Hey :)

 
     mEET
     megan                fathArly
Because of biases and lack of research, it's estimated that most women are diagnosed with ADHD in their 30s and 40s, compared to age 7 for boys. For artist and printmaker Meg Fatharly, an ADHD diagnosis at the age of 26 has meant reframing the qualities she always viewed as negative and using her creative process to explore herself.
 
Here, Meg expands on ways to "regulate [her] inner chaos", how she uses social media fluidly, and the importance of searching for internal rather than external validation. Plus, she offers some of the loveliest advice we've heard in a while. Namely, if you enjoy something, let the person responsible know. We hope you're as inspired by Meg's creative journey as we are. Enjoy the interview, then go give some compliments! 
 
Xx
 
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Tell us a little about yourself. Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Meg Fatharly, and I am an artist based in Cornwall. I was born in Scotland and brought up by the coast and I think this is what sparked my return to Cornwall. I'm highly experimental with my processes and really value the importance of creative play. I have worked with some really exciting people, including the V&A, Fortnum and Mason and The Body Shop. 
 
As well as running my own online shop, I run accessible workshops on collage-making and printmaking processes. I really enjoy helping people find their creative voice, and a lot of this comes with individuals giving themselves permission to make. I was diagnosed with combined ADHD at the age of 26, and this has been a massive learning curve in learning to reframe the self-negative talk and begin to show myself the same compassion I hope I put out into the world.
 
What advice do you have for striking a work/life balance?
I have always struggled with balance, and I think the idea of what it is and what it can be is completely individual. I've always found it challenging to switch off mentally and felt in some way that this was my fault. I now know that part of the reason I find balance difficult is because of my neurodivergent brain. Almost a year on from my diagnosis, I am learning about the importance of what consistency looks like for someone with ADHD. By this, I mean that the world projects that the idea of balance it's something we all strive for but perhaps don't know what that looks like for us. 
 
I always felt like a fraud if I couldn't keep something up for a certain period. I felt like I had to be consistently striving for the next thing. I think as a creative I struggle with the grey areas of what rest can look like, and for a long time have felt like I can only rest when I "deserve" it and that somehow working to burnout or the reward, and then I could rest. 
 
I spent the last three months or so reflecting upon finding ways to quieten my mind without feeling guilty, and a lot of this has meant I'm still doing things but at a different pace. I started January 2023 with the idea of using creativity to understand my emotions more and find different ways to regulate my inner chaos. Now, this is knitting; I am making a mood blanket where I have assigned colours to moods and then each day will spend an hour or so in the evening reflecting upon what the days look like for me: ebbs and flows highs and lows. So far, it has really helped me with anxiety and allowing myself to enjoy something that's nothing to do with work. I would say that finding balance between work and everything else is a lifelong juggle. I think a lot of it is about being aware of what that personally looks like for you. 
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What anxieties, if any, do you hold about your life/career? And how do you deal with them?
I think as someone who at times struggles with the idea of self-concept and self-worth, navigating creativity and being an artist is incredibly challenging. Some of the challenges I face with my artistic career are the idea and self-belief that what I'm making isn't enough. I think one of my biggest fears has always been not feeling like I can live up to my potential. 
 
Before my ADHD diagnosis, and currently, as it's something I'm working through, I felt like I could break myself into working harder by making more work and that somehow that made me more valid as a human individual. I think we all look for validation in some form, but when you are reliant on external sources telling and showing you your importance rather than looking internally, it can become quite difficult to see yourself sometimes. 
 
I navigate these anxieties by talking about mental health openly online and the highs and lows of being creative and working independently. I think it's fundamental that people are open where they feel they can be about their own personal struggles because it helps people understand that they're not alone and, as someone who struggled with depression and anxiety most of their life, that isolation and loneliness can be incredibly hard to understand and navigate.
 
How do you deal with procrastination?
Procrastination is a struggle, especially for someone who gets distracted by new ideas. I found myself becoming incredibly overwhelmed with these ideas at times, and this overwhelm leads to procrastination. Dealing with procrastination is something that I struggle with daily, and it's something I'm still working out. I think a lot of this will be about re-framing how I view procrastination.
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How do you navigate social media? Any rules or guidelines you set for yourself?
I have always used social media in a fluid way, as an ongoing travelling sketchbook of my process, thoughts and feelings. I was hacked back in 2021 and lost nine years' worth of documentation and work. That's something I'll be processing for a while. I had to start again, which is something I feel I am forever doing; I am always looking for new and exciting ways of articulating my work online and off. 
 
I really like finding ways to show a narrative of process, and I find reels and collating videos a fun way to show that to an audience. I love to connect with other creatives. I have a real interest in learning about how people see the world through their own visual language. 
 
It is easy to get caught up in false narratives with numbers and an ideal that more is somehow better. It can feel like you are competing against yourself at times, but I think you have to find a way of using it that works best for you. It is important to give yourself permission to try things, there are these prescribed ideas of what you should be sharing, but I have never really followed that. It's boring. I like to keep things interesting and communicate my inspirations, the process behind my work and who I am as a human being. 
 
If you could distil it down to three key messages, what do you hope people learn/take away from what you do?
  1. Never stop experimenting. If you want to continue to evolve and enjoy what you do, give yourself permission to play and learn new skills.
  2. Tell people if their ideas, work, art, or whatever inspires of has helped you. I think people have this idea that if you are successful at what you do, you don't need to be told. You never know whether your words of encouragement could be game-changing for someone who needs to hear it, wherever they are in their artistic journey.
  3. Keep going. 
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What are five things keeping you inspired right now?
1. Sea swimming – I have been going 2-3 times weekly since around May last year, and it has massively helped me slow, and the ritual of going is really grounding.
2. Accountability Art Club – Something I do weekly with a dear pal where we catch up and make art, write and just hold space for each other. As we live at opposite ends of the country, this is done on Zoom. It is such an important part of my week, a period to take the pressure off myself and ground myself in something purely for me.
4. Cornwall. I have been back here for a little over a year. Having left in 2018, I have a newfound appreciation for hidden spots and places in the county out of season. I love it here, of course, but last winter was incredibly hard for me emotionally, so to see small fragments of warmth in an early sunrise or when I'm swimming reminds me never to stop taking in where I am.
5. Knitting – As someone who has learnt a lot later in life that they have ADHD, I am forever finding new ways to regulate my emotions and not reach for self-sabotaging habits. The repetition grounds me and I have been knitting a row a day in the form of a mood blanket where each day I align a colour with a mood. Seeing something build up gradually rather than instantly has been beneficial and ground-breaking to me.
Who do you nominate for the next interview? Why? 
Jess Lea-Wilson is someone whose curiosity about the world is something I admire. She is a writer, food collaborator and designer. I have always loved following her process, work and experiments. She is not afraid to try new things and is playful with her approach to writing. She has a brilliant newsletter has elevates important conversations in a inclusive way. I always feel like I learn something by following her work or reading her newsletter.

 

 

Much love, 
Lilith and Arabella

L+A xx

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NOMINATED:
Jess Lea-Wilson
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Writer and designer 
 
 

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