When did you first know you wanted to be an artist?

For those of you familiar with Etsy, you know this is one of the questions they always ask the featured seller. Usually the answer is something about never deciding to be an artist and that it's just this innate need to create and look at the world a certain way.

Gina and I talked about this recently. We both said that it's difficult to call ourselves artists because there is a fear that someone, somewhere is waiting to jump out from behind a tree and call us out for being fraudulent. "Boo! You aren't an artist! You're a fake!" However, we both were born with this innate need to create and it's all we ever want to do. I have been working a lot lately with collage art and have such a passion for it (see my link at the bottom of this blog to see some pics of a few of my works in progress). Gina has some great mosaics and paintings in a spare room in her house. We haven't listed these items in our Etsy store just yet but the time is coming. The subjectivity of art can make calling oneself an artist difficult.

What exactly is an artist? In the dictionary it's defined as: A person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skill. That seems easy enough. According to this definition, Gina and I are both artists. So what are we and other artists afraid of? We create, we live to create, and we have the ability to do so --- isn't that enough? Of course there is the debate about quality, skill, and experience in defining an artist. I think that is where the fear comes in. Who am I to call myself an artist when Susie Artist has studied all over the world, has works in thousands of galleries, and is a self-sustaining artist.

This fear limits us. I don't want my work to reflect my fears or insecurities of being disliked. I want it to be free to reflect me. So, you (yes you) behind that tree, get ready to jump --- I...AM...AN...ARTIST! Creating is part of me, it's what I love, and it's what I want to do for the rest of my life. Sorry Susie, we're not as different as you might think. Love it or hate it -- that's the beauty of it.

And while you're at it -- check out our Etsy shop at www.frozenyoga.etsy.com and here's that link to my Flickr collage photos http://flickr.com/photos/23839376@N05/sets/72157606819958884/

Girls' Weekend and Inspiration

So, I was able to fly up to Cincinnati this past weekend and hang out with none other than my Etsy partner and best buddy, Gina. We had a fabulous time! You know what was best though? Working on crafts together, scouring fun craft books and cake/cookie books, and browsing around the bead store and art stores. If I could spend eternity doing that, I'm pretty sure I would be happy every day.

Gina found a great book called "The Big Ass Book of Crafts" by Mark Montano. There are so many great ideas in this book! Our favorite for the weekend was decorating metal lightswitch covers with different papers, magazine photos, and other designs. We spent hours looking through magazines, scrapbook papers, and trying to lay out designs. I came home and hung up three of them in my house already. My kids love them!

Gina also gave me a great collage book made up of ideas from many different collage and book artists. It's called "Alphabetica" by Lynne Perrella . There are so many amazing ideas for collage work -- it's very inspiring. My favorite part of the book is a list of instructions for many different techniques for inkjet transferring of photos, pictures, etc.

Last but not least is "The Complete Book of Glass Beadmaking" by Kimberley Adams that I picked up. It is a step-by-step guide to making all sorts of glass beads from the very basic to the advanced. It includes great color photos, some background, and easy to follow instructions. I can't wait to get into a local class and really start learning the art of glass beadmaking.

The book topics seem like I'm all over the place, right? Well that's what is so great about it! There's so much inspiration out there that I don't want to lose sight of it. I can read through a collage book and find inspiration for a necklace. We can spend the day doodling with Sharpies and suddenly Gina has inspiration for a mosaic or a cake.

My challenge to you? Get out there and get inspired! Spend the afternoon with your friend who loves art as much as you do, putter around the home improvement store or the art store or just wander around in the woods. Pull out the crayons and color! Whatever it takes to get the ball rolling. When Gina and I spend time together, we both walk away ready to CREATE! I love this feeling of being inspired and can't wait to get to work! I know after I flew home that Gina got to work on an anniversary cake. I found some beautiful lucite pendants at a bead shop and can't wait to get to work too -- I've never worked with plastic in my jewelry but I couldn't walk out of that shop without those pendants.

Enjoy your week and I hope you catch the inspiration bug like we did this past weekend!

And, of course, check out our new listings at http://www.frozenyoga.etsy.com/