My creative journey didn’t begin in any special way…this is not a story of a child prodigy who turns her back on her natural talent and loses her way.
I didn’t create masterpieces or spend endless hours as a kid drawing. I did enjoy drawing plans of my house and adding spaces in that appealed to me ( a pretty early clue to my 20 year career as an Interior Designer). And later I begged my parents to let me paint my room a lapis lazuli blue with black and gold curtains and bedspread (hello Egyptian influence).
By the time I reached high school though, I found my grades in Art class considerably lower than any other class I took, – despite me trying really hard. So once I had the choice, I decided to no longer pursue any artistic endeavours.
Fast forward to my early 20s and I finally found a way to pursue my dream career of an Interior Designer without having to provide a well established portfolio full of my amazing artwork.
Yet throughout my 4 years at University, I am still plagued by my lack of creative/artistic ability – especially when it is pointed out at what feels like every turn when presenting an idea/project/design.
I get through University and land myself a job in the industry, and I am overjoyed to discover that I can do my job well without needing to hand draw magnificent 3 point perspectives of my ideas. But over the years I lose touch with myself and what lights me up. My job becomes less and less creative and more and more about compromise, following the rules and bending myself to fit into someone else’s ideal.
20 years on, I have added wife and mum to my job description, and it all becomes too much for my spirit, and soon thereafter my health. And I walk away from my career. And in the space I create I eventually find the joy of colour. And this joy is best achieved when I’m elbow deep in beautiful colourful paint.
I become compelled to create, and eventually compelled to share both my creations and my creative process…and my spirit soars again.
