Here we go again......

They say to be a good blogger you should blog on a regular basis….well here I am blogging again …its good to be regular:-)

I am still not sure what a blog is but .........here we go again....

The point to my blog is to connect with people like me who suffer from imposter syndrome or who have never really found their way but wish they could.........I mentioned before I struggle to stand up and say I AM AN ARTIST….so the question is what is an artist…I Googled it …

ARTIST: A person who creates ART (such as painting, sculpture, music, or writing) using conscious skill and creative imagination….I think I am actually going to challenge this point.

On my 54th birthday March 2022 after a year of growing my little business doing clay hearts, decoupage, wooden signs and tea light holders, my husband bought me a watercolour paint, brushes and watercolour paper.

I had never painted before in my life EVER but some how unconsciously I seem to know how to paint…... I picked up the watercolour paint brush and painted.

So here is the challenge to the definition above, it was obviously a conscious act to pick up the brush but it was NOT a conscious act to know how to paint.

I actually can’t draw very well but I love colours and in particularly the way watercolour paint comes together to create the values ….the light and the dark.

So if to be an artist is a conscious skill then I am not an artist :-(

So lets move on to the second part of the definition: creative imagination........... for over 35 years I worked in the corporate world, in an office everyday ….I loved my job and when I became a Project Manager I found my passion in that corporate world …..I loved every minute of that part of my career and in a way I was very creative ….more from a problem solving capacity, working with some great people and living the dream…..so going back to the definition above...... creative imagination then I have always had one of them….as a child I was always told I had a vivid imagination (may be that's the same thing)

So if an artist is being creative....... I AM AN ARTIST ….just unconsciously :-) its still hard to say but its getting easier talking to you about it.

To sound like a total geek painting has changed the way I look at everything around me, I now look at the shadows and the way light hits things, its the light and the dark that creates our form, gives us depth.

My inspiration again was my wonderful rescue hens, their beautiful characters, their light and dark …I just had to paint them.

I look at what I am doing is a journey of discovery …I was actually talking to someone today and it sounded odd that I never engaged in craft/art before 2021 ….nearly a year after loosing my mum. I was just not interested, work came first and it was just something mum did….I wish I had paid more attention, I wish I had given her more support….life is a strange thing and I am sure we all wish we had said or done something we didn’t.

I do have a photo of my mum and dad looking down on me in my studio….I am sure they would be pleased I am finally finding my way, I just wish I had a time machine and I could go back and say to mum ….GOOD JOB, you are so talented and I love everything you do…..but unfortunately that is not going to happen so instead I look up at their photo and know there is a mutual appreciation.

So today with writing this for you ...I think I AM AN ARTIST and I need to own that title. I will talk about my imposter syndrome another day ....I've always had it but again I don't know really what it is just that I have it.....so please come back and we can talk about that another day.

I would love to know what you think about defining yourself and how you have come to terms with what you do and how you manage your ability to stand up AND BEE COUNTED.

Whilst you are here on my little website checking out my blog please please check out my products....I am adding new content every week so always something new to look at and maybe make a sneaky purchase or two.

Wishing you a lovely day and catch up again with you real soon.

So ...My First Ever Blog.....at my age 'whats all that about'??

What does an artist blog about I can’t share recipes, I can’t share how to build a shed….but I can share a little bit of me and my art.

How do you feel when you stand up and say …..I am a………. I find it difficult to stand up and say I am an artist ….I say it then I apologise for not being one really and ……well you know what I mean.

Who am I and why am I even trying to blog..… the main reason for my blog is to share with ladies out there of a certain age that life is so surprising and has strange twists and turns and doing something you never thought you could do gives you an amazing feeling of accomplishment...We will get back to why shortly but lets start with..........who am I?

• I am Jules

• I am 55

• I am a wife, a sister, an auntie & a great auntie ….that doesn’t mean Im great at being an auntie but I am so it works both ways, I’m also a friend

• I grew up in the countryside with my mum, dad and brothers in a little village in East Yorkshire on a small holding

• After finishing school I have worked, married, travelled and generally enjoyed life…..as with everyone there have been ups and downs ….but that’s for another day
  

So there are the basics ……I am just an ordinary woman who has worked hard all her life…luckily I have enjoyed my work.

I have always had passions in life like any other mainly time with my husband, travelling and my pets….I love my pets and work.

Back in 2019 my husband bought me a hen coop and run…..I have had rescue chickens ever since..they are the most wonderful and characterful things I have ever met…up there with dogs and cats any day.

The difference between chickens and other pets is that chickens live in their own little world ….when you go to see your chickens you are entering into their world ….it takes you away from your own world to one of now…in the moment…..that’s what I love about them…they are funny, can be sad, they are empathetic to each other and me …they are just amazing creatures.

So back to why I am blogging…..well back in 2020 I lost my mum it was extremely sad and due to covid restrictions I had not seen her, where she was living had a no visits allowed so we were kept apart from March until she was dying in July…..just awful……anyway the reason for mentioning something so sad is that she was a wonderful inspirational lady who had done arts & crafts all her life…I never really took much interest and I had never had time for hobbies….work was always so full on.

I am not looking for sympathy but I do need to also mention another sad thing, its to do with rescuing chickens (I feel Im all over but it will all make sense soon Im sure), the chickens I have rescued have been from cages or barns where they lay eggs day in and day out…..at around 18 months they are then discarded from the farms to either to be sold for animal feed or if lucky they are rescued and given a second chance and a retirement. They are bred to lay not to live long lives …its genetically bred into them….so when you rescue sometimes they pass through your life quickly …and as I said they have such wonderful characters, this means it is always, always very sad to loose them.

…..after loosing my first rescue hen Doris after only 6 months of living with us I wanted something to remember her by….something so we would always remember her and her life lived …I looked on the internet as we all do when we need something and I was worried what I got would not be quite as I wanted….

So this is where we jump back ....to my mum and the arts & crafts….I thought my mum would have suggested I made something for Doris, after all if folks on the internet can do things why can’t I …I get what I want and I have a little relax time…quiet rare up to this point.

So my first ever arts & craft piece was a clay heart with Doris on it - hand painted with a butterfly …..my journey into finding a new string to my bow which I never thought existed had started…

So why blog about it now…..well since that time, that first little heart which still hangs in our tree in the chickens world things have changed so much …..I just can’t believe where life has taken me….and its still taking me ….so this little blog is to share that journey and as I said let ladies of a certain age know …..you can be anything you want to be……

.....I want to share more with you.... but I need to be careful not to over blog on a first date .....Please join me again soon as I continue my story of my journey to being able to stand up and say......... I AM AN ARTIST!

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