioned by the Art Council I spent serveral months creating community art at Northlands Park https://artcafeinc.blogspot.com/. Additionally, I worked as a researcher on the Basildon Heritage Trail. Through my blog https://basildontrail.blogspot.com/ which featured a compilation of my research, I was invited to write a local history book, and then I went on to write a second one.
Being who I am, not someone who likes to stay in an allotted slot, I have wanted to try other forms of writing to see where it brought me. I have done a beginner's creative writing course and also joined a very fine writing group, the Basildon Writers' Group, sometimes I don't feel worthy as a lot of the writers are geniuses but I hope that it will rub off on me. I also wrote a blog https://lisahornerwriter.blogspot.com/ before I launched this website, which is definitely worth exploring, if not for the written content, I have also interviewed a whole bunch of very interesting people when I did podcasts, either audio or video through the power of YouTube. These are the podcasts that I did mainly around lockdown time. Covid had a lot to answer for but it did get people to be creative and find different ways of doing things.
In one of my podcasts on YouTube, when talking to Geraldine Evans and her daughter Angela Bailey, I talked about the fact that my next step was to get a job. Well, I was fortunate enough to get a job for Essex County Council, after being there a few years I found myself in a very interesting role with lots of variety, it's very creative and there's lots of contact with the general public.
So I have less time to do what I have done in the past, including art. I did a degree in art and design. I do know I'm watching a lot of Netflix these days, so there is time to do more art or writing and I just need to get on with it!
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