About
First of all…
Never in my earlier days would I ever have posted a group of pictures of myself on the interwebs. It’s been a long road to self acceptance…but this is just one way my art practice has changed and continues to change my life.
I always loved to create and write—but I never considered visual arts
This was at least partly because of my upbringing and most definitely because Mrs. Nolan, my fourth grade teacher, told me I couldn’t draw.
But mostly? I had zero self belief.
When I found mixed media art on the internet about 12 years ago, my heart leapt out of my chest. “Hell, yes!”
It was like I’d found the missing piece I didn’t know I’d lost.
Blogging was the social media around then. YouTube was coming into its own. So many mixed media artists generously shared their practice and offered so much know-how and encouragement…I truly am forever in their debt. People like Julie Balzer, Tammy Garcia, Teesha Moore…and so many others.
And so I jumped into visual arts for the first time in my life—and just never stopped.
Well, no again. I don’t just jump into any body of water—unless it’s really warm or I’ve had a few drinks. It’s terrifying to start making art for the first time!
I started with a few toe dips.
Then, finding the water warm, I waded in a bit more—and I just kept going. I learned, and learned more. I gained some confidence. And I especially learned that I could in fact draw. (Anyone can, Mrs. Nolan!)
And I learned that I absolutely love meeting up with my Self. That “Hell Yes” was our first reunion in a really long time.
Now—over a decade later—my art practice has changed, but creating daily has become a cornerstone of my life.
It’s where I go to express myself and to learn and grow. And like I said, I now share pictures of myself on my own blog site.
About Blogging
Like I said, blogging was THE social media in its beginning, but as we all know, social media shifted to other platforms changed and too often morphed into algorhythm-dopamine-addiction monsters, changing culture and history.
And I do believe at this time in history we as a society and as individuals have to figure out how to do social media in healthy and functional ways.
And one thing I know as someone who reads them every day—blogs never went away. And there is a lot to be said for sharing content—real expertise and shared interests—on on our own platforms.