As I venture back into art making and blogland after many months
healing up from a broken wrist, severely pulled biceps tendon and
dislocated thumb, I'm indulging in a little trip down memory lane.
Eleven years ago this month, on a sunny winter's day, I strolled across
the street to my neighbor Jessica's for a Stampin Up! party. I honestly
didn't know what Stampin Up! was, what I was attending, or why the
exclamation point was there. What I did know is that I was mom to then
not-quite three-year-old twins, and when offered the chance of two hours
off, in the company of other women (people who spoke in whole
sentences!), I did not walk, I ran.
To be clear, at that point I was not what you'd consider a creative
person. I'd sewn a little, beaded a little, done some flower arranging,
and I was a decent writer. But my eighth-grade art teacher's caution
that I should give up any pretensions to art was one I'd heeded.
At the stamping workshop, I felt a little out of my element, but the
demonstrator was friendly and made me feel that I could do what she was
doing. She guided us through some hands-on projects: a card, and a
couple of cool gift boxes. But when she demonstrated heat embossing, and
the muddy-colored granulated substance she applied to paper turned to
GOLD--well, I was hooked.
I am a very good researcher, and that workshop launched me on what I can
only describe as an odyssey to learn about everything related to
stamping. I spent sleepless nights trawling the web. In those pre-social
media days, one of the ways to connect with others who shared your passions was
via Yahoo Groups. There, I met a global community of kind, patient and
encouraging souls. There were an unbelievable number of groups--and
stamping companies, stamping products, and tutorials. I was hungry and I
fervently believed that though I could not draw a straight line, I
could create something pretty.
I believe I spent the next two years mostly collecting stuff. But
somewhere along the line, and vastly encouraged by those kind souls, I
began to Play. Stamps led to ink, which led to paint, and gesso, and
molding paste, stencils, found objects, ephemera, collage...you get the
picture. By the time I became familiar with Tim Holtz and his Products
of Wonder, my fate was sealed, and I found a phrase that resonated:
mixed media. I'd always balked at doing the same thing over and over and
I'm fairly adventurous, so that worked. Mixed media!
And then of course, there were the Swaps. Artist Trading Cards, cards,
canvases, jewelry, chunky books, techniques, decos, altered books, round
robin journals. Oh my, I spent years creating and swapping with some
very talented women (and a few men). Many of them are my friends today,
and though I limit my swaps to a special few with old friends, I keep my
box of these treasures.
I still love stamps and use them, though not as much or as I did back
then. I've settled in what I know to be my style: slightly grungy,
unapologetically colorful, very piecey. Somewhere along the line I
picked up paintbrushes and pliers and added those to my repertoire. When not injured or recovering, I create a wide variety of stuff for friends and local auctions. I still struggle with the term artist, but I am a person who enjoys the creative process.
My husband's eyes glaze when I talk about this stuff, but he nods
knowingly when I say that rubber stamping was my gateway drug. I tell
him not to think too hard about it and just enjoy the pretty things.
