Safeguarding

New Years Day meal

Here you can see how I cleared away all work and set the table for our New Years' Day meal, with food bought from supermarkets, not from a food bank, champagne, fresh flowers, and candles. 
This is my lifestyle choice.
I'm a bit of an old romantic, bohemian, but not a freeloader.

Last week's Carer's Meeting after the New Year focussed on safeguarding.

Here's a really good blog about how artists can safeguard against exploitation within the arts.

My sister got me a Sketch-A-Day sketchbook, but how on earth do I draw every day whilst on too low an income for my role as a carer?

Realistically, it's financially unviable without a regular wage.
I've started to illustrate what MY lifestyle choice would be. A keyring given as a present from one of my trainees acts as a metaphor - a glass slipper - Chromeo wore orange stilettos in their video, so do they fit this shoe?

I ended up colouring in this hand with a highlighter pen.

  

My dream house

In my carer's assessment, I was told that this house is adequate for our needs. But it isn't. We need a spare bedroom for family to stay when visiting, so they can help us out more often. My depressed son isn't able to go and visit them, as his anxiety makes travel impossible considering I don't drive. 
If I look at most houses to rent, the sort of house that would be adequate is above the LHA rate for Housing Benefit, so I would require a good salary for part time work to be able to afford it. So I decided to speculate - if I wasn't subject to the constant financial abuse of the welfare system and the arts world, what would be my ideal home?

I'm thinking about lifestyle choice here. The house I currently rent was the last place I could've chosen before we would've become homeless due to a previous rogue landlord. It isn't ideal. And our circumstances have declined since we moved here. 
So I broadened my search to look for 4 bedroom houses for sale in Lincoln.
As it isn't my lifestyle choice to rent privately - if I had a choice, I would be earning a salary as an artist and I would be able to afford to buy my own house.
With a separate studio space, a contemporary kitchen and bathroom, not one that hasn't been replaced since the 80s.

It's good news that Labour have finally upheld renter's rights to protection from rogue landlords, but that's just the start of the end to the constant financial neglect and no wage / low wage economy.