Saturday 21 May 2016

Creativity

Finnabair has a challenge on her blog about quotes and how they inspire us to be creative. There are lots of words that inspire me, but I think the ones that have stayed with me and stuck in my head and still make me stop and think, aren't really a quote. Infact, they're a piece of graffiti I first saw nearly 20 years ago- "this inertia that keeps me, hides me, kills me". It was spray painted on a car park at my old university building and I read them every day for the next 7 years. The words eventually started to fade and the car park has since been demolished but still the words linger in my head. They're not the most cheerful words and I don't fully understand what sentiment inspired the graffiti artist when they sprayed them. There's even something slightly uncomfortable about the words, but they drive me on: to understand better, to keep trying, to not give up and never let things get me down. I try to follow this idea through all things in my life, including creativity. If at first something doesn't work or doesn't turn out how I want, I start over and try again.
This is my page inspired by Finnabairs challenge.




Created using lots of paints, sprays, diecut cogs, flowers and a lot of mess!



Saturday 14 May 2016

Changes

I'm generally quite laid back about things and don't usually get too stressed- except for when I'm waiting for big things to happen. I've just moved house and started a new job, and waiting for all the paperwork to go through and making sure all the necessary arrangements were in place left me feeling really strung out. I worried something would go wrong, I had a huge to-do-list that never seemed to get any shorter and what if I'd forgotten a really important thing?! Stress! But we're now settling nicely into our new home and my job seems to have gotten off to a good start so I can start to relax now and wonder what all the fuss was about.

This months challenge at Mixed Media Place is about being patient and well, it's something that I struggle with sometimes.



This journal page is about my IMPATIENCE and was created using sprays, crackle paste, seed beads, alpha stamps and a splattering of paint.








I'd also like to enter this journal page for the May Berry71bleu blog challenge. The colours and textures in their mood board are just gorgeous and really inspired my page details.







Thursday 5 May 2016

Greenwitch

The Dark Is Rising series is one of the first books I remember reading that has left an indelible imprint on my mind. The mixture of ancient magics, Authurian references and nature imagery always conjured fantastical pictures whenever I read it. My copy is now somewhat battered and falling to bits but still I devour each page as if I were reading it anew. The imagery of the Greenwitch book is particularly striking- ancient traditions combining with an elemental power that is renewed with each making.

For this journal page I used various patterned papers, spray inks and I handmade the frame elements from polymer clay.