This is the next chapter in 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. I have to say that the term 'guides' and 'muses' I find really off putting. The first because it reminds me of dare I say it a lot of new age bollocks and the latter is so highly gendered and any intelligent interrogation of the idea would be exploded by anyone with a modicum of feminist analyisis (Muses are female tend to hover a foot or so off the ground and appear to people like Burns while ploughing).

HOWEVER when I was starting out on my journey as a filmmaker I was incredibly shy, insecure and struggling so I took an an idea from a book by Deena Metzenger from a book of her's Writing for your Life, where she suggests that an artist choose another artist as their muse. And to write letters to your muse and wait for the replies by writing them yourself. So I decided to adopt Derek Jarman as he was a filmmaker who was definately on the margins of the industry but despite that had been incredibly productive. So I wrote to Derek in my journals - I asked him questions and I wrote the replies. Derek I remember was quite brisk precieved roadblocks were not tolerated. The jist of his advice was to 'create anyway'. So I'd really recommend finding a mentor muse who resonates with  you. Frida kalo for an artist with health issues? Anne Redpath for a single parent painter?

(As an aside a wonderful artist friend of mine has asked me to document her work next week in London by super8 so I'm off to reaquaint  myself with the format which Derek introduced me to and sychronistically her parents were at Uni with Derek at Kings ! The world is small and wonderful).