New Ventures

You may have seen some changes on this site over the past couple of days (including me locking you out, I know, I'm sorry!). The past year has been a real journey of acceptance for me. I have accepted myself as an artist of sorts (okay, clearly not fully accepting!). I have played in many creative sandboxes and found some that suit me best. I have met some amazing, inspiring, creative, wise women who have changed how I look at so many things. I have become more myself through being able to express myself in new ways. And I have had some amazing opportunities.

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I am not good at talking about the things I care about, as though if I speak them aloud they will dissolve like dandelion seed heads, blown to the winds. I am the most secretive etsy seller ever - I'll put stuff in there, but I won't let anyone know where the shop is! I've had scrapbook pages published for a few years now, a few even on commission, and I've only just shared that with you. I dread you all muttering "who does she think she is?"

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What have I been keeping closest to my heart? Artist books. They have been present in my life for a year now, in increasingly serendipitous ways. I met a group of book artists at Artfest last year and every single one of them influenced me in some way. I got my hands on a limited edition artist book by Carla Sonheim created to fund and commemorate her trip to India. In September I started a class with a wonderful teacher, Ciara Healy, and started creating my own books. My wonderful friend, Zenia, shouted a list at me, of books I had made, mainly scrapbook style minibooks. I discovered artist book fairs and started building my own collection. And I have received so much encouragement and support from within that community.

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So to celebrate two amazing opportunities that have come my way in the past week, I am stepping up. Hence the new website. This blog will continue rambling along as always. My etsy shop is no longer secret. And introducing... a website for my artist books, as I begin a more professional phase, with some of my books on show in exhibitions and fairs in April, May and June. (insert unrestrained wild yippee-ing here)

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Looking back, looking forward...

I was inspired by Judy's post on this and she was inspired by Loretta (whose blog I have bookmarked for all the art and photography and joy). I love New Year's - I like the feeling of hope and clean slates. I don't really do resolutions now, because they have an expectation of failure it seems. I do think of it as a time of reflection on the year gone by, and a time to confirm my values and consider how I want to live my life. I often use this book to guide me through the process. As the book and I are an ocean apart at the moment, I decided I would follow Judy and Loretta's example and share some reflection with you here.

Blessings received:

  • The opportunity to spend real time with my parents, step-mother, in-laws, and all three siblings this year, as well as my grandfather, two aunts, two great-aunts and a handful of cousins. This is big, we don't usually get to see so many of them in a year.
  • The wisdom and faith for us to decide that I should leave my job. We decided last December and put the plan in action in July;
  • the opportunity to keep some part-time work in spite of our major decision.
  • Artfest - I met so many amazing, inspiring women and changed my perception and my perspective.
  • Opportunities to share my work in Scrapbook Inspirations and in Dawn's book - 1000 Artist Journal Pages.

Okay, laptop battery dying... more later...

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Abundance breeds abundance


Look, I got mail. The buzzer rang and the postman said "Gotta parcel" I said "Does it need signing for?" (meaning "Do I gotta come down? I mean, I would have to get dressed and everything.") he says "No, I can leave it in the hall." (meaning, "Anyone that sounds that grumpy doesn't even deserve their mail.") I didn't even go down and check for ages, then I thought it was for K so I just put it in the corner. It was hours later before we discussed it and he said he wasn't expecting anything. So then I finally remembered that I was in fact expecting the box of generous Christmas money from my in-laws. Now there's a sentence. I wasn't expecting a box of money! No, that would be silly! I was expecting what I spent the money on...
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It has been interesting to watch myself through the process of buying paint. We have certain concepts so deeply ingrained in us sometimes that we don't even know they are there. Like... artist=starving, garret dwelling, 'will work for paint'. Yes, often that's true, but that doesn't mean it has to be true. I was slowly collecting colours bottle by bottle, making myself earn them in different ways, proving I would use them and proving I would use them well (what the? by whose standards?) Even now I feel guilty about it, like I need to justify it. I am reading the chapter in The Artist's Way about abundance, and it was a revelation to see all the buried feelings about wastefulness, money, deserving. This is my remedy, this is abundance, and the only way to prove it was the right thing to do, is to play and paint and make and do!

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