Monday, September 29, 2008

a work in progress


i think i've shared with all of you here before that i kind of put my life on hold and stopped growing and changing for a while there. i was stuck in a rut, feeling kind of old, unmotivated to try anything new, just plain blah. it threw me for a loop as i've never been a blah kind of girl. i think i just kind of pulled into my shell for a rest. then i found torn paper collage and my life-long secret dream of being an artist started to awaken my creative spirit allowing me to spread my wings and fly in whole new directions. i found a brand new way to soar and live and embrace life!! my art journey has been scary and exhilarating. i feel like every piece i do is one giant experiment as i am completely untrained and just playing around in an intuitive organic sort of way. i've given myself permission to make mistakes and discard what doesn't work because i realize it is just a journey and one that i really just want to enjoy. one of the artists i discovered early in my artistic journey was kelly rae roberts. oh, her art spoke to me and i studied her images with longing to some day be only a smidgen as talented an artist as she is. when i started reading kelly's blog i found that she had many of the same fears and doubts as me. she was learning to spread her wings and fly right along with the rest of us. a couple of weeks ago i received my much-anticipated copy of kelly's book taking flight -- inspiration & techniques for giving your creative spirit wings. and i love, love, love it! the photo at the top is my latest piece -- a work in progress -- using some of the techniques in kelly's book. i am having so much fun with it and learning so much!! thanks, kelly, for all the inspiration and just for being so human and forth-coming with your art and your life!


taking flight
by kelly rae roberts


my new piece is at yet unnamed and like me, it will continue to evolve until it finds its true identity. we are both simply works in progress!

10 comments:

Auburn Kat said...

I kind of feel like I'm in a rut too..although my rut is avoiding men!

Deb Neerman said...

WoWzA, love this!!! And you say it "isn't done?!?" I think it's perfect!

~Hugs!

Cindy said...

how did you find 'torn paper collage'? i think a lot of people want to be creative, but don't know what to do. they might try a few things that don't workout so they give up. i enjoy sewing, and photography is a new love. they both are scary and yet i'm so happy when i complete a project that i like.

your collage looks lovely.

julie king said...

thanks for the kind words, ladies!

i subscribe to a magazine called somerset studio. in february 2007 i was voraciously reading the latest issue and saw some torn paper collages that an artist had done. i thought hmmmm i could do that. and i was off and running.

Terri Stegmiller said...

I'm loving this piece! The colors are great and it has two of my favorite subjects....birds and flowers.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

It's always so scary to "put yourself out there" for other people to see. Good for you for finding the courage to do so! I for one so enjoy seeing your art and hearing about your creative journey. Thanks!

Food and Drugs said...

Interesting blog.
I think you have a great attitude towards art and life, being so creative.
Regards

Cindy said...

thanks julie! i'll look for it.

Dragana Savkov - Bajić said...

Your new piece looks great! I'm thinking of ordering Kelly's book, too, because she's one of my favourite artist! Now, I definitely must to do it! I'm self taught artist, too, and I am glad about it, because, my art journey is a sort of exploring... You know, you try new stuff, you always discover something... I really enjoy that! Sorry about my English, it's obvious that I learned (did I?) English by myself.
Have a creative week!
Dragana

Lavinia said...

You sound so happy in this post...I hope this new technique continues to inspire and release your artistic visions!