I love the idea of this, and I never grow tired of hearing others' success stories.
Also, the reality is that countless women, like my mother, don't live to see their talent flourish as it could have with more freedom and more years of life.
My mother died of cancer at age 53, the age I will be at the end of May. I myself just exited a life inside a lifelong extremist religious patriarchal box five years ago, and most of my life energy still needs to go to my large family of modest means, with eleven children still living at home, including three with significant disabilities.
I draw personal strength from practicing radical acceptance of reality and non-attachment to outcomes.
Some of my favorite artists and women I look up to as someone fresh in her 20s! I am 22 and so appreciate these pieces of wisdom. Social media makes us afraid of change. It paralyzes us with overconsumption and choice while still telling us that is too late to arrive at any one path. After deleting my socials (other than Substack ofc), I’ve found much more “success” by pursuing my own curiosity and finding inspiration through lived experience. I no longer fear change or my own impulses to challenge preconceived beliefs and enter new roles. We don’t need to be fixed, define ourselves or have a “brand.” The only label we need is human.
such a lovely piece. i recently turned 30 and if there's one thing that has become clear it's that limiting belief i used to hold of "running out of time" is 100% societally fabricated. i can recognize now that i needed to live the life i had up to this point to even begin to be ready to actually pursue my creative callings. i needed that time to build up the confidence to do so and to explore my own voice and vision. i frequently remind myself of women who didn't "find success" in their work until later in life or didn't even START their practice until their 40s/50s/60s and i find it so comforting and inspiring. love everything about this!!
Thanks for sharing! It’s certainly reassuring to have these names and stories to muse on when societal pressure bubbles up! I’m glad the piece was so relatable and empowering for you 🫶🏼
I couldn’t agree more! Also 30, and I know I needed my meandering 20s to find my vision and voice. I always think too, most authors don’t publish their first book until 36 and many prolific writers much later!
Oh my god oh my god oh my god! I never clicked on anything so fast! This fear is so real, as someone who’s pushing 33 and still on the verge of releasing my first music everrrrr.
Ha! Turning 60 is QUITE a bit different from turning 30. I appreciate the examples. I reframed the “running out of time” anxiety into “time to leave a legacy!” motivation. 😀First book of poetry coming soon!
Love this, also makes me think of the artist Hilma af Klint. There’s a great book about her called The Friday Night Club, she was an artist in the late 1800s who locked away her art after she died so it could be viewed when women’s art would be taken more seriously. Her most prominent pieces were created late in life and with the support of her fellow friends around her age. Another reminder that the groundwork you set now can flourish and bloom at any moment!
I would add to this that there is a creativity, freedom and depth that can't be accessed until later in life. While it may feel "too late" as you enter your 30's, there are realms not even visible till the 40's and beyond. I'm in my late 50's now and definitely not even close to having spent even a small percentage of my creative thrust.
YES! I started my BFA in Visual art at 17, done at 21. I often think about how different that experience would have been if I had more life experience to bring to it. Luckily I had a couple of classmates in their 40s and 50s whose wisdom and motherly encouragement helped me survive those 4 years. So grateful to them. Hope I can pay that forward even in a tiny way here.
I love this! There were also some 'mature students' when I was studying photography at 17 and they were such an anchor and source of wisdom! Thank you for adding this to the conversation! I also look forward to being that for somebody. No gatekeeping, just pure love for the creative process!
I will celebrate my 60th birthday this year. I’m also caring for my 88 yo mother who was always a vibrant determined creator. One of the difficult things to witness is her loss of that creative outlet. She does not have access to the physical or cognitive capabilities that fueled her creative work throughout her life. Im heading towards retirement (not fast enough) and beginning a new creative journey as a writer. These stories inspire hope. They truly do. It is difficult to describe the feeling of fear that lives in the pit of my stomach when I acknowledge that there are more years behind me than there are ahead of me and I still have so much i want to do, experience, learn, and share. And it is sad to watch the generation ahead me (my mother and her peers) lose access to their creative capacities. All this to say - thank you for this encouragement and please whatever it is you want to spend your life doing and exploring - do not save those desires for a later date.
Thank you. I got nervous to read because I always see “you’re not too late” and then the article is about a woman who just turned 40. THIS is the kind of content I want/need/desire/yearn to see ❤️
I needed to read this today. While I like the idea of a forum where writers can gather and read each other’s work, so much of the “up your metrics” “find your niche” “monetize” focus really makes it hard to concentrate on the art itself. The idea that a great deal of artists just stayed consistent in their craft for decades is deeply comforting.
I started writing poetry at 41, set up my own poetry stable and started producing and performing at events at 42, my debut pamphlet was published at 44. I have stepped straight into the light at a time women are told they no longer have value. I am living a more beautiful and expansive life than I ever have. It's a priviledge and I am grateful. Thank you for writing this x
This felt SO good to read. It was like you were reading my mind in the intro. I'm also at the tail-end of my 20's and have basically been silently panicking for the last several years that I am behind in my art practice or creative career, never where I wanted to be. I think growing up alongside social media's wild evolution during that phase from teenager > college student > working adult really distorted so many women's perceptions of themselves and their life, and continues to do so. Lately I've had the opportunity to take a little (long) break from corporate life, and trying to cut down on the social media comparison, and really look at who I am and who I want to be as an artist. It's been so freeing and I feel like I am reclaiming many parts of myself I felt were lost. Thank you for this sage reminder!
A beautiful piece reflecting our infinite existence. Thank you Claire. I'm in my 50s now and as I reflect back on my life, I truly know that success is different for everyone depending on their soul's purpose. Mine? To survive, then thrive through sharing my journey and findings ❤️🙏✨
Working website link :)
https://www.claire-farrell.com/
I love the idea of this, and I never grow tired of hearing others' success stories.
Also, the reality is that countless women, like my mother, don't live to see their talent flourish as it could have with more freedom and more years of life.
My mother died of cancer at age 53, the age I will be at the end of May. I myself just exited a life inside a lifelong extremist religious patriarchal box five years ago, and most of my life energy still needs to go to my large family of modest means, with eleven children still living at home, including three with significant disabilities.
I draw personal strength from practicing radical acceptance of reality and non-attachment to outcomes.
Thanks so much for sharing! I’m really glad to hear that the piece resonated! radical acceptance is so powerful!
Some of my favorite artists and women I look up to as someone fresh in her 20s! I am 22 and so appreciate these pieces of wisdom. Social media makes us afraid of change. It paralyzes us with overconsumption and choice while still telling us that is too late to arrive at any one path. After deleting my socials (other than Substack ofc), I’ve found much more “success” by pursuing my own curiosity and finding inspiration through lived experience. I no longer fear change or my own impulses to challenge preconceived beliefs and enter new roles. We don’t need to be fixed, define ourselves or have a “brand.” The only label we need is human.
Absolutely yes! Thank you for sharing! I relate to what you are saying so much!
such a lovely piece. i recently turned 30 and if there's one thing that has become clear it's that limiting belief i used to hold of "running out of time" is 100% societally fabricated. i can recognize now that i needed to live the life i had up to this point to even begin to be ready to actually pursue my creative callings. i needed that time to build up the confidence to do so and to explore my own voice and vision. i frequently remind myself of women who didn't "find success" in their work until later in life or didn't even START their practice until their 40s/50s/60s and i find it so comforting and inspiring. love everything about this!!
Thanks for sharing! It’s certainly reassuring to have these names and stories to muse on when societal pressure bubbles up! I’m glad the piece was so relatable and empowering for you 🫶🏼
I couldn’t agree more! Also 30, and I know I needed my meandering 20s to find my vision and voice. I always think too, most authors don’t publish their first book until 36 and many prolific writers much later!
Oh my god oh my god oh my god! I never clicked on anything so fast! This fear is so real, as someone who’s pushing 33 and still on the verge of releasing my first music everrrrr.
I hope this is just the beginning 💜
Big congratulations on releasing your music! 🌞 I’m glad that this piece found you!
Well it’s still just preparing for release and part of me doesn’t quite believe it but I hope it happens this year 👽
Thank you!
the older i get the more my inspiration and respect shifts from prodigy children and young talents to people who had the courage to start late.
Ha! Turning 60 is QUITE a bit different from turning 30. I appreciate the examples. I reframed the “running out of time” anxiety into “time to leave a legacy!” motivation. 😀First book of poetry coming soon!
Woo, love this!!! Good luck with your book!
Thanks so much, sweetie!
Love this, also makes me think of the artist Hilma af Klint. There’s a great book about her called The Friday Night Club, she was an artist in the late 1800s who locked away her art after she died so it could be viewed when women’s art would be taken more seriously. Her most prominent pieces were created late in life and with the support of her fellow friends around her age. Another reminder that the groundwork you set now can flourish and bloom at any moment!
Thanks so much for saying this Jay! What an important piece of the conversation!
I would add to this that there is a creativity, freedom and depth that can't be accessed until later in life. While it may feel "too late" as you enter your 30's, there are realms not even visible till the 40's and beyond. I'm in my late 50's now and definitely not even close to having spent even a small percentage of my creative thrust.
YES! I started my BFA in Visual art at 17, done at 21. I often think about how different that experience would have been if I had more life experience to bring to it. Luckily I had a couple of classmates in their 40s and 50s whose wisdom and motherly encouragement helped me survive those 4 years. So grateful to them. Hope I can pay that forward even in a tiny way here.
I love this! There were also some 'mature students' when I was studying photography at 17 and they were such an anchor and source of wisdom! Thank you for adding this to the conversation! I also look forward to being that for somebody. No gatekeeping, just pure love for the creative process!
Absolutely!!! Thank you for adding this to the conversation! Really valuable insight! It has me so excited to live into the journey!
I will celebrate my 60th birthday this year. I’m also caring for my 88 yo mother who was always a vibrant determined creator. One of the difficult things to witness is her loss of that creative outlet. She does not have access to the physical or cognitive capabilities that fueled her creative work throughout her life. Im heading towards retirement (not fast enough) and beginning a new creative journey as a writer. These stories inspire hope. They truly do. It is difficult to describe the feeling of fear that lives in the pit of my stomach when I acknowledge that there are more years behind me than there are ahead of me and I still have so much i want to do, experience, learn, and share. And it is sad to watch the generation ahead me (my mother and her peers) lose access to their creative capacities. All this to say - thank you for this encouragement and please whatever it is you want to spend your life doing and exploring - do not save those desires for a later date.
Thank you so much for sharing! This is such a thoughtful comment and I’m glad that this piece reached you 🫂
Thank you. I got nervous to read because I always see “you’re not too late” and then the article is about a woman who just turned 40. THIS is the kind of content I want/need/desire/yearn to see ❤️
Thank you Kimberly! What amazing feedback to recieve!
I needed to read this today. While I like the idea of a forum where writers can gather and read each other’s work, so much of the “up your metrics” “find your niche” “monetize” focus really makes it hard to concentrate on the art itself. The idea that a great deal of artists just stayed consistent in their craft for decades is deeply comforting.
as women the key is knowing that we are never running out of time and that age is actually our superpower.
I started writing poetry at 41, set up my own poetry stable and started producing and performing at events at 42, my debut pamphlet was published at 44. I have stepped straight into the light at a time women are told they no longer have value. I am living a more beautiful and expansive life than I ever have. It's a priviledge and I am grateful. Thank you for writing this x
Thanks so much for sharing Donna! Thats such an uplifting thing to read! I'm so glad this piece found you!
This felt SO good to read. It was like you were reading my mind in the intro. I'm also at the tail-end of my 20's and have basically been silently panicking for the last several years that I am behind in my art practice or creative career, never where I wanted to be. I think growing up alongside social media's wild evolution during that phase from teenager > college student > working adult really distorted so many women's perceptions of themselves and their life, and continues to do so. Lately I've had the opportunity to take a little (long) break from corporate life, and trying to cut down on the social media comparison, and really look at who I am and who I want to be as an artist. It's been so freeing and I feel like I am reclaiming many parts of myself I felt were lost. Thank you for this sage reminder!
Thank you for sharing this piece of your story! I'm so glad this post found you and it fits with where you are at right now! You've got this!
A beautiful piece reflecting our infinite existence. Thank you Claire. I'm in my 50s now and as I reflect back on my life, I truly know that success is different for everyone depending on their soul's purpose. Mine? To survive, then thrive through sharing my journey and findings ❤️🙏✨
Thank you so much for your lovely words Nicola! Thats so encouraging to hear! I'm glad you joined the conversation here!