Sunday, August 24, 2008

I am a crafter.


So I have decided that I don't care what people think of my habits. I am a crafter. As an art teacher, I have been through a liberal university art program and I understand the difference between crafts and conceptually based art. Conceptual art is amazing, I love to go to galleries and climb inside people's emotions and ideas....I love visual art, it is amazing to see what people do with artistic techniques and I love to share those things with my students. I believe that in order to teach art, I must indulge in some sort of creative outlet or else I am a hippocrate. I believe that eventually I will need to express my self in a more conceptual way...but for right now....I can achieve artistic satisfaction with my card making and scrapbooking endeavors. For the time being, I don't need canvases and clay nearly as much as I need acrylic, ink and paper. I don't think that cards and scrapbook pages are nearly as respected as watercolor paintings or sculptures in the eyes of my college professors, friends, and other artistic patrons, but I am okay with that. Adhesive, stickers, scissors, embossing, punches, chipboard, ribbon, glitter, eyelets, embellishments!!!! These are some of my favorite things right now. Following a layout or a color scheme are really great exercises and online contests force me to flex my creative boundaries. I enjoy limits and boundaries. I love taking pictures, but I am an amature photographer. My photos aren't taken to be shown in galleries or to win prizes on a grand scale. My needs are met whenever I take a shot with perfect lighting and a little bit of artistic vision. I literally spend hours a day reading blogs, looking at supplies, trying out techniques....and I love it....

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