Let's journal together

I'm launching my first workshop series

May 28, 2025

I spent January doing “napuary” — a time of rest, in which I thought about my work, how I spend my days, and what I want in my life (and napped a lot). I put my phone down and picked up my journal. I spent time off socials and with friends. I realised I love IRL community and needed to make it a routine part of my creative practice.

So, in addition to writing, I decided I wanted to start running community arts workshops that create gentle spaces to share creativity with others. I noticed that zines — something I’ve loved making all my life — are now less “nerdy” and more “in”. I haven’t seen journaling workshops anywhere yet…

I’ve journaled all my life, and often use it to spark ideas for books. More than that, it’s a place to think, breathe, put my mind at rest, and find those quiet places in the soul and body I need to make choices, cope with grief, and practise the play that so often leads to authentic, meaningful, and important creative work.

I applied to work with St Margaret’s House, a world-class creative health charity in London which helps early career practitioners develop their workshops, and was absolutely delighted to be accepted into their programme to develop my journaling workshops. Each week comes with a theme that explores another of my interests—narratives and what we think to be true v. what is.

I have applied for further funding to bring these workshops home, as well as take them to a national charity very dear to my heart which does amazing work for loss mums and babies.

Cross fingers for the funding, please cheer me on through my nervousness, and…

Book your spot here!

More information below:

Come journal with us! Collage, diary, and fiction writing prompts, amidst soft, community vibes. Materials provided, or bring your journal.

What? A journaling workshop, combining art and writing prompts, to aid wellbeing, connection, and compassion for others and ourselves.

Why? Is it possible to create a co-regulative space where we respect each other’s needs, feelings, and boundaries? Can we create new neural pathways where expressing our needs, feelings, and boundaries, leads not to explosion or denial, anxiety or avoidance, but to greater intimacy with ourselves and others? Can that start on the page, with writing the unwriteable? Can we make it safe to write from the pages of our hearts?

Join us to collage, write, and journal privately in a safe public space. All materials provided, although you are welcome to bring your own journal and/or personal photos and materials you wish to stick in/work from.

Each week we’ll work from themes chosen to help us deal with big feelings and experiences including grief, queer awakening, societal messaging, shame, loneliness, and love. We’ll learn about self-expression and wellbeing through the practice of journaling; as well as varieties of journaling, and journaling through the ages. We’ll explore the hidden, forgotten, not "worth" writing about, and impossible. We'll confront things like shame, embarrassment at our ignorance, worry of what other people think, and things we learnt as children, can impact narratives we tell ourselves today—even in our private journals.

These session are designed for all abilities, including people going through life changes, burnout, grief, or any kind of hard time, and looking for a place to connect with their creative abilities. Journaling is a great way to organise thoughts, realise things about ourselves, and occupy our minds in a restful way. These workshops take this private act and put us in community, in a supportive environment. “Soft core” means we are gentle with ourselves and each other. Participants are encouraged to enjoy the prompts or to follow their whims and write about whatever they like. It’s not about productivity, mastery, completion, one size fits all, or limiting ourselves. Come to collage, come to write, come for the company… come for a cuppa! Tea and coffee provided.

Who? Hi! I’m Abby Tarttelin, a writer and artist, developing a community arts practice called IRL Creative Health. I’m interested in In-Real-Life co-regulative spaces, hyper-local communities, how we carry grief and trauma, rest/work and burnout, process-based creative writing, and art-making of all kinds. My novels Flick, Golden Boy, and Dead Girls, comprise a gender triptych exploring young masculinity, intersex autonomy, and girlhood in the rural wilds; my Substack is the best current source of my writing. In the last year I’ve loved workshops by Lauren Bulla, Anika Ali, F. Zeeshan Choudhury, Ian Giles, Maya Man, and Marina Longo, in mediums from clay to code, thread to poetry. A lifelong zinester, journal-maker, and collage artist, I’m excited to run my first workshop series with St Margaret’s House.

Instagram: @IRLCreativeHealth

Venue: The Create Place, 29 Old Ford Road, E2 9PJ

Access: If you have any access needs of which we should be aware, please let us know. Entry to The Create Place is step-free but the toilet is not accessible. If you need access to an accessible toilet, please let us know so we can arrange that.

Dates, Times & Themes:

Thursday 19th June, 6.30-8.30pm | Workshop 1: It’s “and” not “but" — reconciling irreconcilable ideas
Saturday 28th June, 3.30-5.30pm | Workshop 2: It’s “then” not “now” — revisiting childhood shame
Thursday 10th July, 6.30-8.30pm | Workshop 3: Let’s “give up” not “win” — experiments in failure
Saturday 26th July, 3.30–5.30pm | Workshop 4: It’s “impossible” not “it’s me” — self-compassion in insurmountable circumstances
Thursday 7th August, 6.30-8.30pm | Workshop 5: It’s “carry” not “let go” — making space for grief, trauma, lost love, & all that comes with us
Saturday 16th August, 3.30-5.30pm | Workshop 6: It’s “thank you” after “sorry” — relearning conflict as half of repair
Thursday 4th September, 6.30-8.30pm | Workshop 7: It’s “sometimes” not “always” — renegotiating personal mythologies
Saturday 13th September, 3.30-5.30pm | Workshop 8: It’s “us” not “them” — exploring safety in togetherness