The other day Rice Freedman-Zachary put up a tweet that asked "Why do you do this? Why are  you here?"

I do this, the blog, the videos and the art because I love it. Pure and simple, I love it. Art is a passion for me. I've been fortunate enough to be able to create art for as long as I can remember. My parents are crafty creative people who nurtured that in me. I think, sometimes, it was to keep me quiet but still when I had pen and paper in hand it was never stopped. It was the same for my brothers. My parents raised a houseful of artists and they are creative and crafty in their own ways.

And I know, that everyone has not had that during their lives. I know that sometimes parents, friends, family, boyfriends and girlfriends squash your creative impulses, put you down and never bring you up. And if you think for a second that I haven't been there, you are sadly mistaken. I don't talk about it. I worked it out in my journals, made it into art. (If you are here from one of my old blogs you know I used to talk about it, a lot, ad naseum) Is this the place to bemoan the fact that my low self esteem made me choose jerks to date or to tell you my ex was a horses ass?  That any and every creative endeavor was looked upon with scorn? That when I picked up a brush I was put down? That I was told it would never amount to anything and never pay off? (And for that matter, if my ex wants to voice her opinion on here go ahead I know you read my blog.) The thing is this, I can't live in the past. I put that time behind me. I've moved on and I'm not going to use that experience to pull at your heart strings so you read my blog/ buy my books/watch my videos. 

What I have to say is this, if YOU choose to, you can find strength in the horror and the pain and you can create and you can journal. You are worth it. I'm not giving you permission or slapping a label on you; that would be arrogant and patronizing. I'm not interested in starting a church, I'm no deity. I'm just a geeky woman with a pencil, a brush and a journal.

Instead I'm putting techniques and instruction out there. I'm an educator (got a fancy degree that says so too) that believes that someday my students will exceed my skills and I look forward to that day. Yes, you can ask some of my former students that too. I don't want to create co-dependents that always have to learn from me. Part of being an educator is that you learn from the students and that your students move on. In my years of teaching I've learned as much from my students as they have from me. I have spent the last 20 years of my life learning about art and now I'm continuing to share the knowledge I've built. I want each reader and viewer to start with a technique and take it from there. Inspired.

I want everyone who sees my videos to think to themselves, "Damn, I can do this!" Pick up an art journal and start scribbling. My ultimate goal is to bring as many people into art journaling as possible. Why? I think art journaling and journaling is a powerful tool for self actualization, centering  yourself and bringing peace to a creatively chaotic mind. I also think that if give a chance everyone can do this and maybe even better than myself, if they give themselves the chance.

So c'mon what are you waiting for? Pick up an art journal and start scribbling!