Hi lovely, I'm Tanya

a Masters-qualified Arts Therapist supporting single mums to feel calmer, more connected, and more like themselves again.

My journey back to self

"Before I learned to trust myself, I spent years trying to be what I thought the world needed me to be."

Quiet. Capable. Grateful. Low maintenance.

I didn’t know that being “easy to be around” was slowly costing me my connection to who I truly was.

I didn’t know that someday, I’d come home to myself through creativity, softness, and brave choices that changed everything.

And now, as a single mum myself, I understand just how easy it is to lose yourself in the demands of everyday life.

This is my story. But maybe, it’s a little bit yours too.

THE WORLD I KNEW

There was a time when I believed that struggle was just… part of life. That fulfillment was for other people. That I should be thankful for what I had — even if it left me tired, anxious, and quietly empty.

I looked outside myself for permission. I didn’t trust my own voice. I played small, not because I lacked dreams, but because I didn’t believe I was someone who could live them.

"I said yes when I meant no. I put everyone else first."

As a mum, I felt like there was no other option.

And I accepted less than I deserved, because I wasn’t sure I was allowed to ask for more.

But deep down, I knew something wasn’t right.

THE CALL TO CHANGE

The first shift came quietly — like a ripple beneath the surface.

It was the moment I walked back into the office after a trip overseas and felt the energy drain from my body.

"Something in me whispered: you can’t do this anymore."

I didn’t know what came next. I just knew I couldn’t stay where I was.

So, I did something bold — something that scared me to my core.

I left my secure job… with no plan.

That decision cracked something open in me. It was the first time I’d chosen myself without knowing what the outcome would be. The first time I said: this isn’t working, and I deserve more.

I wasn’t just thinking about me either — I was thinking about my boys, and the kind of life I wanted us to have.

FACING MY FEARS

Of course, it wasn’t all clarity and confidence.

"There were moments I wondered if I’d ruined everything"

— if I’d made a mistake I couldn’t undo. I worried about money, about my boys, about what others would think.

I told myself I was being reckless.

But somewhere in the midst of that fear, I found support. I worked with a coach. I began to get curious. I started to look inward, not for the answers — but for the courage to keep going.

It wasn’t always graceful. But it was real. And it was mine.

FINDING MY WAY HOME

That’s when I discovered Art Therapy.

At first, I considered enrolling in a Master of Art Therapy as something just for me. Personal growth. A side interest. A way to reconnect with something I’d lost after high school — my creativity.

But it became so much more.

Studying Art Therapy didn’t just teach me about helping others — it changed how I saw myself.

It gave me the tools to explore, express, and understand who I truly was beneath the roles, the people-pleasing, and the noise.

It felt like coming home.

And it made me realise: I didn’t want to just heal quietly behind the scenes.

I wanted to create a space where other women could experience that same deep reconnection.

THE HARDEST UNRAVELING

The biggest challenge came when I ended my marriage.

"It was a long, painful unraveling — and one of the bravest things I’ve ever done."

For a while, I questioned everything.

I felt broken, disoriented, and unsure if I could trust myself again.

How had I stayed so long in something that was breaking me?

But bit by bit, I rebuilt. I asked for help. I made decisions centred in love — for myself and for my boys. I moved house, navigated the legal system, weathered heartbreak.

And slowly, I transformed.

I stopped searching for safety in the familiar and began creating it within myself. I became softer, stronger, more attuned.

"I started choosing peace over performance."

Connection over coping. Art over anxiety.

WHAT I KNOW NOW

Every chapter of my story — motherhood, reinvention, heartbreak — taught me the same thing:

"We don’t find ourselves by 'fixing' who we are."

We find ourselves by softening. By listening. By letting go of what no longer fits.

And most of all, by allowing space for the unknown — the stillness where our true selves can rise.

Why I Created Artfully Connect

Artfully Connect is more than a business. It’s the culmination of every decision (big and small) I’ve made to live more gently, more truthfully, and more creatively.

It’s a space for women, especially single mums, who are in the thick of transition, or just feeling the pull of something more.

Women who are tired of striving, tired of the noise, and ready to return to themselves in a way that feels soulful and safe.

Here, we use expressive art practices as a doorway.

You don’t need to be “good at art.” You just need to be willing to explore.

In my group programs, I offer structured but spacious sessions that invite you to:

- Pause and breathe

- Feel and express, without judgment

- Find calm in your body, even in the messy middle of real life

- Create not for perfection, but for presence

- Be witnessed and supported by a small, kind-hearted group of women

If You’re Still Reading, Maybe This Is Your Call to Adventure Too

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need to be brave every second.

You just need to be willing to listen to that small voice inside — the one whispering:

“There’s something more for you.”

Because there is. And you don’t have to find it alone.

You are so welcome here.

Start with your free guide