Over the last couple of weeks I have been a frequent visitor to the GPP Street Team blog run by Michelle Ward http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/ She is one awesome lady! I truly love her stuff and her enthusiasm! She first came to my notice as one of the contributors in 'True Colors', the book I raved about below and her crusades are designed to bring together artists in a little community of their own and to encourage them to make and share stuff!
I knew right from day one that I was going to brave it and take part in her crusades but you have no idea how brave a thing this is for me because I simply have no faith whatsover in my creative/artistic ability. I know I have gone on about this a couple of times in various places but I grew up being the 'academic'. I was never encouraged to be artistic or creative and in fact have been told all my life (mostly by family) that I am not artistic... and the more people said that, the more I believed them and from quite a young age I put myself in this little box which was all black and white, logical, full of straight lines, order and rationality...
BUT...
it dawned on me about 18 months ago that I had been brushing on the outskirts of creativity all my life. I had played with stenciling when that had been the rage...putting little works of art all over my walls and furniture. I had painted little cottages for pin money and had done lots of sewing when making furnishings and decorations, made tapestries into cushions and had spent a good deal of my childrens youth using my 'non creative ability' to dream up and make fancy dress outfits and games and novelties for school. So with this enlightenment came a new enthusiasm for art and I began googling!
Soon, I came across new terms...'altered books', 'art journalling', 'mixed media', 'scrapbooking' and very soon a whole new world opened up for me! I started scrapbooking, all the time finding myself fascinated with the art world and always wanting to 'have a go' but never really knowing where to start.
So having done a bit of scrapbooking my confidence is growing and now I am ready to take on the elusive 'art journal'. This is such a biggy for me!!!
Having joined crusade 17 I got together my 'take out' journalling kit which includes a little tin of cuttings and papers, pens, pencils, stencils, inks, stamps, glue, and just for Michelle, the little stapler and coloured staples! I am going to add a little sewing kit too when I get round to it and I am determined to get some of my thoughts and ideas onto paper. I can only get better...right???
Anyway, having got the little kit together, I felt inspired to do my first couple of pages (with just about everything I could lay my hands on!)and already I feel braver...even doing a page to represent my feelings about finding some faith...its gotta be out there somewhere hasn't it? 
So, I painted with acrylics, water pencils, water crayons. I stamped and gessoed and sanded down. I collaged and inked and attached stuff. I have no idea what my style is but I guess that unless I try everything I will never know. So thank-you Michelle, you have definately taken me outside of my box...you know the one...its black and white and is filled with straight lines, logic, and reason!
Edited to add that I am sorry about the photos, I can't seem to make them any bigger or clearer but thanks for looking anyway!
