Gill Mott is a violinist/educator/foster carer/celebrant. A “Gill of all trades” from White Rock, BC, now in London, UK. Collecting skills in her journey through life, Gill continues to pursue her personal path to happiness while helping others find theirs.
Q. If you could give your past self some advice, what would you say?
Advice I’d give my younger self would be, “Go for it!” Don’t let others guilt you into giving up your opportunity for them and don’t let others take advantage of your generosity. You’ve worked hard so take the rewards! It’s not selfish to want what’s best for you.
Move to London, UK sooner. Oh, and put $100 a month in a savings account!
Q. What is your favourite thing about what you do in your career and why?
I love 98% of what I do.. The 2% I dread is all the admin…
I do so many things. Performing – I love the rush of being on stage and entertaining people from classical to EDM shows. I get to travel and do what I love. I am music. It’s my blood, my soul and what I was meant to do. Teaching – I love watching students gain self-confidence as they navigate difficult passages in their music and seeing that confidence spread to other areas in their life. A student told me recently that learning the violin with me is there reason he’s become so confident. Two years ago he wouldn’t look me in the eye or say more than four words. Now he can’t stop chatting, smiling, asking questions, and he comes to his lesson every week with the new music learned from the previous lesson. He even composed his own piece of music and inspired his classmates to do the same! It’s heart melting.
Fostering – I’m thankful I can give vulnerable children and teens a safe harbour where they can experience unconditional love and develop healthy human attachments.
Everything I do has a purpose… To bring people joy and love!
Q. What do you have going on right now that you’d like to share?
I’m currently taking a course to become a celebrant! I’m very much looking forward to bringing couples together with their loved ones to celebrate their commitment to each other. As well as weddings, I look forward to bringing celebrations to families who want to yell from the rooftops that the adoption has been finalized and their child is officially part of the family. To trans men and women who want to celebrate their new start as their true self.
I’m also working on getting a non-profit arts company started. It’s been in the works for a while but I’m looking for the right people to be arts admin to make the ideas I have happen. MAD4E (Music Arts Dance 4 Equality) is about creating multidisciplinary performance pieces about taboo subjects. The journey of a refugee, LGBTQ+ issues, racism, homelessness, domestic violence. I want to rehumanize the people who have been turned into a statistic and create safe spaces to have open dialogue.
Q. Do you have a mantra or phrase that you live by?
I have a mantra I’ve started to tell myself a few times a week. Self-love is the first step in loving others. RuPaul says it best I think… “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
I grew up thinking it is selfish to take care of myself first but now I think of being on a plane and they say put your oxygen mask on before you help others. So true!
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years I hope to be living in a home that I’ve bought with my two adorable kittens and hopefully be fostering siblings. Part of the reason I became a foster carer was to keep siblings together. It’s traumatic enough to be taken from your parent(s), to have your brother sister ripped away as well isn’t okay.
Being single in zone two London, UK is not cheap. If I accomplish buying my first home on my own, I can check off the bad ass boss bitch section on my list!
Connect with Gill:
Insta- @fiddle.me.ginger, maple.rose.strings
Facebook-maple rose strings
