Hi, my name’s Lisa and I am a art/craft/aholic. My entire life I have been drawn to all things artistic. Singing, acting, drawing, painting, crafting, playing music, writing, creating, designing... Lots and lots of things ending in ing. I can’t help it. It’s who I am. As my childhood came to a sudden and dramatic end at the age of sixteen and I had to enter the grown-up world of working to pay for grown-up things like food and rent, I had to give up on that creative side of me. There wasn’t time for artsy-fartsy stuff. I didn’t have the room or the funds. I had to make money and be responsible. Looking back, I’m not sure how I coped without art in my life, except to say I took up a well-used adult coping mechanism, drinking. Hmmm.
Anyway, here I am hundreds of years later (okay, thirty-ish), with the kiddies all grown up and not needing Mum so much, and I have time to do all the things again! It doesn’t hurt being able to afford to buy all the wonderful supplies for doing the things either, I tell you, but I have come up against a bit of a problem of late. Too many strings! I have more strings to my bow than the entire string section of the orchestra. Okay, slight exaggeration, but not by much.
I have time, but I don’t have endless, unlimited time. I have money, but again, not endless or unlimited. I am lucky. I know how lucky I am. I have a room in my house (thanks for leaving home kiddies) dedicated solely to me for whatever purposes I wish to use it for. It is sometimes referred to as the art room, sometimes the craft room. This room is, a)well organised, b)well stocked, c)has natural light, d)is comfortable all year round.
So what’s the problem? you may cry, especially those arty-crafty people out there, wishing this was their room. TOO MANY STRINGS! I apologise for yelling, but to give you an idea of what’s going on in this mythical place of creativity, this creation hub, I’ll make a list.
- art journalling
- painting
- drawing
- collage
- stencilling
- stamping
- stamp carving
- monoprinting
- scrapbooking
- card making
- mixed media
- fashion design
- refashioning
- sewing
- jewelry design
- jewelry making
- sculpting
- writing
Sometimes I can’t sleep at night because my brain is buzzing with ideas for the next thing I’m going to create. I have idea after idea and I beging to think I can do everything, and maybe I can - except I can’t - because time is not infinite. Sometimes I avoid my wonderful room because chosing what to do stresses me out, which defeats the purpose of having this space in the first place. I wonder if other creative people struggle as much as I do to pick just one or two outlets for their creative ideas. To work on one or two projects at a time and ignore all the other things they could be doing. Or is it just me?
Anyway, in keeping with this blog being mostly about books, here are some of the most inspiring art books I’ve read over the last year or so.
Drawing & Painting Beautiful Faces - Jane Davenport
The Art of Whimsical Lettering - Joanne Sharpe
Brave Intuitive Painting - Flora S. Bowley
Adventures in Mixed Media Art - Amy O. Jones
Mixed Media Revolution - Darlene Olivia McElroy
The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery - Karen Michel
The Cloth Paper Scissors Book - Barbara Delaney
Taking Flight - Kelly Rae Roberts
As with all subject-specific books, the more you read, the more they begin to blend into one another. Take your fill, but when you begin to feel like you've heard it all before, know that it's time to stop. And if you find the secret for staying focussed on one project at a time, please let me know.
