“Because impermanence is always there, everything is possible.” — Thích Nhất Hạnh

There are no endings that are not also beginnings. A sunset is not the end of a day; the day simply continues elsewhere. The sun itself does not change—we only move away from it for a time. The sense of ending and beginning is created by our perspective, and from our perspective we make sense of our experiences by labeling them new, old, past, or future. These labels, however, are created by us rather than imposed upon us.

Our calendar has, however, flipped a page. This too is true! And with the flipping of that page, of course my mind turns to all that evolved on the previous pages, and all that I pencil in for the days that lie ahead. A new year is a time to ask ourselves what we are most proud of from the previous year—and what we hope to bring into our lives in the next.

In 2025, I created my first exhibition collection, proudly shown with Kath McCann in the show "The Colour of Joy". This was indeed a deeply joyful experience and I am so very grateful to all who came to see it.  You can find the collection in my website gallery.  In 2025, the ending of my external teaching employment allowed me to embrace being a fully self-employed artist. I made thoughtful decisions about priorities, invested in myself as an artist by engaging with a creative mentoring program and community (Evolve), and made a choice to step back from frantic in-person selling to allow my family and home to occupy space in my days—a recognition of reaching the point where I no longer feel I have to constantly prove that my artistic life is financially viable.

Perhaps biggest of all, in 2025 I took a big brave step and changed my creative name (my business name? my brand? It feels like so much more than that). I stepped shyly out of the shadows and recreated my artistic self under my own name rather than an anonymous brand name. Happy Heart Ceramics served me well for five years, but I realised it was time to allow myself both the courage to take centre stage and the freedom to go beyond the creative boundaries that Happy Heart Ceramics represented for me. My work will always be about happiness—but it can also be more broadly about my thoughts on life, the world, self, and how we navigate the intersections of these. I am excited to grow into this new "me" artistic persona, and one of the first experiences of this will be my second ever exhibition.

I am thrilled to say that in April 2026 I will be part of a wonderful collaboration of four women creating a new visual feast.  I am delighted to again be exhibiting with the fabulous painter Kath McCann, and so excited to be joining with a richly sumptuous photographer Renee Brazel and the incredibly thoughtful and inspiring ceramic artist Susan Trimble.  Together we will be creating:

 Perspective

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." (Wayne Dyer)

Field Trip Gallery, Paddington

16-22 April

There will also be big changes happening in my studio in 2026.  At the moment I share my ceramics studio with the incredible business that my husband started - CommunArty - doing creatively inspirational work with people who receive NDIS funding.  CommunArty has been on a massive growth trajectory, and this little studio ain't big enough for the both of us anymore... So 2026 will see us expanding the business into our new venture - Wattle House - a creative studio and wellbeing work space.   I will bring you more news on this over the coming months, but what we do know now is that there will be a big new accessible creative studio space for CommunArty as well as several gorgeous consulting rooms for rent - so do reach out if you are (or know) a wellbeing focussed professional looking for an awesome workspace right in the heart of Paddington, with light bright large rooms in a newly renovated stunning Queenslander with lots of parking and most excellent landlords :-).

And 2026 will also see the evolution of my new website and the inception of this happiness musings newsletter.  I cannot promise it will regularly hit your inbox, in fact I promise that it will not add significantly to the tally of unread emails that greet you (or is that just me?) when you hover over that little blue digital envelope.  I can promise that it will contain authentic reflections on life that hold, as a priority, bringing moments of happiness into your days.  I will also share news on new artistic endeavours - new designs, new ceramic projects, online sales, markets, special events and all the fun stuff from the creative adventure that is Rhianon Rose Ceramics.  Welcome aboard the journey and thank you so much for joining me! 

What are you proud of as you farewell 2025?

What brings you hope for 2026?

Smiles

Rhianon Rose