What's new at The Loft - Episode 92

Transition and Evolution

Creativity is not to be located in one state of mind, one room, one type of person, one individual. Rather it lies in the transition points between different ways of thinking. If we close the doors, we will never hear the full story.  - Chris Bilton

I got involved in scrapbooking with simple motives.  It started with the desire to document our first family vacation.  And while I still love the concept of it, I have found myself drifting away from it more and more.  I had started to feel limited creatively and began to branch out in other directions.  ATC's consumed an entire year of my life and I absolutely love the art form.  My challenge of making one ATC card per day for an entire year opened my eyes to other mediums and materials.  It forced me to think outside of the box more than I have ever before and explore other art forms for inspiration. 

And since that time I have further stretched my wings and branched out into new areas, and have gotten back to a few creative outlets that I had long ago given up on. Mixed media and assemblage are some of my newer areas of exploration, along with art journaling. 

In scrapbooking I couldn't really bring myself to use journaling in any of my layouts.  I didn't like laying out my emotions or thoughts for the world to see.  I wasn't comfortable in sharing these with others.  In fact in all the layouts I had done over the years only one layout sticks out in my mind that used journaling at all, which was more a story than any emotional disclosure on my part.  And though I am happy with the layout and the story I told,  I wasn't comfortable sharing the memories for fear of judgement.

Art journaling for some reason is different to me.  I suppose it is because when I first started working in my journal it was with the intention of not really sharing the work with anyone.  I loved and still love the creative freedom of art journaling.  Of using art and language to relate thoughts and feelings in new ways.  And while the thoughts, messages, and emotions expressed are not always conveyed in my own words (I like to find meaningful quotes) they show what is in my heart.  And what has surprised me the most is that as my exploration in this medium continues I have felt less nervous about letting others into those areas of my heart which I have put walls up around.  The process has become somewhat of a therapeutic one for me in many ways.  It has allowed me to evolve and grow as an individual and an artist in my own little world.  My voice, while small is beginning to grow.

“Live your life from your heart. Share from your heart. And your story will touch and heal people's souls.”

- Melody Beattie

Recent Entries 

Speaking of ATC's

Here is one I recently made on a mini stretched canvas

And stay tuned as I can't wait to show you what I'm doing with those 365 ATC's I made in 2010.


Thank you for allowing me to share with you.  I'm glad you came by and hope you come back soon.