Looking back with a smile....

A year ago I enrolled on my first e-course 'Flying Lessons'.  And this led me to starting my blog.  Something I never even considered before. 

And as my first year of blogging approaches I am thoughtful about the changes this has made to my life and the people I have met a long the way.  But I am not here to get philosophical - just to share with you one person who made an initial impression.  Makiko is a very talented artist specializing in pottery, but one thing that I always remember with a big smile is her amazing 'Blue Box and Books' which she made and shared on a video.  I've yet to make a video but this is one that I admire and aspire to.  Hope you like it too.

My blog wouldn't feel complete without sharing a photo, so here is one that I took the other evening when driving home.  Sun rise and sun sets are another thing that make me smile.  What makes you smile?

MEETING MOIRA!!

I have had a great day. I set off first thing for Cambridgeshire and spent the day with Moira. This was the first time we have met after getting to know each other in May when enrolled on the same e-course (Kelly Rae Roberts - Taking Flight). At the time we learned we had things in common and have kept in touch when the course finished. We learned:

* We are around the same age and share the same birthday
* We both have a daughter and a son
* and two granddaughters of similar age
* We are both registered nurses
* We are both passionate about creating and plan to sell our work


It was SO good to finally meet up. I had a lovely drive, no hold ups, no getting lost. Infact the journey was much quicker than we both anticipated so I do hope we can get together from time to time.
So what did we get up to?
Well, a part from chatting non stop we lost no time in looking at each others creative work. Moira has posted photos on her blog, but they do not do justice to her actual work. I was both amazed and buzzing with inspiration. In November I am going to Belstead House for a residential weekend. Moira is teaching so I am looking forward to it more than ever now! Moira is VERY talented and I loved the background papers she makes, they are STUNNING!
Moira was kind enough to show me how to screen print on to fabric. I had great fun and came home with lots of prints that I will work on. Here are a few pictures :



We discovered the stem of the ivy was too thick and left a very broad stem on the printed area. You learn by experience. We played around with different ideas and I love the prints I made. Thank you so much, Moira! I had a GREAT day and look forward to meeting up again soon.

UNRAVELLING

Today see's me starting yet another e-course. This has become quite an obsession, but a healthy one since I am learning so much and meeting so many new and amazing women. It really started with Kelly Rae Robert's 'Taking Flight' and I do feel like I have been flying creatively ever since. Each course has been very different, and I am sad that Shimelle's 'Learn Something New Everyday' finishes this week. I am way behind with making my daily recording, and it has been a good learning experience and reminder that I need to keep things simple. I find it hard to just do minimum and because of this things often get unfinished or not even started as they are too big to comtemplate.

So, with this new course I plan to try and approach it differently. I will give it my best but be realistic. I love the fact that this week is about feet.

This morning I took lots of photos and I have posted this one to remind me that I am in the driving seat as I complete this e-course and that I can control the speed and the direction I take. Something I learned from LSNED, so perhaps I shouldn't feel too bad about the amount of time and energy I am putting into e-courses right now. They say 'Practice makes perfect'!

Welcome to my blog!

It wasn't until my friend had to drop out of Project 365 that I realised how much I value sharing what I do with other people. I continue my photographic challenge but it isn't the same; I miss our shared postings and comments.

But on a brighter note so much else has happened this past month in terms of creative leaps. I have joined a new group that meets monthly, and enrolled on the 'Taking Flight' e-course which is now in week three of five. I have met some amazing new people along the way and I am learning so much that I feel overwhelmed. But equally, very excited by it all!

I never understood the point of blogs until enrolling on 'Taking Flight'. And certainly never envisaged having one myself! But now I 'get it', so here I am, taking a leap into the unknown world of blogging. Getting started has been a huge learning curve. I want to thank Melanie for pointing me in the right direction when I got stuck. As a fellow newbie it is nice to know we are dipping our toes in this together!

I have lots of ideas and hope that my blog page will develop and evolve over time. This is still VERY new to me, so please be patient! I hope you will enjoy my future postings.

ps: If anyone wants a Project 365 buddy, let me know!!