Creativity is innate within us - in the way we prepare a meal or file a report, solve arguments between children, communicate with loved ones or plant our gardens. I've heard people say they don't have a creative bone in the bodies, but I disagree - we may have been put off because our art teacher said we couldn't draw or someone laughed at our painting. It doesn't mean we're not creative, it just means we need to try something else.
In 2008 I entered the world of blogging, one I had observed from afar for a couple of years before I entered the fray. I loved making things but I wasn't sure I had the confidence to share my creative life with the world. I tentatively took the step - and jumped straight in! It was a time of immense creativity in which I handcrafted wares and set out to live a creative life. I sold cards to a couple of local shops and started a Madeit Store - neither of which would make me rich any time soon!
It was great fun though - I indulged my love of photography and bought a Nikon D80 digital SLR (which I have never regretted - it takes beautiful images), fed the graphic designer's soul with an Imac computer (later purchasing Adobe InDesign - fantastic for work and home) and bought a Print Gocco for home screen printing.
These sweet images of Sophie were made then - I traced over a photo of her, created a screen and printed a run in red and then yellow. When we are in our new house I will frame some for her room - she wants to use them in her crafting and I keep having to say no - they are just too precious! It was a very rare, still moment in a busy toddler's life - it reminds me how like Jono is to Sophie, always going at 100 miles an hour.
I loved blogging and made connections to other creative souls around Australia and the world. My sister Kate, from
Greedy for Colour, started her blog at the same time and it was a terrific way for us to keep in touch with what we were doing. Instead of just emailing photos between ourselves, we were sharing them with everyone else! It made living in separate countries just that little bit easier.
I indulged my whimsy and let myself play around with many different media - painting, sewing, crochet, knitting, embroidery, digital collages and more. I combined my writing with my creativity - short, fun captions (as seen in the image above) or longer, reflective blog posts about the nature of creativity and parenting.
I learnt many new skills - felting is one that I particularly loved. I loved laying out tufts of bright, soft, fluffy wool, pouring over detergent and hot water and matting them into a firm, piece of cloth. The kitchen tiles would be dripping with water, my biceps muscled and bulging!
There were pressures, though, from the real world. Money was tight - we had to decide between maintaining our internet connection or paying for Tom and Sophie's swimming lessons. It was an easy choice - in a hot country like Australia, swimming is essential, not only for the lifesaving aspects (!), but the sheer pleasure gained from days spent in the water, splashing with friends or floating peacefully on your back, looking up to the sky.
I decided instead to become a mobile blogger and use the computer at the library, mum's, wherever I could get an internet connection. It became too hard though and I hadn't yet been introduced to the concept of a 'blog break' - where now they are quite commonplace, I wasn't keen on leaving my blog languishing in the ether, while I did my thing.
Instead, I took drastic action and pressed the 'delete' button - all that writing, all those images, gone! I honestly wasn't too worried by it and I'm not now, either. It just helps me to start over and re-enter the lovely world of blogging. It is familiar and exciting. I have a place for my writing and photography. A place to connect with fellow creative people from all over the world. A place to reignite my creativity - a place to reconnect with my passions.