COLETTE Bailey used to dream of being an artist, but she says she lacked the “unswerving belief” in her own work.

So she pursued a career encouraging other artists in their endeavours.

As a busy mum of eight-year-old Clementine, Colette is a master at juggling her work and family life.

She heads up the arts organisation Metal, in Southend, and as artistic director and chief executive is in charge of making the big decisions and planning the budgets.

There is no such thing as an average working day for Colette. After she gets daughter Clementine off to school, she could be heading to Chalkwell Hall, Metal’s base in Westcliff, or shooting off for a meeting on the other side of the country.

Colette, 42, says: “Like many people working in the arts, it is more of a vocation than a job. It is hard work, but it is something I am passionate about, so I do not approach it like a nine-to-five job.

“The beauty of technology is that I don’t have to physically be in the office to work. I can travel across the country and then be home to put my daughter to bed and then carry on working on my laptop.”

Colette, who split with her partner comedian Markus Birdman, divides parenting with him.

She says: “Our lives are messy and complicated, like many people’s lives are, but we make it work. It isn’t easy, but Markus is extremely supportive and a fantastic dad.”

Metal came to Southend in 2007 when they set up shop at the grand Chalkwell Hall. The idea of having a large building with bedrooms so artists could come and stay and work there was taken from a similar Metal concept in Liverpool.

Now there are two artists-in-residence at the venue at any given time. They work on community projects, such as one in 2009 to create a continuous strip of bunting the exact length of the world’s longest pier, in Southend. Colette says: “Our aim has always been to be a catalyst for the arts in Southend. Everything we do is based on the community around us.

“The arts are important, because they show that life is not about surviving or existing, it is about more than that, it’s about living. In times that are tough, the arts are even more important to people, whether it’s inspiring a nine-year-old in their future career or showing the vibrancy in a community.”

Colette grew up in Hartlepool. She says she knew from an early age she wouldn’t become an artist. She says: “You have to have an unswerving belief in your own work and I never had that. I see it in other artists and I find creativity now in promoting talent and opportunities for people.”

Colette went on to study English literature at Newcastle University and started out as a journalist, writing for Good Housekeeping Magazine, then for a Royal Society of British Sculptors publication, before becoming the managing director.

She went for a job with Metal when it was in its inception in 2002. She worked closely with Jude Kelly, a theatre director and artistic director of Southbank Centre, Britain’s largest cultural institution.

Colette says: “After eight years I wanted a new direction and went for a job on a project called Metal. Jude was my mentor and such an inspiring person to be with. She is down-to-earth and fantastic at collaborating. She was a theatre director and great at bringing people together and knowing their strengths.”

Colette’s first project was to establish Metal in Liverpool.

She says: “It was an exciting time to go and be part of a project like that. We moved there when Clementine was three months old and set up our lives there.

“It was where the idea of having a large premises where we could have artists-in-residence came from. The reason we brought the concept to Southend was because it was such a success in Liverpool.”

Colette finds it strange that both Essex and Liverpudlian ladies seem to get a similarly bad reputation in the press.

“It’s because they don’t like strong women clearly,” she laughs. “The stereotypes of women from Essex and women from Liverpool are quite similar. We have a project called Superstrumps that takes the negative stereotypes and turns them on their heads. The bolshie Essex woman is actually confident and knows what she wants, financially savvy and goes out and makes things happen.”

When Metal came to Southend in 2007 the aim was clear: to create a catalyst for arts in the local area.

Colette says: “I found that there was a lot going on in Southend, but many of the artists didn’t know the others existed. It was about creating a community and bringing these people together. I organised a lot of dinners and introduced people in the local area.”

Does Colette feel that Metal has been instrumental in making Southend such a cultural hub in Essex? She says: “You would have to ask someone who has lived here their whole life to know if that is true.

“It is wonderful to have something tangible like Village Green, because we get to see people having a great day out. It makes all the hard work worthwhile. It takes up a lot of time and when one Village Green is finished, we start the next, but it is all worth it and the festival gets bigger every year.”

Village Green takes place on Saturday, July 13. Visit www.metalculture.com for details.