I'm a teacher of art and design, a photographer and a celebrant. I've taught Graphic Design GCSE and A level for many years, along with a few other subjects. I've been a wedding and portrait photographer for over ten years and for the last year, I have been a celebrant, specialising in custom celebrations of life when someone very dear to you has passed away.

These different careers may all sound a little disconnected, but I assure you that they're not. I've always loved writing and come from a family of story tellers. My passion for photography (especially old black and white photographs), runs along side this and they come together to enable me to tell beautiful life stories about ourselves or our loved ones.

The workshops that I run are about keeping memory journals for us to cherish, making sure that we don't forget those times that were so important to us. The act of making these journals is a creative, mindful process.It can quiet our minds and help to relieve some of the stress we are feeling at such a difficult time. This is something that I did after the devastating, sudden loss of my husband and I have worked with other young widows, through the Widowed And Young charity foundation over the last few years, giving journal prompts and suggestions for presentations.

I also run workshops that are about our plans for the future, setting goals and writing affirmations to inspire and motivate us and to appreciate the small things in life. At all my workshops I teach journalling and presentation ideas, so that each piece can stand alone as a framed memory, or be part of a bigger project. I hope to see you at one of the events planned for the coming year.