We had moved to the UK from Cape Town in South Africa, and I was struggling a bit. I had a baby and a three-year-old, was working as a doctor and was also studying for my final fellowship exams to become a GP. I had always fancied doing pottery, and someone recommended I do something outside of work as a stress reliever. It helped hugely. I did those classes for a couple of years and, while I wouldn’t say it saved my life, it certainly helped the situation. It was just nice to be able to switch off and forget who you are for three hours and have absolutely no responsibility. When we came to Perth, I brought my kiln with me and started doing these ceramic flowers. They were a bit of an experiment, but then I realised that people liked them when I sold them at markets, and it has sort of gone on from there. I’ve now got a studio and on my two days off as a GP, I head out to my workshop and make ceramic flowers. As a GP, someone always needs an opinion or has a problem that needs solving. In my workshop, it’s just my own thoughts and no one requires anything of me. I’m actually creating something too. It gives you a bit of a thrill to make things, I suppose. You don’t always get that in your day job. It’s the complete opposite of what I have done for the past 20 years as a doctor.

Dr Bronwen Holding
Perth, WA