MY STORY continued
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| One of my First Drawings |
My cousin’s wife is an Artist and her work is just spectacular! She has many of her pieces at Hotels in Abu Dhabi and people kept asking her when she was going to give lessons. So when she started offering Art Classes in 2010, I decided that I wanted to broaden my Art skills to something a little more grown-up. It was the best decision, I undertook. I was in Heaven… This was just what I was hungry for and my love affair for Art was kindled.
In 2011, Our son had just completed High School in the UAE and was off to start Varsity in Cape Town and our daughter was just starting High School, in the Northern Hemisphere. I had the longing to return to the Cape and had itchy feet and needed to be closer to my sisters, brother, and especially my Nanna (both parents passed away many years ago). It was a tough decision to leave my DH (Darling Husband) behind, but he finally had a good job and had to remain in the UAE.
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| KraftyKidzWorkshop |
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| Kiddies attending Xmas Workshop |
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| Parenting Hub |
Then my sister-in-law and I found an opportunity to work together, and bought Parenting Hub. She is a qualified Graphic Designer and this worked for a year. We were able to share the work load and learnt much about marketing. We attended workshops and events, etc and grew our business. As we were not able to expand our business at that time, the work load became a bit much and as I had been commuting a lot to Abu Dhabi, we unfortunately had to sell the business.
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| Mixed Media on Board |
I started taking Mixed Media classes, again to expand my art skills and improve my techniques. I like working with many different mediums and can become easily bored with just one medium, so I mix it up and explore new techniques. Working with Mixed Media has made me realise that it is ok to make mistakes and occasionally things do go wrong and that I do need the patience (like my Nanna) to accept that I don't know everything (yet). At least Mixed Media, is very forgiving. I also find that daylight is the best time to work on my projects.
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| Acrylic Painting on Canvas of Blouberg Beach |
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| Nikon D3100 |
I like to go the extra mile and am a bit of a perfectionist (to my own detriment). My hubby always says that I like to create extra work for myself, which admittedly, I do, do. Not wanting to stop at creating The Art of Creativity Studio, I expanded my horizons even further and took a Photography course. I would highly recommend any creative person to pursue photography as it helps with that eye for detail, and of course helps to market your creative work.
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| "Steal Like an Artist" |
Facebook and Pinterest were the next steps, I took to develop my brand. And slowly, my desires to turn my obsessions into a business started to become a reality. Recently, I have joined Instagram and you can view many of my creations and my photography images on that platform.
I have read a book, twice, called: “Steal like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told you About Being Creative” by Austin Kleon, where he suggests that you take an idea and put your stamp on it, by developing the different ideas and creating it into something of your own, and share, of course!
Pinterest and Instagram are my constant source of inspiration, and I often think, “I can make that and develop it my style.”
I must say that I have been known to become quite excited when I visit an Arts and Crafts/Stationery Store as it lights a fire within me, even from a very young age and I can spend hours just looking around, but I can also spend a small fortune too. I find myself wanting all the tools of the trade (if only my budget and time would allow). I do, however have to realise that I cannot have everything and that at some point I have to start limiting my supplies, as I am finding that I am out-growing my studio and soon I will need my own Craft Store to store all my supplies.
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| Silhouette Cameo at work |
Why is it that at school we are only taught, Academics or Sports and that there is very little room for Creative minded students? How sad is that? We need creatives in this world, to make it more beautiful. Well, now is the time to embrace my creativity and share it with the world (literally). I want to stop making excuses as I have doubted my abilities for so long now that I don't want to hide behind them, anymore. I have the flexibility of my job, and yes, it is a job! I am my own boss, I have creative control over my own projects and at least my creativity can’t be stifled, I am in charge of my own destiny. The nice thing about having a flexible schedule is that I still have time to catch-up with Family and Friends over a coffee or lunch/dinner. "Fortunately", for my creativity, my hubby is away most of the time, my son is away at Varsity and has left home and my daughter is in her last year of High School. I like to start the day with a clean slate, which entails a walk on the beach with my dog, as my constant companion, and most chores done as this clears my head for the day ahead in my studio.
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| Unique Handmade Cards will also be part of the Stock |
My “Top Secret” dream is to start selling my products before I move, again... back to Abu Dhabi mid 2017, on an online store, probably Etsy, so that my creations can be accessible to the whole world. I am currently investigating different options and working on building up my product stock, Unique Handmade Treasures for your Pleasure with Love by The Art of Creativity Studio xxx
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| My Motto |
I Love what I do and it rewards me with such a sense of accomplishment.
Read Part I:
