Wright Story

Alphabet Affirmation (IA & CED)

2012-01-25T13:52:00.003Z

...in love.

...in kindness

...in hope

...in joy

...in your dreams

...in the value of friendship

This late night doodle is my entry for the Inspiration Avenue 'Alphabet' challenge. I've used it as the first part to an affirmation meditation. Remember: love and kindness are not just for giving to other people. We need to treat ourselves with kindness and love. This is what I'm trying to learn this week.

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Butterfly Spirit (IA & CED2012)

2012-01-18T13:08:00.000Z

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge set by the wonderful Hettienne is "Butterflies" and the Creative Everyday theme for January is "New". These two themes so perfectly fit together and compliment my personal experience that I felt inspired to create and blog (at last!! I know its been so long I've nearly forgotten how to blog ;-)).

I created the background with a variety of inks on wet watercolour paper. Next I added butterflies taken from my favourite Tuscan Rose collage sheet. Then added words that I'd written on hand made papers. The wording reflects how I'm constantly having to adjust, reassess & renew in order to live with unpredictable health. At the moment these words reflect the stage I'm at and echo the symbolism of butterflies.

To read some interesting philosophical thoughts on Butterfly symbolism and meanings visit 'Whats-Your-Sign'.

After last year's difficulties I'm reminded to take everything day by day and moment by moment. My energy is still very low and so as I'm gently easing myself back into my creative and online activity. I've accepted that I need to cut back and am trying to follow my heart as to where I spend my limited energy. One thing that hit me at the start of this year was the urge to go back to spending more time writing fiction. I've dusted off the manuscripts of three books and am feeling inspired to work on my dream of having a book published. I realise I do want to share the stories I've written and so have made a start on edits & rewrites of my YA fantasy novel.

A caterpillar embraces the changes it must make to become a butterfly. I guess they have little choice :-). However, we humans can struggle with times of change and the unpredictability of life. It is sometimes difficult to adapt and go with the fluctuations.

What new challenges & changes has the New Year brought for you?

Wishing you all a Happy & Creative week :-)

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Tested Yet Blessed...Wishing you all a Happy Christmas

2011-12-23T18:24:00.000Z

So sorry I've abandoned blogland for so long. I've come back to wish you all:

Happy Christmas, Happy Holidays

A Happy New Year 2012!

Also I wanted to share the little pre-Christmas creativity I've managed with my children (the above snowman decoration was made by my two babes). And to share a story with a positive ending....

I am used to having health problems but I've just got the other side of a particularly testing couple of months which pushed my limits. Yet I did get the other side of it, am doing quite well now (albeit a little more fragile) and have been repeatedly blessed by kindness & friendship. The help, patience & generosity we've been shown by amazing friends and even strangers proves how loving the human spirit is. We've received unfailing support and care from our amazing friends, listening ears, practical help, gifts and treats from organisations....so much. And I feel humbled, grateful and blessed. I just wanted to share with you the good that came from bad so that if you're having a really bad time you may know that its worth holding on and keeping hope because so much love and light does exist even in or following the darkest times.

My health has reduced my creative energy but as I started to feel better the past fortnight I've primarily focused on creating with my children (who, at just eight and ten years, have been amazing through all the bad times). Below is a glimpse of making cards for grandparents with stamps, ink, embossing powder and peel-offs:

Last weekend was my good friend's 50th Birthday and below is the card I made her using wood, glitter peel-offs, card & ribbon:

And in the past few days I've been working alongside mine and my friend's children, painting canvases to adorn their bedroom walls. My friend's children had both just had their bedrooms decorated and needed pictures for their walls. We've been working together on large canvas paintings using acrylic. For her November Birthday my daughter changed the colour scheme in her room with new soft furnishings and so she is painting a large canvas to match. Then my son, who has not altered his bedroom at all, still wanted to paint with us and produced this lovely piece:

I feel my creative self beginning to gain inspiration, slowly unfurling after hibernation and rest. I very much hope that not too far into the New Year I will be recovered enough to be an active blogger and be busy creating again. Meanwhile, thinking of you all and wishing you a wonderful holiday season!
XXXX

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Creative with my limitations and focusing on the can-dos (AEDM2011)

2011-11-18T13:27:00.000Z

To create every day you need to be able to adapt to and creatively use what each day brings.

I've wanted to create & post daily for Art Everyday Month like I managed last year. I've also yearned to visit other aedm participants and become an active part of the community like before. But this year I've been physically unable to do this. I've had to accept rest and healing time. Instead I've tried to find ways to be creative within these limitations.

For instance: It was important to put my energy into my daughter's Birthday a few days ago. I used my creative time to come up with new imaginative party games and activities and was happy that they were well received by the group of grinning girls. It wouldn't be appropriate to share the photos without parental permission but imagine giggles and plenty of creative activity. Oh and of course the prizes were an assortment of craft kits :-)

Also, whilst resting I've tried to work on projects that can be done at my own pace and from my armchair like the embroidered mandala that I did last week. (Thank you to everyone who left such supportive kind comments). And above you can see the result of me sitting down with material cuts and old buttons. I gradually matched, layered and assembled them into flower type corsages. I've used felt between layers to add dimension and was pleased to find a couple of buttons from my pre-loved collection to provide matching centres. I'm hoping to eventually embellish these with some embroidery and attach to bags/purses.

Finding ways to create during challenging times and despite limitations keeps me positive. It gives me a positive focus on what I can-do rather than dwell on what I'm not able to do.

So I am participating in AEDM2011 in the ways I'm able to. I really hope I feel up to visiting you all soon but meanwhile thank you so so much for visiting my last few posts and leaving such lovely comments. They are a huge support.

Today and every day try to focus on what you 'can' do.
What can-dos are you celebrating?

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Finished Embroidered Mandala (IA challenge/ AEDM days 9-11)

2011-11-11T21:47:00.000Z

Its been a difficult week BUT I'm proud to say that I created a little every day and therefore finished my embroidered mandala design. For a first attempt I am happy with this and feel I've learnt a lot through the trials and errors involved in completing it. I am entering this into days 9 - 11 of Art Everyday Month and also into this week's Inspiration Avenue needlework themed challenge hosted by the lovely Hettienne.

When did you last try something new in your creative work? How did you find the experience?

Thank you all for your recent lovely comments & messages. I'm sorry I'm not getting much chance to visit you all but I promise to visit as and when I'm able. Therefore bit by bit I shall get to you all and enjoy seeing your creations.

Happy Weekend to you all!
My weekend will all about celebrating my daughter's Birthday.

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Important Changes, TIC TOCC 23 & AEDM days 7 and 8...

2011-11-08T14:19:00.000Z

AEDM days 7 & 8

Above you'll see my embroidered mandala has been taking shape over days 7 and 8 of Art Every Day Month. And I was very happy when last night I discovered that this week's Inspiration Avenue challenge is based on needlework! If I can just get it finished in time I hope to enter this.

Now this week's Wright Story Extra Newsletter & TIC TOCC is really important to me because it marks important changes, I'm proud of the challenge I've set and I'm really happy to have interviewed talented photographer Shelly Simpson.

Here's a snippet of the intro to the newsletter:
"I believe in the importance of stopping to listen to our body and intuition. Often life moves at such a fast pace it is easy to forgo this quiet contemplation. Anyhow, my inner self has been screaming out at me to settle down and write a particular book that has been growing gradually in my mind. It has also been urging me to spend a little time on my arty creations and develop my focus on creativity and wellbeing. I have recently bought new supplies in readiness for my my art ideas, I've been designing a logo to go with a new website domain I've reserved. And the book keeps begging to be written and I think now's the time. My health hasn't been too great of late and I've been struggling to do much at all. I think it is a sign for me to slow down and focus on where my intuition is trying to lead me in this moment. For this reason, for now, these newsletters and weekly TIC TOCCs are stopping for a break. If all works out I should be back with more exciting things to offer you eventually. I will still be blogging at Wright Story so please do continue to stop by my blog otherwise I'd miss you dearly. Plus I shall need your company and support even more with all the challenges ahead."

Please do go and take a look at this newsletter issue 23 and I hope you're tempted to join in with this week's TIC TOCC.

Thank you to all of you for the get well wishes. I'm making slow but steady progress. I'm just relying on a daily dash of creativity to keep me going (along with a bag full of medication obviously ;-) )

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Experiments in mandala embroidery confirming my belief in the healing power of creativity - aedm days 4,5 and 6

2011-11-06T23:16:00.000Z

Still struggling health wise but trying to do a little bit every day for Art Every Day Month. I wanted to try embroidering a mandala design using some metallic threads. Here are my attempts over days 4, 5 and 6:

AEDM day 4

aedm days 5 & 6

close up of aedm days 5 & 6

What I learnt is that these very fine metallic embroidery threads require many layers of stitches to effectively show the lines of the design. I've experimented with some invented stitches and have gained experience from my mistakes. I think this project may be a long term one ;-)

What I have definitely affirmed is that even when feeling bad a little bit of creativity can help my mood immensely. It is a fact that I feel in my very being but that through times like now is reaffirmed and my beliefs strengthened.

Creativity and a bit of chocolate is definitely good for my soul and recovery ;-)

I hope to get to visit other aedm2011 participants as and when I can as it is always a pleasure to visit others and share in their inspirational journeys and art.

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Art Every Day Month: Days 2 & 3

2011-11-03T23:09:00.000Z

I didn't feel well enough to post yesterday but I made a start threading seed beads onto wire from my bed. And then today I finished my beading creating it into a hanging ornament. Or I could transfer into into a bag charm or fancy key chain. Threading these tiny seed beads is hard work but I do like the sparkly charm of the glass beads. It was also my son's 8th Birthday today: Happy Birthday to my little man!

What did you create for AEDM2011 today/yesterday?

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Art Every Day Month: Day 1

2011-11-01T19:26:00.000Z

Firstly, apologies for my lack of TIC TOCC & newsletter this week. It has been a particularly hard few days health wise & I was unable to manage it. But on the upside it is day one of Art Every Day Month 2011! I couldn't bear to miss day One and so reached for my stack of magazines and bits and bobs box. I sat in my comfy chair and got cutting up some pages that appealed to me and using wire and old buttons created these two abstract flowers. They cheered me right up. And it felt good to be able to manage to join in with my admired blogging friend Leah's arty challenge. Why not join in and/or visit other participants here? There's inspiration, friendship & fun to be found.

What creative activity do you do when your energy and abilities are limited?

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Life's Constant "re" Definition & a Juxtaposition ACEO (TIC TOCC 22)

2011-10-25T14:04:00.000+01:00

ACEO for TIC TOCC 22

For TIC TOCC 22 I decided to create an ACEO in my 20 minute allocated time. I tried to combine opposite concepts by making one half colour with smooth round shapes in the pattern and the other half angular lines in monochrome.

I feel as though I'm always undergoing some sort of 're' organisation. Anyone else feel like that? At the moment I am, yet again, re-discovering, re-assessing, re-defining and re-organising.

Life seems to offer constant prods (some more painful than others) that prompt constant learning & consequent change. For me, health issues seem to provide a huge portion of these catalysts. At the minute I know in my heart that a writing and art project needs my attention. I realise I need to strip back my commitments and other projects in order to focus on this, be good to my family, safeguard my health, be true to my intuition and dreams. So change is underway.

Am I scared?

Yes; mainly of upsetting or letting people down. But it would be more frightening if I stopped listening to my intuition and ended up more ill. So in time and at my own pace I hope to make changes some of which will be exciting and I hope will help others. I think you'll like them. I hope you will enjoy, keep me company on my journey and forgive me if I'm not visiting you in blogland as often as usual.
More details will follow....

Is life trying to prod you into action? Are you being shoved or gently led into a period of 're' organisation? Or perhaps you've been through a time like this and are now happily walking your 're' directed life path.

As always, please do share your TIC TOCC experiences in the comments section.

Wishing you all a happy & creative week!

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Fire Flash Fiction for TIC TOCC 21

2011-10-18T04:00:00.003+01:00

For TIC TOCC 21 I wrote the following piece of fire flash fiction in a 20 minute session. Trouble is I got interrupted three times so my timer had to be adjusted. This is the unedited result of my (approximately) twenty minutes of writing:

"The reflected fire light flickered across Fran's delicate pale features in an ever moving pattern of shadow and light. It reflected off the rings she wore on the hands she constantly fiddled with; fingers entwining, unwinding, rubbing and wringing. Would he recognise her?
Five years ago Fran had been a different woman; inside and out. Her deep auburn curls had been kept short because of the heat and practical reasons. Now posted in this cold part of the world she relied on her thick hair like she would a scarf. Five years ago she'd been eager to help people with her newly attained nursing degree but niaeve of the cruelty and suffering the world held. Five years ago she'd fallen in love with an injured aid worker named Henry. In the four weeks she nursed him, before he flew back home to France, she'd had to remain professional whilst her feelings were anything but.
It had been coincidence she'd found Henry again. She'd been sitting in a busy cafe warming her hands around a large cup of mocha when a man in uniform had entered the cafe shouting out "Henry? Anyone seen Henry?" A group of heads had turned recognising the uniformed man. "Which one?" a small blonde girl had asked in a heavily accented Spanish accent. "Bordeaux," he'd answered.
The second name added to the first had surely stopped Fran's heart for a moment and she choked on half swallowed mocha. One of the uniformed man's acquaintances had come over to pat her on the back and check she was okay.
The small blonde, Maria, had let her into the shared lodge that evening. Henry had been due back an hour previous and Fran couldn't help her overactive imagination wondering if some harm had befallen him. Maybe they were not meant to be.
The creak of the heavy door and the blast of cold air caused Fran's heart to race. She couldn't look around. She couldn't seem to breathe. She heard Maria intercept him, "Henry, you've someone here to see you."
"Who?" his deep french accented voice melted her into a quivering wreck.
Maria didn't have chance to answer because at that point Fran found her last reserves of strength to turn his way. Henry croaked: "Francesca?"

Please share your TIC TOCC experience or/and results in the comments section. I always love to learn how the weekly prompt has been interpreted by you.

In other news I have set this week's challenge prompt over at Inspiration Avenue. All this week's submissions to the Inspiration Avenue challenge get entered into a multi-prize blog party giveaway; you're invited to take a look and play along here.

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"On the Wings Of Inspiration" giveaway #5....

2011-10-13T12:36:00.000+01:00

giveaway no. 5

To celebrate 500+ followers we at the Inspiration Avenue etsy team are holding a blog party and if you submit a piece of art on the Party challenge theme (details posted early on 17th or late 16th) by midday (EST) on the 23rd October 2011 you have the chance of winning some lovely prizes. All details on blog party page. Check out the giveaways and freebies page.

And if you've never played along with the Inspiration Avenue weekly challenge all the info on how to enter the weekly challenge is on the Inspiration Avenue blog page. We would love for you to join us!

So this winged themed art & craft pack is what I'm offering as giveaway number 5:

It includes:

Two A4 sheets of excellent quality Tuscan Rose winged themed collage papers.
Two new Tuscan Rose unmounted rubber photo stamps (bottom right hand corner of image above). One shows a lady with cherubs at her shoulders. The second a praying little girl angel. Both have a vintage feel.
One metallic cherub charm.
One metallic hummingbird charm.
Delicate paper butterfly that comes in two parts for decoupage type decoration.

This giveaway holds hours of fun & endless creative possibilities and is open to participants worldwide.

Good luck!

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Fan-doodle-tastic: 20 minute doodle for TIC TOCC no. 20

2011-10-11T06:00:00.001+01:00

You can view TIC TOCC no. 20 in this week's Wright Story Extra newsletter. As you can probably guess from this: TIC TOCC no. 20 had a doodling theme. As I've undoubtedly mentioned many times before: I love to doodle. It is one of the easiest ways for me to get creative, relax, work out ideas & feel inspired. The other fail safe creative soothers for me are journaling, free writing and photography. It is important to me to have easy, portable, no skill or expensive materials required creative tools available to help balance my wellbeing. Doodling is great for waiting in doctors/hospital waiting rooms and can be done in bed whilst resting/recovering. I rarely know at the beginning of a doodle where I'm going with it. The timed doodle above started with the word 'believe' and I just worked out from there.

What creative tool/activity do you use frequently to help balance your wellbeing?
How did you get on with this week's TIC TOCC?
Do you enjoy doodling?

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Creating with the kids using TIC TOCC 19 & an Inspiration Avenue blog party with prizes/freebies...

2011-10-04T06:00:00.013+01:00

Using TIC TOCC 19 I used a broken planter in my garden to inspire a piece of flash fiction. Here it is in its unedited form strictly written in 20 minutes [okay it was 21 mins if I'm honest ;-)]:

"The broken pieces were all that were left of the planter that had once symbolised so much. A wedding present given on a perfect sunny day, opened in a honeymoon suite that overlooked golden sand & turquoise sea. It had been a present from Molly's best friend Harriet and had contained a Rose bush that represented their love.
But when Molly came home from work early one day she had walked in the kitchen to find David embracing Molly; rubbing her back tenderly as they tightly caressed. Harriet was the most beautiful woman Molly had ever met. Harriet who turned every man's head. Hadn't she always suspected that David found her attractive? Wasn't it true David had been a little distant lately? And why was David home early from work? And why wasn't Harriet half way across the city in her office where she belonged?
Without a word Molly pushed past the surprised pair and out into the garden. On the patio was the planter with the year old blooming red rose bush. Heavy as it was she picked it up and turning to face the treacherous two, now stood open mouthed in the back doorway, she threw the planter in their direction.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, it didn't reach the shocked pair but to Molly's pleasure it made a satisfying smashing & cracking noise as it collided with the patio stone.
It was some time later and after much shouting & accusation that Molly discovered that Harriet's Mother had died suddenly in an automobile accident that morning. Harriet had called Molly's work to discover she'd left work early. With Molly's phone off Harriet had rushed to their house with the hope of seeking comfort from her best friend. It just so happened that David had finished work early and had sneaked home with the intention of making dinner to surprise an overworked Molly. Instead he'd been faced with a crying distraught Harriet.
The broken pieces still remained at the edge of the patio to remind Molly daily that she must keep her jealousy in check. Luckily she was forgiven by both husband & friend. And she learnt her lesson. Well....only occasionally did the green eyed monster escape......."

I was especially pleased to actually complete a mini story rather than just an extract this week.
Whilst I did this my 7 & 9 year old, having raided the recycling & garbage, created the following:

Above: my son made a hanging decoration using the back of a cereal packet, broken wood skewers and some used knotted string. And below: my daughter used another cereal packet to create pages of a book with pictures one side & story the other. She used the objects shown at the top of the photo (used bottle, old remote, discarded dirty felt parrot puppet, rusty horseshoe, cork & old book) as inspiration for her story.

If you click on the photo below it will enlarge and give you a chance to read the story:

They had great fun going on a junk hunt to prepare and sat happily at the table with me creating for the 20 minutes. I think they did great.

And in other news: the Inspiration Avenue team, which I'm a proud member of, are holding a blog party this month with freebies and prizes. You are all invited! Click on the badges below for full details. Please do invite your friends by displaying these badges on your blog and/or mention in your upcoming blog posts.

WE 'HEART' OUR 500+ FAB FOLLOWERS!!

16 - 23 OCTOBER 2011

I do hope you'll join us celebrate our 500+ fab followers!!

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Inspired by Spain WIP (IA)....

2011-10-02T16:50:00.001+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge, set by the lovely Lisa Wright Stuff, was to create something inspired by Spain. As you can see this is far from finished but I wanted to share because I've already put a few hours work into its creation. It is done in watercolour & ink on Bristol Board. I was inspired by images of Spanish tiles which struck me as having a similar style to my own work. Thanks Lisa for the inspiration!

I may have got a little further with this had I not been home alone with a few hours to myself, been feeling in better health than I have in a fortnight and seduced by the sunny weather and the chance to read outside on the patio. It was one of those peaceful times when all seems good.

Please do visit all the other participants of this week's challenge by visiting the Inspiration Avenue results post on Sunday evening.

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Creatively Re-purposing a Hospital Letter....(TIC TOCC 18)

2011-09-27T13:06:00.000+01:00

These are my results for TIC TOCC 18 which can be viewed in my Wright Story Extra newsletter here.

I've got to admit I've never felt less like doing a TIC TOCC than this week. After a few days of feeling really poorly I was struggling to do much at all. However, I figured that as this week's prompt was based around being creative with a negative, I really needed to try. Therefore this morning, albeit a little later than my usual TIC TOCC posts are created, I gathered these materials together:

Then taking a recent hospital letter (just visible in the photo) I spent twenty minutes re-purposing it. First I covered it in paint and then dried it using a heat gun. This took my first ten minutes and left me with this:

I spent a few minutes cutting out freehand shapes before sticking them into a page of my art journal. The result was this whimsical picture that feels much happier and positive than the original hospital letter.

I still feel a bit icky, so it wasn't a magical cure, but it did make me happier to create a little. And as the heat gun dried the acrylic paint the smell reminded me of children's school paintings drying on racks over heaters in an effort to prepare them for presentation to proud parents at school pick-up. That poster paint drying was pleasantly nostalgic.

What have you creatively re-purposed recently?
If you've had a chance to try TIC TOCC 18 please do share your experience/results in the comments below.

***Psst! By the way - readers of this week's Wright Story Extra with TIC TOCC 18 can discover a 10% discount coupon offered in this issue for using when shopping in my etsy shop.***

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Doors, fiction writing & TIC TOCC 17

2011-09-20T04:00:00.002+01:00

TIC TOCC 17 can be viewed here. Sitting down to do this TIC TOCC prompt I thought of a photo I'd recently taken at Lanhydrock house and knew this image would feature in my story. So I spent ten minutes searching for & editing the photo and then sat down to do ten minutes writing. Here is my unedited writing results:

"Surprisingly the door opened inwards and only after a great deal of pushing and swearing did I fall into the dimly lit room. And then only my quick reflexes along with some fancy 'River Dance' type footwork stopped me from falling onto the hearth and breaking the terracotta pot that sat in its center. The door opened virtually straight onto the marble fire place and only a few feet depth of wooden panelled walls surrounded me. It was like walking into an obscure closet. A quick check revealed that the room's only door was the one I'd entered through. So what was the purpose of having a massive ornate fireplace dwarfing a wardrobe sized room?
I blinked a couple of times as my brain registered the failing light. Seems my reflexes and reactions weren't that fast after all because I barely had time to turn on my heel to see the door close heavily in my face.........."

That bit of writing fitted perfectly into a ten minute slot. Surprisingly this story wasn't the one that I'd imagined when taking the photo I used in this week's TIC TOCC 17; that is reserved for a longer piece of fiction I'm working on. Instead this bit of writing & this post's fireplace photo all came to me this evening when sitting down to do the TIC TOCC. I love it when story ideas spring into my imagination; it's such fun to think that a new world and character has suddenly been given a tiny bit of life.

This September I'm trying to find a way of balancing my creative time so that I can give time to the different mediums I like to express myself through. Over the majority of this year so far I've not spent as much time as I'd like on my fiction writing; I plan to rectify this by carving out some time this season for the fun of storytelling. With this in mind, I've recently booked to attend a day creative writing workshop in October which I'm very much looking forward to :-)

What creative medium/form have you not tried for a while and/or would like to give more time to this season?
If you did this week's TIC TOCC please do share your experience in this post's comments and/or a link to your results. I love to see the varied directions our imaginations can take us from the same prompt.

Wishing you all a happy and creative week!

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Patterns found in the art we create & the life choices we make...

2011-09-08T14:51:00.000+01:00

Maggie and I must have shared a psychic connection when she set this week's Inspiration Avenue challenge as 'patterns' because over a few days I'd been trying out new patterns through creating this doodle. I finished it late Sunday/early Monday and then on Tuesday when I checked to see this week's challenge I decided it was meant to be my entry:-)

It struck me that this week's theme of patterns could also be linked to the patterns we form through our everyday choices, approaches and routines. Apologies for being AWOL from blogland & the internet of late; a mixture of things have kept me away but uncharacteristically I decided not to worry about it and instead return in good spirits. With my children starting a new school term yesterday I've had the opportunity to think about the pattern of my days and how I may like to approach the autumn. I've been looking at health, relationships, being a mum, my art, my writing, working with other people and lots more. I'd like to aim to create patterns that are kind and nurturing to me and those around me. It would be nice to weave patterns that can bring good and help further growth. What's also interesting is that some of these thoughts have been internally debated whilst doodling patterns. The links between different sorts of patterns has amused and interested me these past couple of days.

What kind of patterns would you like to create this Autumn/Fall in your creative and personal life?

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And the winner is.....

2011-09-01T15:43:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to Missy (Melissa Liban) for winning my first ever blog giveaway click here to see the prizes she won. I used a website called Random.org to choose a number from the 30 entries that were in the virtual hat. Thank you to everyone who participated and spread the word.

A little about our winner Missy:
Melissa is a writer and illustrator and you can learn more about her wonderful work by visiting blog. Missy regularly participates in my weekly TIC TOCC challenges which will resume mid September. She has just written a young adult book called 'Actuality' which I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed. I downloaded my copy from Smashwords but it is also available from other places including Amazon: details on her blog.

We are just back from a few days visiting family and friends and I'm only just beginning to catch up. Just before we left it was my husband's Birthday. The picture above is of the chocolate cake my daughter & I made. It was chocolate sponge with a butter cream icing middle, covered in chocolate and chocolate sprinkles. It was rich and very yummy :-)

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IA Icy & A BIG blog GIVEAWAY!!!! Chance to win super art & craft goodies...

2011-08-21T15:53:00.002+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge theme, set by the lovely Lisa Wright Stuff, was "Icy". My entry started with a rather bad sketch of an ice-cream cone that I then matted on lots of layers of gorgeous K&co. scrapbook papers, handmade paper and little of my own hand coloured paper for the words. I then created the wording, added some brads and doodles. I think at a later date I may find some photos of my children eating ice-cream and add this onto a scrap book page. It is approximately 17 x 24cm in total size. If you visit the Inspiration Avenue blog late Sunday afternoon you'll be able to view lots of wonderful interpretations of this week's theme.

Now to the exciting bit of today's post.....

Last week this blog reached a total of 100 followers and I mentioned that as a celebration and thank you to you lovely readers I would host a giveaway. Here is a snapshot of the goodies available to win:

Now for more detail...

Below shows the assortment of handmade papers which includes 4 mulberry papers intertwined with metallic thread, thick purple handmade paper with a heart print and a large sheet of soft fine handmade paper with a fan type pattern interwoven through it. The following photo doesn't do the the papers justice but trust me that they're nice :-))

Two sheets of peel-off stickers. On the left the white sheet contains transparent shaped peel offs which are great because you can encase art, dried flowers etc underneath. The silver right hand sheet offers some pretty elaborate corner embellishments.

Below shows a large sheet of 'Pebbles' funky self adhesive card letters that are great for scrapbooking, card making, collage and much more.

Here are a few 3D embellishment: material hearts, lovely mother of pearl effect buttons and three pairs of mini pegs in silver, gold and natural wood.

The next photo shows you 1 to 4 of the eight 'Tuscan Rose' collage papers included. These are high quality collage papers printed on decent weight paper and will come to you in a thick plastic wallet suitable for loading into a ring binder folder.

And here are sheets 5-8:

I hope you like the selection of art & craft materials I've chosen. I really got excited choosing them for you.

Entry details:

To be entered into the draw for a chance to win these lovely goodies all you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Midnight (GMT) on 31st August 2011 and be a follower of this blog (see right hand column or top tool bar to follow if you don't already). In your comment confirm that you would like to be entered into this draw and that you follow my blog. (Please note: If you're unable to follow using google connect/friends but subscribe to my blog posts via email or a reader then this makes you eligible too). I will then assign you a consecutively allocated entry number.

For extra chances to win:

You can be given extra entry numbers and therefore extra chances to win if you:

'Like' my Wright Story facebook page (= 1 extra entry number)
Follow Wright Story on Twitter (= 1 extra entry number)
Subscribe to my blog posts via email which can be done via link in the right hand column of this blog (= 1 extra entry number)
Subscribe to my Wright Story Extra Newsletter (= 1 extra entry number)
Mention & link to this giveaway post on Twitter (=1 extra entry number)
Mention & link to this giveaway post on Facebook (= 1 extra entry number)
Mention and link to this giveaway post on your own blog (= 2 extra entry numbers)

Which means you can have up to 9 entry numbers in this draw. All you have to do is tell me in the comment section which, if any, of these extra entry makers you're eligible for. For example: "Hi Katina, yes please enter me into your draw, I am a follower of your blog and I also follow you on Twitter & facebook. I've also mentioned & linked to this giveaway on my blog at http://www...joblogs.com." This would entitle you to 5 entry numbers.

Confused? Any questions? Just tweet, facebook me or send me an email at contactwrightstory (at) gmail (dot) com.

If you just want to simply leave a comment and follow this blog that is fine too. I just wanted an extra chance to thank those of you who meet up with me in all different areas of this virtual world. Thank you for keeping me company, offering me such amazing support & kindness - it means a lot to me.

Oh and the prize draw is open to followers worldwide.

I will fairly pick a number out of a hat (or use an online random number generator) on the morning of the 1st September 2011 and announce the winner in a post that day!

Good Luck!! :-)

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PPF Tales of the unexpected...

2011-08-19T12:00:00.002+01:00

I am very happy, after a long break, to join in with Paint Party Friday today. Here is the painting I worked on this week between school holiday childcare and visitors. It's part of a series of sisal and acrylic mixed media paintings I've created. I showed my previous sisal tree in this blog post and I've just listed these two on my etsy shop today.
Here's a side view:

So why the title 'Tales of the Unexpected'?

Because: I've been musing this week on how things rarely turn out as expected. For instance three consecutive rainy days would normally ensure the kids were going loopy and starting to drive me insane. But instead they've been in fine moods and we've enjoyed each others company doing activities like baking, art, games and home cinema. Another recent example: my seven year old son was convinced that a trip to a historic house and estate would be 'sooo boring'. Yet he enthusiastically explored, chatted and questioned with a grin on his face the entire trip.

How many times do we really not want to do something only to have a fantastic time, meet someone or learn something that alters the course of our life?

This also applies to our creative work. Sometimes I sit down facing the blank page or canvas thinking there is no way I can possibly conjure up anything worth reading or seeing. Alternatively I may enthusiastically start a painting or piece of writing that begins to morph into a messy jumble. Yet frequently, in both cases, when I work through these situations and the associated fear something beautiful materialises. It may be something small: a perfectly formed sentence, vague character idea or accidently discovered paint effect. But small things can lead to big projects or a life lesson worth learning. Equally, there are days when we just need a rest and that rest time can unexpectedly bring us inspiration itself.

What unexpected result have you experienced recently?
Do you allow yourself to work past the blocks & fear to discover something the other side?
Do you allow yourself creative rest days? What unexpected inspiration have you discovered on a rest day?

In other news:

To celebrate this blog recently achieving 100 followers I will be announcing a fun and creative prize draw this weekend. Be sure to return for a chance to enter....

Right, I'm off to visit other Paint Party Friday participants - why don't you join me? There is sure to be lots of gorgeous painting to discover!

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Historical Inspiration. How does the past influence our creative work?

2011-08-15T13:05:00.000+01:00

I missed out on entering this week's Inspiration Avenue challenge because we went to visit nearby Lanhydrock House. The house and surrounding estate are beautiful. Inside the rooms are set up as they were during the Victorian period and the glorious attention to detail allows visitors to be transported into the past in vivid detail. The history and story of the last family to live there was told through the rooms, artifacts & literature. Even my seven year old, who originally hadn't been keen on going, thoroughly enjoyed getting caught up in the stories and splendour. Unfortunately, with no flash photography allowed inside, I was unable to get clear pictures indoors. However here are a few outdoor shots.

The manicured gardens closest to the house were a contrast to the woodland and surrounding farmland.

Following a very long woodland drive you arrive at this gatehouse.

Grand frontage with circular drive for carriages.

Story book architecture.

These are just a few photos but I took plenty more that I shall be using as fiction inspiration and are liable to appear in future Wright Story Extra editions as part of my TIC TOCC prompts. I came home wanting to write a story that had developed in my imagination during our visit. I also found myself longing to lose myself in some historical fiction and films. I was lost to my daydreams of being Lady of Lanhydrock!

History and the past, recent or distant, can provide a wealth of inspiration and learning.

How has your creative work been influenced by the past?
Is there a period of History that particularly inspires you?
How has your own past had a direct bearing on what you create?

If you're visiting Cornwall I highly recommend a visit to Lanhydrock House. I also recommend a visit to any local place of historical interest. The stories you uncover may fuel new creative ventures.

Okay I'm off to go and daydream further about being Lady Wright....

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A string tree WIP & 100 followers...

2011-08-07T16:50:00.001+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue weekly challenge, set by the talented Judy, is 'The Forest For The Trees'. I was hoping to have finished this in time but we've had lots of visitors this past couple of weeks in honour of the school summer hols & along with ongoing health stuff I'm struggling to carve out my creative time. So, excuses over, this is not quite finished. I've tried to create another one of my string/sisal mixed media paintings using one of my favourite subjects: trees. I also had this month's Creative Everyday Challenge, 'Red', in mind whilst creating this. As favourites of mine, trees and red are both inspiring creative ideas. Also I feel this adds to my own 'summer challenge'.

Arriving at my blog I've also just discovered that I have reached 100 followers!! I'm so grateful for my blogging friends who encourage, support & contribute. Thanks to all of you who keep me company by choosing to follow me. You're all fab! :-) I think it's high time I did a blog giveaway in appreciation. I shall organise this as soon as I can. Watch this space.

If you visit the Inspiration Avenue blog Sunday afternoon you'll get to see all the tree/forest themed entries for this week's challenge.

Hope you all have been having a great weekend!

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Branching out.....

2011-08-04T16:57:00.000+01:00

As part of my self-imposed summer challenge I am trying to branch out with new things and be brave. I'm pleased that despite a fair few personal challenges I've managed to update my etsy shop banner (above) and list some wood embellishments I've created (below):

These can all be found now in my etsy shop from only £1.00/$1.63. Please do take a look if you've got a moment to spare. They're all unique and great for card toppers, making brooches, buttons, badges, scrapbooking etc...

My next bit of branching out will be for this week's Inspiration Avenue 'Tree' themed challenge set by the talented Judy. As trees are a favourite and recurring theme in my creative work I'm going to try hard to create something even though it is busy season in this house with visitors and children.

Have you branched out in any area of your life recently? Have you begun something new or developed something further?

Wishing you all a happy & creative week :-)

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The delight of a Cornish cream tea (Inspiration Avenue "Tea" challenge)

2011-07-31T15:39:00.002+01:00

**click on image to enlarge**

This week's Inspiration Avenue theme is "tea". This morning I spent my morning in bed sipping tea whilst thumbing my way through vintage editions of 'Country Living' and out dated editions of 'Cornwall Life' to find images for the above collage. It was fun to view issues that talked of a car Sat Nav as a distant futuristic idea and reminded me of fashions I once wore. Most of the images I've used are from these old 'Country Living' magazines and I knew that to be loyal to the wonderful county I live in I wanted to make a reference to the delicious delight that is a Cornish cream tea! For those of you unfamiliar with a Cornish Cream Tea: it consists of scones topped with jam & clotted cream and drunk with a pot of tea. Still not sure what I mean? Read this short article on what makes a proper Cornish cream tea. And after you've done that you may want to visit the Inspiration Avenue blog this Sunday afternoon to view other creative interpretations of the theme 'tea' set by the very lovely Maggie.

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Wright Story Summer Challenge...(TIC TOCC 16)

2011-07-26T05:00:00.002+01:00

My children are now on their school summer break for the next 7 weeks and so I'm taking a break from sending TIC TOCCs & my Extra newsletter until September. So in this week's Wright Story Extra and for TIC TOCC 16 I've issued myself & you all a Summer Challenge to:

Branch out - Example: expand your creative business, try a new medium, technique or/and learn a new skill
Dare to be different - Example: try making your skies green, your animals talk
Allow yourself freedom - banish those self-imposed restrictions & expectations
Try something new - Example: create in a new place, with new people or create something not in your usual style
Mix it up - Example: try a new combination of materials or combine obscure genres

Go on: express the joy of creating & take a break from the norm!

Join me in my Wright Story Summer Challenge.

I shall be posting my Summer Challenge experiences on this blog. If you want to share your experience then leave comments and links on any of my blog posts. I always love to learn what you've been creating.

My initial ideas for this summer challenge are to try and get some new type of items in my etsy shop, experiment with threads/fabric, try painting/mounting on wood and I really want to start creating ACEOs. But my priority will be to enjoy my children therefore I'll just take each day with the challenge in mind and see where the summer takes me.

Meanwhile...don't miss my interview with Tammy from Daisy Yellow in today's Wright Story Extra.

And you can catch up with TIC TOCC numbers 1 through to 15 by visiting my Wright Story Extra page which lists links to past issues. If you give any of these past TIC TOCCs a try and want to share your results - just leave a link in a comment on my latest post. I shall be sure to visit your results and can post links on Facebook/Twitter to direct other people to view your blog.

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The Wings of Dreams

2011-07-23T20:51:00.001+01:00

"Dreams are the wings that let our spirit soar."

~ ©Katina Wright 2011

This is my art & word entry into this week's "Wings" themed Inspiration Avenue challenge. I'm hosting the challenge this week and I am wowed by the many amazing pieces that have already been entered. Why not join us by visiting the Inspiration Avenue blog and be sure to visit again Sunday afternoon to view all the gorgeous results.

I'll leave you with a question related to my quote:

What makes your spirit soar?

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Doodles & Magical Fiction from my daughter & I for TIC TOCC 15

2011-07-19T06:00:00.010+01:00

For TIC TOCC 15 I not only persuaded my daughter to model for me for the prompt photo but she also joined me in doing the TIC TOCC again. You can view the TIC TOCC no.15 creative prompt here.

We both used 20 minutes. Above is my doodle in black Pitt pen on an acrylic red background. I'd painted this journal page a couple of weeks ago with left over red paint from another project. So the painting was not part of the 20 minutes. I wanted to write about the plant I doodled but ran out of time. I imagined that it grew fantastical odd shaped fruit, each one had a different deliciously sweet flavour. For instance chocolate, fresh strawberries, cheescake, banoffee etc... Each of these fruits had a magical property so that when you ate them you would gain a power for a day. I thought of things like the ability to fly, turn invisible, walk through walls, mind read etc.... So that was as far as I got but I'm thinking it may make a cute children's story that I may write someday.

My daughter did this fantastic piece of writing with illustrations (putting me to shame):

Her writing is quite teeny so here it is typed:

Once upon a time there lived a boy called Sam and a girl named Biancia. Sam and Biancia were twins.

One day their Mother felt ill. Sam and Biancia went out for a walk to leave their Mother in peace. When they were walking across the fields they met a fairy.

"Hello my dears, why the glum faces?" the fairy asked.
"Our Mother fell ill yesterday and we can't afford to buy any medicine for her," answered Sam.

"Oh, dear. I know! Now listen very carefully. I have some magic seeds. If you plant them, only one mind, roll them up inside a piece of parchment. On the parchment write down what you want. Plant it and within an hour dig it up and there instead of seeds you'll have what you want."

Handing them the seeds, she pulled out her wand. With one swift move she was gone.

The two twins ran all the way home and did exactly what the fairy had instructed.

At the end of the week their Mother had recovered. It still lies a mystery what object they had wished for but it was all down to the fairy.

THE END
...............................

What did this week's TIC TOCC inspire you to create? Please share your comments and links to results in the comment section below.

I won't be home to check your results during today but shall look forward to reading you comments and visiting your links tomorrow if not this evening.

Missed any of the previous TIC TOCCs or Wright Story Extra interviews? You can find links to these on my Wright Story Extra page where you can also sign up to receive your weekly TIC TOCC and monthly interview direct into your email inbox.

I'm also hosting this week's Inspiration Avenue challenge with the theme of 'Wings'. Why not pop over to the Inspiration Avenue etsy team blog to join in the fun.

Wishing you all a happy & creative week! :-)
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"Meeting Place" fiction writing for TIC TOCC no.14

2011-07-12T06:00:00.002+01:00

This was one of the photos I used for this week's TIC TOCC challenge no. 14. It is one of many photos I took a couple of weeks ago in West Cornwall. This week I decided to write for ten minutes. Here is the unedited result which uses the same characters as I used in this timed piece of writing & also in a short story I wrote last year (I feel the start of a novel being formed in my head):

"Faith shivered in the fading sunlight, exposed on the rocky landscape the north coast breeze penetrated her wool coat. They'd had to arrange a late meeting because during the day the site of this ancient mine engine house was a regular meeting point for climbing groups and a photo opportunity for tourists. Ten o'clock at night and Faith felt vulnerable out there on her own; she willed Ed to arrive. He'd left her with map coordinates last time they'd met two months back. The engine house ruin with its ancient stone was apparently a strong place to cross dimensions. Faith remembered the end of their first meeting when Ed had stepped into thin air over the river in the park near where she lived. She'd saved his life that day and he'd sworn her a debt of gratitude. Gratitude had since turned to something more powerful between them. Dare she imagine it to be love?" (10mins)
BUT I couldn't help but write for a further 10 minutes. Here I continue:
"The light had now all but faded and Faith felt frozen to her core. Disappointment weighed heavy in her gut as she accepted that he may not be coming. She walked the short distance back to where she'd parked her car. Getting in Faith locked the doors and waited, keys in the ignition and tears stinging her eyes as the unlit road turned to the darkness one could only find far away from civilization's fake electric light.
A short tap on the window caused Faith's sleepy body to jump, heart hammering and throat blocked. Ed's grimacing face of apology waited at her passenger window. She wanted to hit him, scold him and grab hold of him tight all at once. Faith's mixed feelings jostled for primary position as she unlocked the car so that Ed could climb in. His eyes that even in the dark seemed to be illuminated pleaded forgiveness. She felt herself soften and relax as the memory of Ed's lateness and frightening appearance seemed to fade in his presence.
He grinned.
"I don't believe it!" Faith said angrily managing to break eye contact. "Are you trying to do that mind meld star trek thing on me again?" She gave her head a little shake. The first time they'd met he'd used that hypnotic power over her to prevent her from panicking and calling the police at the sight of his bloodied clothes." (Just over twenty-one minutes)

Mmm - all rather random when you know nothing of the characters and story that has been circling my head for a while since I did that other timed exercise last November. These characters keep cropping up in my writing and daydreams.

How did you get on with TIC TOCC no.14?
Do you have any ideas/creations that pester you to be explored further?

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"Ready, Steady, Paint!" TIC TOCC no. 13 with my daughter...

2011-07-05T07:00:00.022+01:00

My daughter & I did TIC TOCC no.13 together. My answers to the TIC TOCC No.13 challenge were: Blue, Circle, Calm and Flowers. (click here to see the challenge questions for this week). I painted using acrylics on the flap of a Budweiser box because I liked the corrugated texture. This was my result after 20 minutes:

It was a lot of fun, especially because I was painting alongside my nine year old. Her answers were: Pink, Circle, Sad and Pig. She painted using acrylic on copy paper and completed this piggy in just under ten minutes:

Then because I was continuing on until the twenty minute mark she continued to play with the paint using her hands and fingers. Some examples below:

She was grinning in delight covering lots of pieces of paper and getting her hands covered in the thick acrylic paint.

What did I learn/explore/discover whilst doing this TIC TOCC?

~Painting with acrylic in a limited timed exercise means there is no time for the heavy layers of paint to dry. Therefore, the colours inevitably become mixed. However, I liked exploring mixing & layering in this way. Alternatively, I could have used a heat gun like I've done in the past; this quick heated drying can create another set of effects.

My 7 year old didn't want to paint but he did spend a lot of time decorating his fairy cake buns for his school summer fayre tomorrow. Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent photo. But think large fairy cakes/buns with chocolate fudge frosting, fondant footballs and various other sugar decorations. Yum!

I'm tired but happy from our creative play time together.

What did you learn/discover/explore today whilst creating?
How did you get on with TIC TOCC no.13? Please do share your experience and results :-)

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"Twinkle, Twinkle"

2011-07-03T16:58:00.001+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge theme was 'Nursery Rhymes'. Here's my doodle entry. (It's ridiculous how much pleasure I can gain from a simple bit of doodling.) This was my eldest's favourite nursery rhyme whilst my littlest always loved 'Row, Row Your Boat' with all the rocking actions on my knee. Ah! The precious, priceless memories! If I had a time machine I'd have to keep popping back to visit their baby selves :-)

If you had a time machine where would you travel? What memories would you revisit? Or/and would you want to peek at the future?

I would, like I've already mentioned, go for cuddles with my babes when they were babies. I'd also visit my wedding day and like many people I would of course visit those who have passed away. But as tempting as the future is I think I've got enough to deal with in the present ;-) Although, the winning lottery numbers for next week might just tempt me......

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Photos of Cornwall, wonderful friends & a singing recorder (TIC TOCC no.12) & wonderful friends...

2011-06-28T06:00:00.002+01:00

For this week's TIC TOCC I asked people to bring an inanimate object to life. I chose a recorder and this was my result:

How did you get on with this week's TIC TOCC?

Please share your experiences and links to your results in the comments section below.

This past few days I have been humbled by the kindness of our friends who for our 10th Wedding anniversary babysat, gave us money to go out with and even bought and planted plants/flowers in the garden ready for us to have a party there. We've been having a rough time with all my health stuff and their thoughtful gifts enabled us to have two full days exploring gorgeous West Cornwall, enjoying each other's company and sampling the delights of cafes and galleries along our way.

On day one of our trip out we were treated to gorgeous sunshine but I forgot my camera. On day two the weather was a bit grey but I did take a few photos. Here's a couple of examples (just try an imagine the sunny days I didn't capture on camera):

I have more Cornwall photos and tales from our days out but I'm going to save them for another day.

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(TIC TOCC no.11) Doodling & pruning my garden....

2011-06-21T10:18:00.000+01:00

In this week's Wright Story Extra my TIC TOCC prompt encouraged various ways to doodle; offering suggestions to spice up the doodling experience.

I did this doodle in bed last night, taking 25 minutes and using my fine liners. Whilst doodling I was thinking of my day. My friend kindly came to do some gardening for us yesterday. She was explaining the importance of getting rid of dead growth and flower heads to make way for new growth. As I was doodling I thought of how this compared to pruning our mental space; the need to get rid of things that no longer serve a purpose and threaten to hold back new growth. I imagined pruning my old thought patterns, bad memories and unhelpful habits. I soon realised I needed 'Edward Scissorhands' type tools to tackle the overgrown tangles in my head LOL. :-)

Do you need to prune any part of your physical or mental life?

It seems almost amusing to me that the overgrown parts of my garden may offer a reflection of me :-) Whilst drawing the branches of this doodle tree I imagined that the branches had been cut back leaving room for all this colourful growth.

How did you use the TIC TOCC prompt this week?

As always please share your TIC TOCC experiences and results in the comments section below. I always love it when you share your creative results and ideas.

If you'd like to sign up to my Wright Story Extra newsletter or/and view past issues please visit this page.

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Romance...

2011-06-19T13:11:00.000+01:00

*click image to enlarge*

This week's Inspiration Avenue theme is 'Romance'. I'm a sappy romantic and so this theme appealed to me and inspired some fiction ideas which I'm not able to share just yet. However, it also inspired the words & picture above. The theme is also appropriate because hubbie & I will have been married ten years this coming Thursday :-)

What are your favourite romance stories, art work or songs?

You may like to take a look at other interpretations of the 'romance' theme by visiting the results post on the Inspiration Avenue blog Sunday evening onwards.

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(TIC TOCC no.10) Hope for the future & a metaphorical wall....

2011-06-14T13:02:00.001+01:00

click image to enlarge

In this week's Wright Story Extra I interviewed the incredibly inspirational Shannon Kinney-Duh and I offered a TIC TOCC that encouraged the imagination to look past a historical wall that I had photographed.

The above result was done in 28 minutes (I couldn't stop at 20mins) and was created using Pitt artist pens & Rowney Georgian watercolours. I've had this watercolour pan set for about twelve years and it still continues to be a joy. Do you have any creative tools/materials that have served you well over many years?

I've been contemplating the ways we keep going, brush ourselves off, scrape our moods off the ground and face the future. The prompt and photo originally sparked off another section to a fantasy fiction piece that I've been intermittently working on. But then I realised that to me, today, this wall also held a metaphorical reference. There's a wall that separates us from knowing what the future brings. Therefore in tough times it can be hard to motivate ourselves to keep going; not knowing if the future will bring any improvement. I decided to art journal what was behind that wall, out of sight, that keeps me moving forward. As you can see I imagined hope and dreams growing in the form of trees and blossom. Because that's what keeps me going: my hope, dreams and faith that love, growth and joy will always be found. I guess we need to believe in the present and potential goodness of life to keep positive. I think a large reason for the resiliance of human beings lies in their belief in hope.

Okay enough deep-stuff-waffle from me. Please do let me know (in the comments section below) how you got on with this week's TIC TOCC and if you enjoyed Shannon's interview answers as much as I did!

This post again also seems to fit with the Creative Everyday June theme of 'Metamorphosis'.

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(TIC TOCC no.9) A chance to recreate & positively transform using art/writing

2011-06-07T18:53:00.001+01:00

I took a slightly different approach setting this week's TIC TOCC. As a result of personal circumstances I've become interested in creating art and writing using things that are broken, damaged or hold a negative connotation and transforming them into something new and positive. Therefore I created a TIC TOCC that encouraged the chance to recreate and transform or/and use this idea as inspiration. I've just realised that this idea also fits in with the Creative Everyday June theme of metamorphosis. My results are the journal page above. I used the following in my creation:

I gathered:

A watercolour I'd recently created whilst painting with my children. It didn't turn out as I'd planned and so I ripped it into pieces hoping it may make good collage elements.
An expired plastic pre-payment medication prescription card which I cut and used to apply the Golden adhesive medium.
Ten random words taken from a letter that had been emotionally difficult to write (explanation below).

Yesterday, after having to attend two medical appointments, I'd been asked to write a letter with a description of my present symptoms, health problems and associated experiences. This letter was in reference to an application to change from medication that no longer works effectively to preferable medication that is only prescribed in parts of the UK but unfortunately not where I live. It is part of a shocking 'postcode lottery' presently being used in the UK regarding prescribed medicines. This better medication would replace three seperate drugs that I'm taking presently and could potentially improve my quality of living. An-y-way..........it was difficult to write a long statement that focused on all that was bad for me. So I thought that it may be therapeutic to use words from this letter in a more positive way. Similarly I was pleased with the re-use of the prescription card :-)

The resulting journal page is nothing special but the 22 minutes I spent sticking, writing and doodling were fun and I honestly do feel better for it.

How did you get on with this slightly different TIC TOCC?

Please do share your TIC TOCC experience and results using the comments section below. I love to see what you've been creating.

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Rainbow inspiration....(art & words)

2011-06-05T16:40:00.001+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue theme was 'Rainbows'. I had a little trouble scanning the above mandala so you'll have to take my word for it when I tell you the colours are a lot nicer in the original. For instance the dark blue is in fact a rich purple and the washed out pinkish colour is actually orange. I tried a few times to alter the settings but to no avail. Therefore, my friends please use your imagination to enhance :-) Another colour version was this:

Again the colours are not true. Which do you prefer? I'm thinking your imagination, as always, will be the best bet. Lol.

Here are some rainbow quotes that appeal to me in this moment:

"Life is like a rainbow. You need the sun and the rain to make its colours appear." (source unknown)

"Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray."
(Lord Byron)

Rainbows are part of countless cultural beliefs and the inspiration for art, music and literature. Many a soul has been inspired and uplifted by the sight of a rainbow. When I see a rainbow I don't think of the science behind its being but am instead in awe of the beauty in nature. To me rainbows are radiant, spiritual, magical and inspiring. I'm a dreamer through and through.

How do you feel when you see a rainbow?

For more rainbow inspiration please visit the Inspiration Avenue blog to see the community results of this week's challenge.

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TIC TOCC no. 8 check in & results

2011-05-31T09:49:00.001+01:00

This was my twenty minute results from using TIC TOCC no. 8. I seem to have inadvertently created a story starter from a prompt. A prompt from a prompt if you like. I'm working on trying to create a different sort of TIC TOCC for next week....

What did you create using TIC TOCC no.8?

If you'd like to share your results or comments about this week's TIC TOCC please use the comments section to chat or/and link to your TIC TOCC creations. If you're not already signed up or wish to view past TIC TOCCs and interviews then visit my Wright Story Extra page.

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"Purple and Green" for Inspiration Avenue

2011-05-29T16:38:00.001+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge was to create something using purple and green. I used ink and watercolour paints to create this pattern. I'm barely scraping this entry in in time because Blogger wouldn't play nicely today but hopefully I've made it.

This past couple of weeks, whilst having to rest, I've also been exploring various ideas. I think that sometimes when we're ill we are encouraged to take stock and review our approach to things that matter to us. Recently, for me, this has been about working on my perspectives and dreams.

Have you been exploring any new ideas creatively or personally recently?

I hope to be back into the full swing of blogging and creating soon. I'm looking forward to catching up with those of you I haven't visited in a while.

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TIC TOCC no.7 - Murder, Mystery and Fantasy results

2011-05-24T05:00:00.003+01:00

Click on the images to enlarge and read

These are my twenty minute results from using TIC TOCC number 7. I aged the handmade paper in the first image using a Rooibos tea bag I had to hand :-) .

What were you inspired to create using TIC TOCC no.7? Please do share your results by leaving a link in the comments below.

(Apologies again for being MIA in blog land lately. I am improving, all the tests prove I do indeed have a heart ;-) & I shall join in more as soon as I'm able.)

PS I have updated my 'About Me' page if you fancy a look.
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TIC TOCC no. 6 - creating whilst resting....

2011-05-17T04:00:00.002+01:00

The last few days I've been quite poorly with complications in addition to the normal MS so posting the IA challenge results & creating this week's Wright Story Extra with TIC TOCC was a bit of a challenge in itself; having to be done from my resting place with little access to resources. But not liking to quit I've given it a try. You can read this week's TIC TOCC here which should help you make sense of this post. My three letters were B, T and F. I chose the things B - button, T - typography and F - flowers. Above is my twenty minute result. My typography attempt and flower should be obvious but the button came into it when I imagined this as a potential design for a blog button. The wording of course reflects where I'm at personally.

What recent life challenges have you expressed through creativity? How?
How did you get on with this week's TIC TOCC? Please do share.

Please Note: If you haven't successfully received your Wright Story Extra please do check you have confirmed your subscription and that your Extra newsletter is not languishing in your email Spam or Trash :-)

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Celebrating the 'can-dos' & a new Mandala (IA sacred/ancient/symbolic challenge)

2011-05-13T19:25:00.000+01:00

This week I hosted the Inspiration Avenue weekly challenge for the first time. I chose the theme sacred/ancient/symbolic art. I felt nervous hosting for the first time but have been grateful for all the support I've received and heartened by the wonderful art work that has already been submitted. Visit the Inspiration Avenue blog Sunday evening to view the challenge submissions and if you want to join in leave a link to your entry in the challenge post comments by Sunday Midday (EST - which is about 5pm UK time). There's a chance to win beautiful art work every month just by joining in. For this theme I created a new mandala (above) and intend to use it as one of the images in a set of art cards I intend to get printed and sold in my etsy shop soon. I thoroughly enjoyed creating this mandala. I found the process meditative. The detailed work involved gave me a bit of a headache. Lol. :-) But at least it shows how well my near vision and concentration has improved; this was done in one day and not long ago that would have taken several days and crippling pain. Now I just need to improve my peripheral vision and ability to follow movement so that I can drive again. I remain hopeful of this and meanwhile am so grateful for the progress I've made and what I can now do.

Talking of 'can-dos'....today I received copies of this month's DPPI (Disability, Pregnancy and Parenthood international) journal in which I have an article published with the title 'Celebrating the can-dos'.

What 'can-dos' are you celebrating this week?

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TIC TOCC no.5 - My daughter & I create together...

2011-05-10T04:00:00.004+01:00

For this week's TIC TOCC my daughter and I decided to do the timed exercise together. Unfortunately our timing went wrong but I think we both created for approximately 14 minutes.

First up is my nine year old's attempts. As you can see in her beautifully colourful picture the copper kettle reminded her of a Genie's lamp. The tiny writing in the top right hand corner reads (and I apologise in advance. Lol.):

“I need to lose some weight”, says the Genie struggling out of the lamp.

“Yes you do!” Squeaks the shrimp from the top of the lamp.

“Perhaps I’m pregnant,” laughs Genie.

BURP!

“Mackerel”, says Shrimp, “your burp smells horrible”.

Genie laughs and giggles.

.....

By JW Age 9

My daughter can seem so sweet and then comes out with that but at least she had fun :-) I decided to write. Here is the unedited result:

It was strange being in Grandma’s house without her being there. It was quiet without the radio and accompanying high pitched singing that usually filled the small cottage. Even Hamster the cat was subdued and quiet; not even pestering for food like he normally would.

“You miss her hey?” Fran reached down and stroked the cat in his basket.

Fran tried to recall her Grandmother’s instructions. ‘Inside the copper kettle in the sitting room inglenook.’ Fran wandered into the tiny sitting room that contained two worn wing backed chairs, a small cabinet and book case. One of the floral covered seats was adorned with half finished knitting; pieces waiting to be joined together to form some sort of garment. She tried to push away her morbid thoughts of how she would cope without her vibrant eccentric Gran.

Lifting the stiffly fitting lid Fran put her hand inside the pot tentatively; slightly afraid of what may be hidden in the dusty object. Her fingertips recognised paper. Pulling out her Grandmother’s prescription she placed the lid back and looked at her watch. Thirty minutes until the town bus left. Just enough time to get the medication and deliver it to Gran who was taking care of Great Aunt Gina in her town house.

I wasn't very happy with my results but it was fun doing the TIC TOCC challenge with my daughter and this happy experience outweighs the results.

How did you get on with this week's TIC TOCC?

It would be great to hear your feedback and experiences. Please leave your comments and/or links to results in the comments section of this post. You can also contact me via Twitter, facebook or email links for which can be found at the bottom of this week's Wright Story Extra issue & on the blog tabs above.

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Brainstorm Garden: creating focus from a tangled mind...

2011-05-06T06:00:00.001+01:00

Happy Paint Party Friday! This week I painted something a little different...

Sometimes my mind ends up in a tangle of thoughts and worries. Does that happen to you? I know that worrying about problems and concerns doesn't make them go away. Similarly tying ones brain into knots does not solve anything; quite the contrary: the resulting anxious perspective means we deal with life less effectively. I know all these things but sometimes I fall into the thought tangle trap; usually when I'm feeling over tired and/or overwhelmed.

During this week's mind tangle I realised that I needed to regain an inner and outer focus in order to guide my days towards positive creative tasks meaningful to me, rather than towards unsolvable concerns. Writing in my journal helped a little. I considered brainstorming but my already overloaded mind balked at the idea seeing it as another task to perform. I wanted to paint flowers and from those two ideas sprung the idea of creating this 'Brainstorm Garden'. Suddenly my mind relaxed; I wasn't asking it to work but instead play. So I played with acrylic paint, acrylic paint pens and fineliners. I had creative fun whilst finding focus for my days. As a bonus, once I became involved in painting my mind started to relax easing the tension tangles.

I started this Brainstorming Garden late two evenings ago and finished it yesterday. In between these two sittings I read this post on the lovely Shannon's Free Spirit Knits blog and smiled at finding synchronicity with my blogging friend. Writing about removing mental clutter her words seemed to fit in wonderfully with where I was at. If you're not familiar with Shannon's blog you won't regret a visit. She has also kindly let me interview her for June's edition of Wright Story Extra.

How do you find focus when overwhelmed?
Can you find ways to turn practical tasks into fun creative ones?

In other news:

Have you visited the Inspiration Avenue blog to view the wonderful art auction in aid of Angel Faces charity? Just two days left to try and purchase a beautiful unique piece of art. Please do pay a visit. Its easy to bid & 100% of your money goes to this deserving charity.

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TIC TOCC week 4: Strange happenings at sea...

2011-05-03T04:00:00.002+01:00

Cornish News Bulletin: "A North Cornwall beach is closed for a second day as investigations into multiple sightings of a strange creature were reported yesterday morning by early morning surfers and dog walkers. The police are puzzled by the varying accounts they have received which range from descriptions of a Loch Ness type monster parting the waves to a whirling vortex seeming to swallow part of the sky. Of the six statements on record not one is the same. However, their commonality lies in the time and length of the sightings and the level of certainty by eyewitnesses that it happened. In addition to these eerie reports a nearby RAF helicopter experienced instrument failure and many homes along that stretch of coast lost power for forty minutes. Investigations are being made by the Navy and government powers. Meanwhile the two mile stretch of coast is off limits to the public on land or at sea. We'll bring you updates as soon as we have them."

These were my results for TIC TOCC week four: a little bizarre but nevertheless the result of twenty minutes drawing and ten minutes unedited writing.

How did you get on with this week's TIC TOCC?

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Princess Paintbrush & the Royal Proposals (IA Royal Wedding challenge)

2011-04-30T11:39:00.000+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue theme was "Royal Wedding". The picture above goes with the following story:

Princess Paintbrush had been proposed to by many princes but had yet to find a prince that would make her happy. Her father, King Paintbrush, grew impatient for her decision. He insisted that the Princess narrow her choice to three princes and then make a decision based on what each could offer her.

The first prince was named Prince Jewel. He offered her unlimited supply of precious metals and stones that would be fashioned into endless jewellery made to her specifications. Princess Paintbrush smiled politely as she considered this generous offer. She was partial to pretty things and the prince possessed bedazzling good looks. Yet she was unsure if this would be enough to make her happy.

The second prince was named Prince Equine. He offered her hundreds of thoroughbred horses, beautiful ponies and a staff of stable hands to care for them. Princess Paintbrush loved horses and ponies and imagined the delight of having a kingdom full of these gorgeous creatures. The prince himself was tall, strong and yet graceful in his movements; a combination she found appealing. However, her heart did not flutter or warm sufficiently at his offer.

The third prince was named Prince Pen-to-paper. He approached the princess and offered her a large ornately decorated key.

“What is this?” she asked, frowning.

“A key that opens a room full of art materials, stationery and books,” the prince explained. “Every time you unlock the room there will be all the beautiful creative supplies and inspiration you desire at that time. The key and room are enchanted with the magic of creativity.”

Delight illuminated Princess Paintbrush’s features as she held the key. Her heart sang at this thoughtful offer. It was obvious to her that she would choose Prince Pen-to-paper because he understood what would make her happy.

A month later Princess Paintbrush and Prince Pen-to-paper were married. They lived, of course, happily ever after...

So that's my IA contribution this week.

Did you watch the royal wedding? If you're in the UK and had the day off- how did you spend the day?

NEWS....
Inspiration Avenue is holding a charity auction from the 1st to 7th May 2011.

All proceeds from the auction will go to the Angel Faces charity. There will be lots of gorgeous art going into this auction from very popular blogging artists so please visit the Inspiration Avenue blog from the 1st May to view the wonderful auction items and learn more about how to join in. If you'd like to support this worthy cause then as well as visiting the auction we'd be grateful if you could please display an auction blog button (you can see mine in the top of my right hand column) and/or this auction flier. If you need the html codes or would like further details of how to get involved then please do visit the Inspiration Avenue blog.
Thanks :-)
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TIC TOCC week 3 results: doodles and fiction writing...

2011-04-26T04:00:00.002+01:00

Welcome to week three's TIC TOCC post.

For this week's TIC TOCC I set the clock for 20 minutes doodling (above) and then twenty minutes writing. Here are my unedited writing results:

"Busy thinking about the logistics of collecting Hannah from gymnastics, George from football and getting back in time for her conference call Leni didn't notice the package balancing on the washing line until she'd unpegged the red dress that partially hid it. Leni frowned at the small parcel of crumpled brown paper; it hadn't been there when she'd pegged the washing out that morning. Jim was working away and the kids had been out all day so where had the package come from? She looked around the garden for signs of life and then realised the foolishness of her search; their property resided in five private acres of woodland. It wasn't the sort of place people passed by; only accessible by a single partially gravelled dirt track. Butterflies of anxiety fluttered as it dawned on her that there could be an intruder. As a professional business woman with a cool manner Leni was not prone to flights of fancy but the situation was strange. She decided to open the package dismissing that it proved any danger by its crumpled packaging and small dimensions. Inside a painted ceramic disc approximately 7cm in diameter caused her to gasp and once again glance around her immediate surroundings. Was this a sick joke? This had been her group's secret society's emblem when they had been between eight and twelve years old. They'd carefully hand painted four ceramic circles, one for each member, and sworn allegiance to their club. An abandoned shed on the nearby Hanbury estate land had served as their meeting place. Their activities revolved around fantastical adventures played across the private land too large for the Lord and Lady to fully use. Their group had abandoned when Leni's twin, Tom, had disappeared. The police and neighborhood had frantically searched for twelve year old Tom. Three years after, resigned to the possibility of his death, the three remaining club members had placed their discs into a metal box weighted with a brick. They used the group's model boat to launch the box out into the river, setting it alight and watching it sink in a ceremony reminiscent of the ancient warriors they'd once played at being. Leni now aged 38 stared at the ceramic symbol in her trembling hand and felt her knees give way as she opened the letter that began 'Dear Sis...' "

Once again the writing took me in an unexpected direction.

How did you get on with this week's TIC TOCC?

In issue 2 of Wright Story Extra I discussed tips for when creatively stuck. In this week's issue I discuss ideas for finding time to create.

Do you have any tips for finding/managing your creative time?

I've set up a Wright Story Extra page where you can sign up to receive weekly TIC TOCC prompts and a monthly bonus interview. On that page you'll also find links to previous issues.

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IA Angel challenge & my inability to paint/draw faces!

2011-04-24T10:44:00.000+01:00

I'd like to learn to draw/paint faces because, as you can see above, I have an inability to do so. I'm not putting myself down just stating fact. When the Inspiration Avenue Challenge this week was 'Angels' I was initially stoked because I love angel art and sculpture. But then I remembered my lack of ability in drawing people. I've felt quite poorly this last few days and so had a valid excuse not to join in however, I wanted to push myself with the thought that only practice will help me learn how to draw faces and people. I didn't want fear of getting it wrong to get in my way. So I sat in my comfy chair with water colour pencils and my art journal and this was the result. The face was the hardest bit and after I put too much red watercolour I made things worse by overworking in an attempt to correct. But the process was fun, I learnt from mistakes and gained some much needed practice.

Faces tell a story and by the title of my blog you may guess that I'm a story enthusiast. Last week I created an 'On Story' page for my blog to explain about how I feel about, work with and view 'story'. If you've got time take a look and let me know if it makes sense.

What creative skill would you like to learn and improve on?
Does fear ever hold you back from trying a new creative technique or project?

Happy Easter and Happy Spring Holidays to all.

............................

Visit my last post for a bit of magical art and romance fiction. There are 55 people signed up to receive my Wright Story Extra with its TIC TOCC prompt. All are welcome to sign up and it is wonderful when people share their TIC TOCC results via the comments on my Tuesday blog post, email, Twitter or/and facebook. Hope to see you soon.

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TIC TOCC week 2 - Magical art and a bit of romantic fiction...

2011-04-19T02:00:00.131+01:00

Welcome to week two's TIC TOCC post. This week I used the TIC TOCC prompt to do 20 minutes of art (results above) and then used the same prompt for writing. Here are my unedited writing results:

~ Amy picked her way across Mr Jacob's uneven field the small beam of torch light erratically dancing in front. Occasionally she stumbled in the poor light but her gymnastic background helped her step lightly and keep her balance. She stopped briefly looking over her shoulder to gauge how far she'd come. Her parent's farmhouse was now hidden behind a gentle slope; she was five fields from home and only one from the stone circle she'd missed whilst away at college. Amy worried whether Sam would remember to meet her. It had been exactly a year since he'd left for Afghanistan and a month since they'd arranged this meeting. He'd arrived back in the UK last week whilst she'd still been in Brighton. So much had changed since they'd last been together. Would they have grown apart she wondered?
   Approaching the field that was home to the circle she noticed a purple pink haze in the distance. She stopped abruptly. It was them. Her heart beat faster; she hadn't seen them since she and Sam were ten since... (Ten minutes up - but I decided to continue for ten more)
   She heard the faint rustle of footfall to her left and saw a large dark shape vault over the gate that led from Sam's parents' fields. Sam? It had to be Sam. Had he seen the light and the familiar dancing silver magic? She felt sick with apprehension at seeing the only boy, now man, she'd ever loved and the chance of experiencing the blissful fairy magic the memory of which she'd carried with her for ten years.

   As Sam approached he glanced between the growing light show and the girl whose memory had kept him alive through the past year. In the dark he made out her familiar small frame and long wild hair. With memories he filled in the blue eyes and sprinkling of freckles. Sam slowed as he came within a few feet from her; his overwhelming emotions finally bringing him to a stop a foot in front of her. Now they were both only looking at each other; even the magic nearby unable to draw their attention away. He fought back the tears that threatened and struggled when he saw the glisten of a tear roll down her face. He was finally home. ~

Wow - I had a job to stop writing at the twenty minutes - as it was it ended up as twenty-two minutes. It's not a great piece of writing but I enjoyed creating Amy and Sam's story. And to think that they didn't exist at all until I began writing. They just appeared in my imagination. The purple pink magic took form as I did the art work and so I had that in mind before I started writing but the characters only came as I wrote. The art took twenty minutes simply because I had to dry layers with a heat gun but the writing could have gone for longer. Great fun!

How did you get on with this week's TIC TOCC?
Did your imagination take over and surprise you like mine did?
Please share your thoughts and, if you're able to, links to your own results in the comment section of this post.

In issue 2 of Wright Story Extra I shared a few tips for doing TIC TOCCs.

Do you have any tips on doing timed creative challenges that you could share with other participants in the comments below?

It was great fun to share the TIC TOCC experience last week and so I'm looking forward to this week's chat. For those a bit shy to join in the comments/Twitter/Facebook chat I hope you're enjoying the Wright Story Extra. If you need to ask any questions about TIC TOCC in private please feel free to click the contact via email link at the bottom of the newsletter.

I've set up a Wright Story Extra page where you can sign up to receive weekly TIC TOCC prompts and a monthly bonus interview. On that page you'll also find links to previous issues.

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PPF, IA "Mother" & re-learning the same lessons....

2011-04-15T19:07:00.000+01:00

This is my entry for Paint Party Friday and this week's Inspiration Avenue prompt: 'Mother'. It is created mainly with watercolour paint with some Pitt Pen on the elephants.

This week I've re-learnt two valuable lessons. We're on day 7 of 20 of the school holidays and I'm a little exhausted. However, I can't blame the children being home as much as myself. I am perfectly aware that with my health problems I have to pace myself. I sent out my first Wright Story Extra email including TIC TOCC this week. But I left all the work for this, and a couple of other writing commitments, until the last minute; resulting in me working long hours within a short period. By Wednesday I started to feel quite poorly and yesterday was struggling with simple tasks. (Luckily today I'm feeling better after my rest yesterday.) So first lesson re-learnt is that I need to pace and not take on too much at once.

The second lesson involved getting nervous about sending out the first TIC TOCC. I soon reminded myself that I write these prompts because I enjoy doing so and the outcome does not matter; it's the creative process that does. Just like doing the prompts themselves should be done without expectations or judgement I need to approach writing and sharing them in a similar way. I realised, that by worrying about the outcome and other people's approval, I removed myself from the intuitive moment by moment living I find beneficial.

So with these lessons fresh in mind I rested yesterday and began today with painting and piano with my children. Unfortunately, as if to test me further,I now have visitors who've sprung a visit to begin this weekend; my re-learnt wisdom will be severely tested ;-)

I'll be unable to visit as many blogs as I'd like to for this week's IA and PPF submissions. But I hope you all understand and I shall get around to you as soon as I can.

Have you learnt or been reminded of any life lessons this week?
What wisdom can you apply to your creative life to ensure it remains healthy and enjoyable?

Wishing you all a happy PPF and a wonderful weekend!

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Sharing my first Tuesday TIC TOCC writing & art

2011-04-12T02:00:00.010+01:00

Yay! Today I sent my first Wright Story Extra emails out with a TIC TOCC prompt and interview with Michael Nobbs. I'm hoping if you've signed up to be part of the TIC TOCC gang that you've received your email inspiration okay today. Please let me know in the comments section below. If you didn't receive it here is a sneak peek.

I did the TIC TOCC prompt twice - ten minutes doodling and ten minutes writing. This is the unedited result:

"Tamsyn ran up to what she'd long ago named as the 'hugging tree' because of its long outstretched limbs. Darting behind its mass before Harry caught up with her she slid to the ground her back against the ancient trunk, breathing heavily. She rubbed her hands against the exposed roots; saying hello to her favourite tree. Her left hand brushed against something unfamiliar that jutted up from between the roots and dry soil. Tamsyn's heart lifted at the thought of finding treasure; her quarrel with Harry forgotten in her excitement. Using her fingers and stubby nails she unearthed an oval wooden object about 10cm in length. A broken leathery cord was attached and as she rubbed away the dirt she began to reveal what appeared to be a carved wood pendant. Tamsyn rubbed it clean with her t-shirt uncaring for the stains she left on the pink top. The pendant was covered in strange geometric and swirly symbols. In the centre she could make out a heart and eye encased in a tear drop. Near the bottom there were symbols that reminded her of the hieroglyphics she remembered from her school Egyptian history lesson. She dropped the pendant in surprise as it began to vibrate between her fingers grip; it emitted a strange hum. What was it she wondered? Her curiosity forced her to pick it back up and shove it into her jeans pocket as she heard Harry's heavy footfall crash through the undergrowth."

So that was what I came up with in two timed ten minute sittings.

How about you? What was your experience of using this week's TIC TOCC prompt?If you've managed to have a go at this week's TIC TOCC challenge then please share your experience below in the comments section.
And it would be great if you can include a link to show us your resulting creations.
But if you're feeling shy then please do still leave a comment to tell us how you've got on with this timed creative challenge.

If you haven't signed up to receive weekly TIC TOCC mini imagination challenges its not too late to join in with this week. Here is a sneak look at today's TIC TOCC and Wright Story Extra.

You can read more about TIC TOCC here and sign up HERE.

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A Sweet Walk Through My Imagination (Paint Party Friday & IA's Roald Dahl)

2011-04-08T20:08:00.001+01:00

It's Paint Party Friday and prompted by Inspiration Avenue's theme of 'Roald Dahl' I painted this bit of whimsy. This is just part of the whole picture because it wouldn't fit on the scanner. Nearing the end of this painting I managed to spill glitter and wet paint (a few choice words were spluttered). This necessitated me hurriedly having to paint over/patch up a large part of the middle section. It has spoilt it a little however, as it was a 'just for fun' painting I guess it doesn't really matter. I feel this picture needs an accompanying story. I may have to add one later but for now I'm quite drained and want to go visit some paint party people before I run out of steam.

Roald Dahl has always inspired me with his vivid imagination. Children and adults over generations have enjoyed his fantastical stories.

Are you a Roald Dahl fan? If so: how has he influenced your creative work?
Which children's books, authors & illustrators have inspired you?

Thank you to all the people who've signed up to receive my TIC TOCC timed challenges. If you haven't yet signed up and want to learn more take a look at my TIC TOCC page. I'd love to share the fun with you.

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TIC TOCC - 7 days to go!!!

2011-04-05T11:44:00.000+01:00

Only 7 days to go!!!!

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to receive my emailed TIC TOCC prompts. For those of you who are wondering what TIC TOCC is.........

On Tuesday 12th April I'm starting a new project called TIC TOCC that consists of simple timed creative exercises designed by me and delivered weekly free to your email address.

[TIC TOCC is a just a fun anagram for - Ten-minute Inspiration Catalyst Timed Optional Creative Challenge! :-) A bit of a mouthful but it went with my logo design and the idea of a timed exercise ;-) ]

What does TIC TOCC involve?

Using my TIC TOCC prompts to create for just ten or twenty minutes (your choice).
Enjoy the process with no expectations for the outcome.
Doodle, write, draw, paint, take photos, sew, or compose music.....any medium you fancy.
It is entirely optional & you can choose to do it whenever suits you.
You may use it to help start you on a larger piece of work or assist with another challenge.
The option to discuss and link to your TIC TOCC results in the comments section of my weekly TIC TOCC check in post. If you prefer to keep the results private please do pop in just to say hi.

To sign up for a weekly emailed TIC TOCC (& a bonus once a month inspirational interview with people living the creative life) click: HERE
And to learn more about TIC TOCC please visit my TIC TOCC page.

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Self-Portraits, Freeing the Imagination & Happy Mother's Day (UK)

2011-04-03T12:32:00.000+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge was to create a self-portrait. I seem incapable of drawing faces let alone my own and so I could've given this week a miss but instead I allowed my imagination free reign; the picture above was the result. I tried to draw a portrait of my inner self, allowing myself to draw freely. I really enjoyed the experience.

I'm always talking about how much creative activity improves my mood and wellbeing. I think this is even more effective when I allow my imagination the freedom to create without any expectation or censoring. When I do this I find the experience cathartic and sometimes even spiritual in its connection with my inner self. This happens with free writing as well as art.

Do you censor your imagination consciously or unconsciously? How do you suppose this affects your experience of creating?

For instance, for me, if I censor or try to stick by a set of 'rules' I can end up stuck. Sometimes rules can help us improve but other times they can be destructive.

Setting up my TIC TOCC challenges to do in ten or twenty minutes encourage me:

to write/paint/create within a set amount of time with no expectations or censorship.
Plus only needing ten minutes to complete they offer very little time/energy commitment.
the option to keep private or share (I'll share if I have some fellow TIC TOCC mates to share with).
Sometimes the results I get may be able to be used for other challenges I do like Paint Party Friday.

I'm offering to share the exercises I create via email. All you need to do is add your email to my list by clicking HERE. You can either keep the results of using the TIC TOCC prompts private or on a Tuesday I'll do a check-in post where you can leave a link or just chat about the experience in the comments section (but this is entirely optional). It would be lovely to have a few people share the experience with me. If you want to read more about TIC TOCC you can read this page I've set up.

And if you've signed up then it would be great if you could display one of my lovingly created blog buttons and link it back to the challenge page: http://wrightstory.blogspot.com/p/tic-tocc-inspiration.html

They look like this:

But you can get them in various sizes on my blog's TIC TOCC page.

If you like this idea then please pass on the details via your blogs, facebook or twitter as I'd love to share the experience with other adventurers of the imagination!

And to those of you in the UK and elsewhere that celebrate today HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! XX. I'm eating some delicious chocolate I was gifted whilst writing this. Yum! I can also smell the dinner my husband is cooking and it smells delicious. I was also given some gorgeous handmade cards, poems, pens and cuddles. I feel a lucky Mum. Enjoy the day :-)

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Painting embellishments (Paint Party Friday) and another new venture...

2011-04-01T18:55:00.000+01:00

Today I've been painting wooden shapes with acrylic, metallic, glitter & 3D paint. I've been wanting to paint these blank wooden shapes for a while and knowing that it was Paint Party Friday helped motivate me to get on with it. Below are some close-ups:

They measure approximately between one and four inches and because of their size are quite fiddly to layer and paint. I've created similar before as card toppers and have been wondering whether to make these into cards, brooches or keep as card toppers for my Etsy shop. In the past I've attached to felt and then created a card with a brooch as the embellishment so as to create a card with gift combination. Its still early days for me on Etsy and I'm still experimenting. I may just keep as gifts, we'll see.

Thank you for the get well and good wishes this past week. Today I found myself feeling a lot brighter, so all those kind words must have worked thank you. For a long time, especially when over tired or pushed for time, I've used short timed creative exercises to help inspire writing and ideas (a few of which I've shared on this blog). After doing a ten minute burst of writing/doodling etc I seem to feel more energised and inspired. Sometimes that's all I can manage but other times that ten minutes leads to a much larger project. For me creative activity certainly seems to improve my mood. With all this in mind I've decided to create weekly timed prompts and share them with you (if you like) via an email newsletter. I've created a blog button (which I enjoyed painting yesterday afternoon):

and you can learn more about TIC TOCC and how to sign up to receive it HERE. I hope you may join me on this new journey and enjoy spending ten (or twenty minutes) doing a timed creative challenge. The great thing is that once you sign up you can save the creative TIC TOCC prompt for whenever you're ready. I may use it sometimes as a prompt for Paint Party Friday.

Do you have any favourite ways of kick-starting your muse?

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Spring: giving the rotten a new positive life...

2011-03-27T16:05:00.001+01:00

This week's Inspiration Avenue challenge theme was "Spring" and after a busy few days caused me to miss Paint Party Friday I wanted to make sure I didn't miss this challenge as well. Spring inspired many ideas in my mind but it was the idea of beautiful new life rising from rotten winter mulch that led me to my submission. I've recently been having problems with my medication which has been causing me a fair amount of worry and discomfort. So as I looked at blister packs (some of which are shown below)....

...I had an idea to create something new and positive out of the empty packets. Using the packets above, an unused sealed syringe (the needle was sealed off but, even still, don't try this at home), Pebeo & Decoart acrylics and one Pitt pen (for the branches) - here is a picture story of what I did:

The smallest tablets seemed to make the most delicate blossom. The squashed bottoms of the blister packets created interesting shapes.

Repeated stamping, without every time adding new paint, helped create texture (in the simplest sense).

The plunger on the syringe made neat circles with its smooth plastic head. Whilst the sealed needle cap/protector had an interesting pattern.

The sharp edges of these packets created blades of grass & blended the ground a little.

Obviously the end result is the picture at the start of this post. Its made me feel really good to turn an ugly experience into something prettier. The result is a simple and basic representation of the pretty blossom trees I love to see at this time of year. But, to me, it's symbolic of the way creativity helps me deal with life's challenges. And I always like to transform a negative into a positive wherever possible!

How do you use creative activity to transform experiences and give things new life?

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Shamrocks & the magic of journaling...

2011-03-20T14:39:00.000Z

The theme for this week's Inspiration Avenue challenge was St Patrick's Day. Yesterday evening I sat & doodled this shamrock mandala. Hopefully it conjures up the spirit of the day. The nondescript colour that the scanner couldn't recognise is gold - so in reality it looks gilded & shiny. But as I know my visitors have great imaginations I'm sure you can imagine that part :-)

Both yesterday and today I've been reminded of the magical quality of journaling. At the moment there's a few things to battle health & medication wise, details of which I have no intention of boring you with. What's important is how a couple of hours alone with my journal the past couple of mornings helped me untangle my indecision, put my worries in perspective, realise the true root of my fears and feel energised, empowered and positive. Does this sound far fetched? I guess it does, even to me, but truly sometimes just emptying my thoughts/worries/stress onto paper can have a magical transformation even I don't fully understand. It seems to me that I think better through writing and that as I lose myself through free writing my unconscious is free of the shackles of the chattering mind. Coupled with doodling or some form of art work I feel even better. Creative activity, writing, painting, doodling etc... acts as form of meditation practice in that it releases me from the eternal chatter of my mind & helps me connect to a calmer intuitive part of me.

Do you ever use your creative work for meditation and self-development? Please share your experiences if you feel able.

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Paint Party Friday & a new paint venture...

2011-03-18T16:07:00.001Z

Today is the first day of the Paint Party Friday challenge. Yesterday afternoon having finished the above painting I took the brave decision to open my Etsy shop to sell some of my small paintings. It will be the first time I've put anything up for sale on Etsy and bar one painting I recently sold privately I am new to putting my paintings out into the world. Needless to say it is quite nerve jangling! So far I've done three 7x5 inch paintings but hope to do some larger mixed media like the one I recently sold. Its been a tough week health wise and it is at these low energy times that my confidence tends to lack even more. So I feel quite proud that despite this I took this step with my painting. And it feels good to share this experience on the first ever Paint Party Friday challenge.

What new creative challenge have you attempted recently?
How have you had to battle nerves/anxiety in your creative work? Please share; I love to read your stories.
Today's optional creative challenge: try something new.

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Black, White & Pink ....

2011-03-13T17:12:00.001Z

It was my Birthday on Wednesday and I was lucky to have a week of celebrating by spending time with family and friends. Being busy has exhausted me a little and I wasn't going to enter this week's Inspiration Avenue challenge. But then I thought I'd create an image and do just a ten minute writing exercise. I just hope I'm not too late to submit. The following is the unplanned unedited result of writing for ten minutes on the theme of black, white and pink, and using the above image I created:

I got to keep the club house flag after we had to leave 'Grove House'. The move was sudden; only half a day's warning left us just enough time to convene in our club house and swear to find each other again one day. None of us knew where we were going but in our eight year old naivety we held firm the belief we would find each other again. Our club house was an old lean to shed down by the river. We'd patched up the holes and gaps with cardboard and branches. We made a flag by drawing on an old white sheet with marker pens. Black white and pink. My favourite colour was pink, James' was black and Ollie's was white. The flag brought us together and represented our commitment to each other after having grown up together in the failing Victorian mansion. We'd been told we were special and the night we were all taken away to separate destinations we were told we were in danger and must hide, must behave, must do as our guardians told us.

Sitting on the cross country train today I take the crumpled foot square of material from my coat pocket and imagine seeing Ollie in less than half an hour and for the first time in twenty years. Our contact so far has been brief, coded and secret. I wonder what he will look like, where he's been and if he knows anything about what has happened to James. All I know is that he feels it is important that we meet......

So actually that was 12 minutes! Okay, I must dash to see if I can get included in this week's submissions. Despite feeling unwell just a short burst of creativity has already cheered me no end! Timed writing exercises and doodles are two good ways for me to inject a short burst of creativity into a day when I feel energy depleted.

On days when you're lacking in energy or time - what are your favourite ways to include a short burst of creative activity?

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"Celestial themes & creating without expectations..."

2011-03-05T18:47:00.001Z

This week’s Inspiration Avenue challenge theme was ‘celestial’. This is my entry created using acrylic paint & ink on canvas paper. I experimented, learnt from a few mistakes but really enjoyed the process of creating this.

The latter part of this week it has been as if the Universe has been sending me and others a loud message. Some friends & I have had (separate) experiences that have challenged our self confidence and self image. The details must remain private but towards the end of the week I’ve doubted myself. These instances got me thinking about the courage it can take to share our creative work and to reveal our true selves in the art/writing/music we create.

If we play it safe and create just what we think others would approve of our efforts may lack authenticity. If we rely on approval then we may create with the idea of pleasing others and this can cause us to freeze and feel blocked. Perhaps we may imagine that by not fully expressing ourselves we’ll be protected from hurtful criticism. Of course, the folly is that if we never allow ourselves freedom of expression then we hurt ourselves and our creative output.

Today I reread the interview Shannon did with me for her Free Spirit Spotlight and laughed at myself for having already known this but having to relearn it again this week. Life offers its gentle (and not so gentle) reminders ;-) My advice is to look within, trust your intuition and allow yourself the freedom to create whatever you want to in that moment without expectation or restriction. If you make a living by creating for a certain market with certain guidelines that’s fine but allow your creative self regular times to let loose outside of these parameters. Write, paint, scribble, play, dance, sing or whatever takes your fancy even if the result is self indulgent, out of tune or indecipherable. Who cares? Because the funny thing is you’ll almost certainly learn from this experience and likely be inspired to create something further.

When was the last time you created with wild abandon and with no expectations?

Go on give it a try. Allow yourself the freedom to create anything and in any way! If you do, let me know how you get on.

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A weekend of fun & inspiration by the sea....

2011-03-01T14:50:00.001Z

Above: Looking towards our hotel from near Pendennis castle

After two weeks of a fluey virus followed by half term school holidays I was more than ready for our girly weekend away. Five of us girls, all very good friends, went away for the weekend to celebrate a 40th Birthday. We got an excellent deal at a lovely hotel in Falmouth Cornwall and had a fabulous time. The inclusive food was divine, service excellent, location heavenly and the company fantastic. The next couple of photos show the stunning panoramic sea view we had from our room's balcony:

Early on day two I took the following photo from my bed:

I could quite happily live permanently with a view from my bed like this. During the night we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves breaking on the sandy beach (also helped by the wine & large portions of food ;-) ).

Below is the five of us lounging in my room with a huge box of chocolates:

In the mornings the others made use of the health spa gym and swimming pool. I wasn't able to participate as I needed a little more rest than them. But I was very happy sipping coffee, doodling, and taking photos on the balcony whilst they were gone. When my room mate returned from the pool she snapped this photo of me doodling in the sun:

And here is the doodle I was drawing at that particular time:

I have returned from this weekend exhausted but very happy, inspired and grateful to have such wonderful friends. Thanks for humouring me as I shared this special experience.

In other news I've been interviewed by the wonderful Shannon as part of her Free Spirit spotlight interviews. You can find the interview and her inspiring creative blog here. Be lovely to see you over there.

For this weekend I packed my current book (The Golden City by John Twelve Hawkes), doodle pad, pens, writing notebook and camera because despite nearly all my time being with the girls I just have to have some creative supplies for capturing moments and inspiration.

Which creative supplies do you travel with?

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"Faded (Memories)" Inspiration Avenue Challenge

2011-02-20T13:20:00.000Z

"Faded Memories"

"Faded" was the prompt for this week's Inspiration Avenue team challenge. The title 'Faded Memories' came to mind and I used this title as inspiration. It also encompassed this month's Creative Everyday theme of 'passion' by using my passion for trees, story and mixed media experiments. I wanted to tie in various memories into a piece of mixed media art. I used an old table mat that held sentimental memories because it was bought new when we moved into our cottage. I then chose two photos I'd taken that were tied to personal memories. Then faded & tinted them before printing out. Here is a before picture to give you an idea:

I've had a bit of a rough, tiring week feeling ill and looking after my little boy who had a fluey virus (he is much better now). My creative time was also cut to barely nothing. So I really wanted to have fun experimenting with art materials and surfaces; I knew it would cheer me up to get messy and creative. As illustrated below I covered the mat with a couple of coats of gesso tinted with Pebeo acrylic. I painted directly onto the worn surface so it would add extra texture and enable me to know the mats memory was still held beneath.

I then used scrunched up aluminium foil to create texture in the wet paint followed by adding my own mix of acrylic using the foil. (Drying in between each layer added).

I glued my photos on the painted surface using gel medium and then wanted to tie the memories together. This made me think of string and so I used string to create a doodle like frame around my photos.

Here is a different photo of the result. It is difficult to show the textures and layers but hopefully the photos of the process help to create an idea.

My hands (& workspace) covered in paint & glue I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. Six days of little creative or meditative time (along with the virus) really affected my mood. The thrill of experimentation, the feel of paint/glue, the playing with colours, images, ideas and words all helped give me a boost. My next blog post will reflect on ideas I could employ as emergency measures ready to use during difficult health times. Simple things that can help get me through, like journalling or doodling. I've written about similar things before but have a few new ideas I am mulling over and will share soon. Meanwhile....

What creative outlet never fails to lift your mood?

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"FURRY" (Inspiration Avenue Challenge) & exciting news!!!!

2011-02-12T17:47:00.002Z

The Inspiration Avenue challenge this week was to create art using the prompt 'furry'. I kept thinking of teddy bears, fake fur and fluffy wool fibres. But then today 'Miss Furfuffle' visited my imagination and challenged me to make an attempt at recreating her fur with paint. Miss Furfuffle is very proud of her fluffy coat and her favourite thing is visiting the hairdressers. It was quite an honour that she allowed me to paint her portrait. I'm not sure my attempt has done her careful grooming any favours and to be fair the photo of the painting doesn't really reveal depth because the metallic paint dazzles the camera lens. Or Miss Furffle would argue that it is her beauty that bedazzles the image. But maybe Miss Furfuffle will allow me a second attempt another day. Perhaps she may be able to convince the other Furfuffle family members to allow me to capture their image in paint.

NOW for my exciting news. I have recently begun to paint on canvas. Yesterday I finished my largest painting so far (12 x 12 inches on chunky canvas) and sold it the same day! I have sold cards & small craft items but never a painting! This was my first painting sold. Which, gave my confidence a much needed boost. The past few weeks I've tried to create on canvas but was very nervous and unsure of what other people's reactions would be. This has really helped me to have a little faith. I was unable to get a very good photo before delivery but here it is:

click on image to enlarge

And a side view that gives an idea of depth/texture:

Engaging in creative activity makes me happy. I think it helps keep me healthy. I try to create what I feel and what my imagination suggests. It felt wonderful to sell a painting and share it with someone else. But I would create stories, art, music and photos even if they were never to be sold. Of course we all need to eat and art supplies, books and pens don't grow on trees (more's the pity). So it is a dream to make a living from being creative. But the greater buzz comes from someone caring about a character I write or gaining pleasure from something I create. It is also wonderful to be part of this creative community of bloggers and experience what all your imaginations conjure into existence.

Why do you create?
Do you or would you like to make a living from being creative? And if so, would you continue to create regardless?

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Passion and Pacing - opposites difficult to reconcile...

2011-02-10T19:40:00.000Z

This February the Creative Everyday theme is 'Passion'. The quick doodle above has a little deep red in it to symbolise the colour I associate with passion.

Today I was thinking about this theme in terms of my passion for telling stories through writing, photos, music, art and verbally. Most days I am passionate about creating and telling stories. I have periods where I'm lost in my imagination, inspired and burning with ideas. At these times I'm bursting to express myself creatively. At other times I have a slow burning desire to create. But I can get frustrated because my physical health holds me back from creating as much as I'd like to. I have to figure in rest times and have learnt the hard way that I have to pace myself. Trouble is pacing oneself and being consumed by a passion to create do not go together very well. I try to be sensible but admittedly when a creative frenzy strikes I sometimes overdo it getting lost in the moment of creating.

I suppose this is where I should offer an answer to this problem. Unfortunately I have yet to find a completely satisfactory way of reconciling the opposites of passion and pacing. What I have learnt is that it's pointless to waste my limited energy getting frustrated and fighting a losing battle. What I would like and what actually is are two different things. Instead I've learnt to make the most of each moment and the energy I do have on any given day. I try to focus on what I 'can' do.

Today I got lost in creating a new fiction character's back story as part of my work on a new novel. The buzz of imagining a character into life is a wonderful high. Nearly two thousand words and two hours later I felt tired but exhilarated. I had been recently worried that my intuitive moment by moment days had not included editing my YA novel that has lay abandoned for some months in the second edits stage. Ideas for this new story have been circulating in my head for a few months but I'd inadvertently been punishing myself for not finishing the last edits on my previous novel by telling myself I couldn't possibly start another until I had. However, today I let go, stopped controlling and wrote. I am so glad I did. My faith that living in the moment will lead my writing where it needs to go is renewed. Already this way of living has led me to new ways of creating, new experiences and people. So if I never submit to a publisher then I don't. But I have enjoyed completing three books and the buzz of working on this new story is enough for now. And I'm learning that 'now' is really all we have for sure.

Do you have opposing factors in your life that you find hard to reconcile? For example: maybe your day job keeping you from your true vocation or passion. If so, how do you manage these warring elements in your life?
What are you passionate about?

Another doodle using passionate red...

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