Tiny spaces, HAPPY FACES

Three women explain how small, simple homes feed their artistic natures

- CATHERINE LARNER

Illustrator Claudia Myatt, 68, has lived on a boat on the River Deben in Suffolk for 13 years.

I had a marital capsize and ran away, ending up in Suffolk sofa-surfing and cleaning to get enough money to buy a boat. I tried to go ashore for one winter but as a single person on a low income, I couldn't afford it.

Else of Deben is a widebeam canal barge, 10 feet wide by 55 feet long. She's got a wood burner, a small bathroom and there's hot water from a tap - it gives me pleasure every time I wash up!

I like being in one space and not having too many possessions. Everything I own in this space has to earn its keep. There's a one-in-one-out rule if I buy anything, though that lapses when it comes to books and musical instruments!

As you get older you need less stuff and I don't have a television. I prefer to have headspace. I think boredom is important for creativity - I've learnt to play the harp in the past few years.

When I moved here, I started drawing again. I got my confidence back and picked up my career as a marine illustrator. I've written and illustrated 12 books, and I teach art, give talks and take any opportunity to travel and sketch - it's a precarious income but I meet such interesting people.

You get less risk-averse when you don't have a lot of possessions. After 50 years of toeing the line, I've had a decade of rebellion! Now I've found out what real living is.