I love everything about the creative process. Love reading about another artist's unique vision, of how that artist begins with an idea, fleshes it out and then creates it. I love looking at photos of artists studios, whether carefully organized or jumbled messes. I love to pore over the Daniel Smith catalog for art supplies, or the many craft sites on the web. The talents of others are inspiring, and often humbling.

"We seek" Acrylic, ink, type, thread; digitally enhanced

I've always loved making art. One of my earliest memories was as an 8 year old spending an entire Saturday afternoon coloring in front of the fireplace, a callus forming on the middle finger of my right hand that still exists today, my own talisman to creativity.

 My favorite present I've ever received was given to me by my mother when I was around 12. We lived in a big, drafty house on Seattle's Capitol Hill. She turned one room in the attic into a studio for me, and fitted it with a wooden easel, work table, paints, pencils and paper. I spent many hours in that room, painting and drawing the world as I then saw it. 

I love experimenting with new media, love books that teach and encourage me to reach for a higher level of understanding. A dried piece of kelp, a beautiful color of yarn, or a single image in a book may be the thing that fires up my own imagination. Often I simply write the idea down and don't return to it for months, but it's nurtured just the same, and is as much a part of the process as the physical act of creating. 

There have been stretches in my life in which I've let my art go. I would feel inadequate and give up, or would let the unimportant take a hold of me, leaving little time for a creative life. In the spring of 2008, when I was layed off from my job of 23 years, the shock left me feeling like I had nothing left to give. The desire to create vanished. But what kept me going, aside from the love and generosity of friends and family, was the creativity of others.

 I would open a blog such as www.PurlBee.com or www.Ornamental.typepad.com, the stunning site of Nina Bagley, jewelry artist, photographer, poet and writer, and feel a connection to art and life.  

When Purl Bee offered a trial blog through www.Squarespace.com, I thought it might be just the thing I needed. I will occasionally post images of my most recent work, and my hope is that this site will be a promise to myself to be accountable to my creative life.