Arty Farty Creator!

Wow!  I can't believe how today got away from me!

I began the day by taking photos of my jewellery.  A prospective customer asked me to email some photos of jewellery I had made that I hadn't yet posted on facebook.  Until now, I've taken plain photos with a black background but I thought I should be a bit more creative this time.  

So, I grabbed items from around the house that I thought I could use as props and took them with me out into the sunshine, along with my camera. 

I'm pretty happy with the results ... obviously not professional, but they show off my jewellery quite well. (click on my facebook badge on the right)  

I spent a number of hours creating a slideshow, that I hoped I could email to this person, but it turned out to be too big to email.

It then took a bit of time to email the photos separately to this person, with individual information for each photo.

I cooked dinner after that!  Fajitas.  Thank you Bare-chested Chef for the fabulous recipe!  

Of course, I had to then upload the photos to facebook and tag the information on them.  

Now I am here!

It's hard work being an arty farty creator!

I've always been quite artistic and creative.  My first memory of learning to draw is around the age of 4, when a friend's neighbour taught me how to draw a cowboy with chaps and boots, a gun holster with gun, a vest and kerchief tied around the neck and the big cowboy hat.  I found it so easy and I must have drawn hundreds of cowboys on every piece of paper, blackboard and flat piece of dirt I could find!

At school, I always got top marks for my art assignments and received very positive comments like my favourite in year 10, "These are the most beautiful and sensitive drawings that I've seen in a school art project" or "I hope to see you go further with your art, in a professional basis, when school is over".

My big plan was to become a Commercial Artist, but, as my big plans often did in those days, they fizzled away to nothing.

I did a bit of drawing and sketching over the years.  In 1981, I enrolled in an art course and then promptly fell pregnant with my third child.  I didn't think I was capable of being pregnant, participating in an art course, caring for a child (my first had passed away) and a husband effectively, so I canned the course.

In 1997, I enrolled in another course to learn oil painting.  I did this course for 4 months and completed one large oil painting and few smaller ones.  Just as I finished the large painting, my father passed away, and that drained all of my motivation to do anything artistic or creative for a long time.  I still, to this day, have not touched my oil paints, but am slowly convincing myself to consider the option!

Then in 2005, my Mum passed away suddenly.  On the way home from (interstate) her funeral, in a little town called "Johns River", my girlfriend (who shall be known as Beautiful Girl With the Long Blonde Hair, or BGWLBH) (private joke) and I stopped at the local markets.

There, for sale, on one of the stalls, was a bracelet made out of pink beads, pearls and charms.  BGWLBH and I argued over who was going to buy it.  I played the sympathy card and won.  I loved the bracelet and thought that it would be pretty easy to make.

When we returned to Sydney (where I lived at the time), I searched through craft stores for all the resources  that I might need and proceeded to make the exact same bracelet that I had bought!  It was easy and then it became my therapy.  It helped me through a very sad time in my life, after my mother's death had sent me into a dark place, and it kept me on the right side of sane.

Just over two years ago, Adoring Husband bought me my first quality camera and I took up photography.  Vegan Chickie is also talented in this field.  She and I email a photo to each other every day, of something that we've seen or done with a little story attached.  It's a great way to keep in touch and be involved in each other's life.

A local business woman, after seeing examples of my work, hired me to do some photography for a Government funded tourism website.  Through that I've been hired for special events and am currently considering a wedding job in October!

So now, I have bought myself some more art equipment and am getting back into drawing and sketching and experimenting with pastels.

I'm feeling particularly arty, farty and creative these days so stay tuned for some arty farty creations!