My Career: creative Margarita Murphy

Did you always want to be a ____?
Heartist? Expressionist? Actress? Inappropriate Tea Partier? Creative project juggler? I know I must sound very elusive and mystical on paper. I’ve always had a vivid imagination and a passion for telling and being told stories. Only three years ago I learnt that after my grandmother Margaret died young, my teetotaler grandfather hosted what was essentially a tea síbín for the local men to chat and tell their tales until the sun came up. I’ve never liked secrets, they lay dense in my psyche and finding mediums to express the colourful curiosities of my spirit has always felt necessary. Inspiring and facilitating others to do so too, has been part of my natural evolution.

In college, I studied… Visual Communication in NCAD and loved it. Coming from a cattle farm and the open green fields of South Armagh to the eclectically quirky, free-spirited, colourful, cool kid scene in NCAD amongst the lyrical Liberties, was a wide-eyed, dream come true at 17.

My most formative work experience was… four years as the lingerie/nightwear designer for Penneys. I learned a lot about developing my creative eye for commercial trends, the art of being ahead of the curve, working within team dynamics and honing my design skills to translate into lovable textile prints, patterns and collections.

My first real job was… age 13 as a mushroom picker on a local farm with my bestie Joanne, earning 50p a punnet. With all our chatting, we used to only fill about four to six punnets on a half day. You can do the mental maths but Jesus, we thought we were the bee’s knees with those few pound in our purses! Before that, I suppose I had a job on the farm with my dad… unpaid but real work.

The most invaluable thing I learned early on in my career was… everyone has a story to tell, many in fact. One of the most rewarding things in life for us fascinating human beings is for our stories to be heard and witnessed. And there’s often greater truth in the telling, than the actual story being told. And truly listening is one of the rarest forms of love.

A common misconception about what I do is… that it must be great fun, being so creative. Sure, I manage to find the fun on sets and stages, giggles at the tea parties and the joy in any creative journey – I can find the light in most situations, I have myself well trained in this – but honestly, many of my so-called ‘heartistic endeavours’ often ache pleasurably in their loving becoming, just as with any form of creational birthing. Expression can be both a very cathartic and thrilling act, especially in our very neoteric society, ask anyone that has ever attended one of my Inappropriate Tea Parties.

My main responsibility in work is to… stay curious, know when to keep going and when to pause, how to best take care of myself in order to best show up for others and to regulate my nervous system, deciphering what feels like procrastination, distraction, reaction or redirection. Emotional intelligence is often one of the most hard-earned, yet most invaluable and responsible life skills we can equip ourselves with. Responsibility to create a more meaningful and harmonious existence, within ourselves and our relationships – and emotion needs expression for its impression to be understood.

Do you have a career mentor or someone you look up to/seek advice from?
Mostly the many good friends and collaborators I work with along the way. My old drama teacher Roísín Lonergan, founder of The 5 Lamps Arts Festival who invited me to host my Inappropriate Tea Party this Spring, has shown me the fruits of persistence and community collecting for artist appreciation. People who speak honestly, friends that will serve me both the ugly truth and help me see the beauty I may be blind to. Those people I will come to for honest advice and who I look to celebrate the little joys and successes with along the way. I have a good sense of sisterhood around me – good brothers too. I’ve really loved following Alexandra Roxo and her dynamic career over the years, and I really look up to the Imbas-infused Irish women, Imelda May, Sinéad O’Connor, Laura Murphy and Dee Mulrooney.

The biggest risk I have taken in my career so far is… to leave full-time employment and get on a plane to Latin America to escape, explore, adventure and discover a deeper sense of spirituality, sensuality, shamanism, salsa and trust in myself for three and a half priceless years. I came home penniless but full of idealism and optimism to jump straight into becoming self-employed here. The often unpredictability of not knowing where and when money will arrive as a freelancer is a risky business. It has been very testing on my mental health at times and my sense of safety and stability. Like many people, I’m still learning this the hard way, but thankfully, a good dose of family, friends and a strong belief that I am looked after and supported, usually prevails.

I wake at… 8-9am most mornings.

The first thing I do every morning is… give my beautiful body a lil morning squeeze and a little face hold, my favourite. Then I hop up to my altar and pull one of my Reflection Oracle Cards, proudly channelled and designed by me for the opening creative tone of my day.

My morning routine is… to usually dress myself inspired by the colours, thoughts or sentiment of my Reflection Card. And I love breakfast, it’s probably my favourite meal time of the day, so it usually lingers and has a few courses. I’ve been starting with a celery juice every morning since I joyfully got a juicer for Christmas this year. Then a tea or coffee with some egg on toast or granola and fruit, sometimes both. Porridge of a winter morning. I do love a slow, sensual start to my days.

I can’t go to work without… putting myself together real nice. Dressing in a way that feels loving and expressive of how I feel that day or what I want to step into. I enjoy the process of presenting myself, even if it is just a nip to the shop. I think I follow my mam Carline’s example, she always puts herself together so beautifully and with such consideration. And I do love the art of subtle make-up – feature accentuation with a little creative flare is fun to me. Although if I’m working from home that day, I’m bare-faced and more athletic…in comfy wear for impromptu dance parties or flexes in the kitchen!

I travel to work by… bike if I’m bopping about town, by car if I’m going cross county or with the whole tea party kit.

On an average workday I… check my Astro apps – Pattern and Co-Star — over my morning cuppa. Then I’ll check emails, WhatsApp, Instagram and decide a responding course of action for the day, all considered. I study the socials on sensuality, intimacy and related postings, as well as tune in with any weekly teachings from teachers I am learning from. On any given day, I’m likely designing promotions, action planning, answering a few phone calls and email correspondences. I will be writing and building on my acting esteems. There seems to be no average days these days though, so much wants to burn and blossom simultaneously.

I start my working day at… 11am or noon preferably. I am generally at my most productive during sunsetting hours and at nighttime too.

The first thing I do at work is… I’d like to say check my posture rather than my phone but that is the first thing I do at work usually. A cuppa and a quiet sitting body scan usually happen on my first break.

I usually spend the first portion of the day… listening, reading and tending to correspondences with friends and collaborators about current affairs and upcoming events. I love it when I can weave a walk into my working day, responding to morning messages, boss b*tchin’, strutting, whilst getting life messages done out and about too.

I break for lunch at… 2pm ish and usually have greens with spuds, soup or veggies with rice or bread. And of course, tea, probably a biccy or chocolate if it’s on the go.

The most useful business tool I use every day is… my voice and my phone.

I save time by… having a notebook on me for documenting to-do lists and inspirations.

I rarely get through my working day without… smiling at myself or someone else.

The best part of my day is… the page I write in my diary before going to sleep every night.

The most challenging part of my day is… the waking up sometimes.

I know it’s been a good day if… I feel a sense of contentment, almost smugness, when I sit down to enjoy some TV entertainment in the evening time, after having had an enjoyable day.

I usually end my day at… midnight.

I switch off from work by… dancing, reading, nature walking, watching notoriously peculiar movies or getting into a juicy series.

Before I go to bed, I’ll… say a prayer.

I often prepare for tomorrow by… getting as much sleep as I can, washing my face before bed and using a good serum.

After a long work week, I destress by… going out on the town for a dance or strutting up a mountain for some higher perspectives. I also like to indulge in a long shower or bath.

The accomplishment I’m most proud of is… the brewing process of bringing the Inappropriate Tea Party to life and the amount of love, joy, liberation and connectivity I now have as a result. I’m always proudly observing how it nourishes me and my growing community, encouraged by the courageous conversations that others have been able to have because of it.

If you want to get into my line of work, my advice is to… study somatics. Study people. Be more curious about what makes you tick. Slow your world down for more moments in your day and be in a reciprocal nature with your senses.

I’ve just finished working on… a collaboration with my amazing somatic sexologist co-host and dear friend, Karen Egan and the Inappropriate Tea Party on our Sensual Saturdays workshop mini-tour around Ireland. At the moment, I’m working on film sets observing Cillian Murphy and Anthony Hopkins, which is fascinating. Celtic Castings is a great new agency for anyone wanting to work on sets and witness some great talent in the film industry. And I’m brewing up some very exciting Inappropriate Tea Party plans for festival showcases this summer. If you see me, please come drop in for a cupán tae and some craic!