It can't be done on Patreon

They told me it couldn't be done.....really?

I had been considering starting a Patreon project for some time. One day I just decided that was the day and went about building a vision. Looking for wisdom from folk way ahead of me down the Patreon road I watched a few Youtube videos particularly from other artists. I wanted to build a seasonal creativity community away from social media. Everyone said the same thing. You can not build a community on Patreon as it is not set up to achieve that. Well, I am rocking up to say that you can and I have.

My seasonal creativity Patreon space is designed to bring together folk who are inspired by the seasons. I was blessed to train with the late Waverly Fitzgerald many years ago and, ever since, have lived one season at a time. For me, she remains the guru on all things seasonal. I used to write for her website offering wee creative seasonal explorations. It was joyful. I have been a seasonal artist ever since.

I am not only inspired by the season but often resourced by them too. You will find me deep in the summer hedgerow sensitively collecting plants to press, dye or print with. Or you might find me deep in the forest in search of pine cones and toadstools to sketch. So, I just thought others might like to wander along with me. My talented daughter, Molly, (@Hippy Highland Living) made a film about my Patreon intentions and so I launched and waited. I set an inital limit of 30 members as I was planning to offer a live zoom class monthly as part of my subscription. I was a little nervous. There was no need as all the places filled in the first few hours. My very loyal facebook followers had jumped across. This does not, however, make a community.

The first clunky hurdle was getting into Discord. Let’s now dwell on that. However, once there, we all settled in quickly and began sharing seasonal moments. I constructed my subscription offering around my live class and a weekly pdf as well as other pop up challenges and digital gifts. I also (and this is important) set my offerings around what I would be doing anyway. Members were doing far more than just supporting me. I was supporting them and they were supporting each other and so a community was born.

We meet monthly and catch up with a lively seasonal class and work alongside each other on seasonal creative projects. We also meet up in zoom on the Equinoxes and Solstices and do something a little different. At the winter Solstice we made wreaths and in the spring Equinox we made a flower arrangement in a tea cup. We eat cake, drink tea and giggle our way through these very lovely gatherings. I began on the 1st September 2022 and the quality of creative work being created is food for the soul. I have run many community projects over the years but this is, by far, my favourite and most rewarding. We move across different media effortlessly and without grumble (least not to me..) and spark off each other with our creative rabbit holes that we frequently fall down. There is something silently magical about working together yet apart.

It is the small moments that touch me most deeply. Someone sharing for the first time, a kind comment in a zoom, a sharing of a small seasonal shift and so much more. Artists are often solitary beings but, for me, art is a dialogue and a beautiful conversation. Patreon has gifted me this opportunity and I will be, forever, grateful.