Monday 16 November 2009

Creative Dilemma




How many times do we hear the expression "Scrapbooking is fun!"? Well, indeed it should be...and indeed it is...but there are times {for me anyway} when I think about it in a deeper way & ask myself which direction I should be heading. I like to keep all my options open but at the end of the day one has to attempt to hone in on a particular style & way to go about things lest your work ends up looking "all over the place". That requires a certain level of discipline that's not really that much fun. I've seen that the "in" style is neat & clean, grids & graphic. Wish it were my style {from that aspect} but it ain't me now is it? Fashion is fickle & who knows when it won't be de rigueur any longer? As much as I love trends & do follow them {we all do, to an extent, whether we realise it or not} I definitely gravitate towards this type of stuff.

To me that is just gorgeous...eclectic & unexpected...the kind of thing that unfortunately makes most folks think that there is something rather odd about you! This is an image taken from this blog & I have hooked you up there to a particular post that I found rather {okay read "very} inspiring. Now I am not a great stamper. I see others doing it & it does appeal I'll not lie, but there surely has to be a limit to our stash & space dictates in this household. My supplies have morphed into space eating individuals with a life of their own & are busy gobbling up oxygen in the scrap room, bedroom, hall, dining room & passage as we speak! {gotta sort out that situation soon} Anyhoo...back to the stamps...love em, have em {well not many really...} use 'em but not particularly well {think you need better inks than what I have - I use the little square or cat's eyes that are great for inking edges but would probably have to make a major investment in the likes of Versamark & Tsuniko {sp???} to really make some headway, but looking at these may well change my mind...my favourite being...


I am a real quote junkie & those are all classics IMO...Soooooooooooooooooooo...which way to go, decisions, decisions...what's important I think is that we just keep going. I appreciate many different styles but I think I'm right in saying that deep down we would all like to cultivate our own definable signature style. Blogging has definitely opened my options up considerably...boy do I love to sit here & soak it all in...as Tim says "it just so happens I buy it faster than I can use it"....well my own version of that is..."It just so happens that I take it in faster than I can churn it out" {In other words, I soak in so much inspiration that I would need another life just to be able to get it all out of me again & into my work}. I think that an artist one should never be satisfied with one's work. Look at bands like U2, REM & the like, I've been following those bands since the 80's & they have constantly evolved which perhaps is why they are what they are today, as opposed to the likes of bands like the Stone Roses that still have their 2 late '80s hits on the top of their My Space playlist.

Artsy angst...it's quite something I tell ya but it seems to gets you far...





15 comments:

tania said...

great post helen, i also like these stamps, also not a stamper,but that guy sure inspires me.
like the blog and the outlay of all things going on there.just bought a 7G stampset, hope to use it soooon.

Bernadine said...

I am also not a stamper but I have been so many stamps (foam and clear).... mmmm but not adventerous to use them but if I did I would save a looooooooot of money as I use a lot of chipboard.

Stefanie said...

I think I prefer digital brushes actually, you can get then free, change the colours, the opacity, resize and flip them.
OK, so now you know just how cheap I am.

Shayne said...

I'm with Stef - the digital brushes are much more user friendly as the possibilities are endless!

Lynette Jacobs said...

I have also not gotten into stamping...mine just turn out way to messy. I use digital brushes...much neater and more my style.

Desire Fourie said...

I agree, its quite important to develop ones own personal unique creative style which will stand out from all the other styles out there, as your own.
Hugs
Desire

Ella Swan said...

Hmmm...thanks girls...stuff to think about hey?! Tania show us your 7G stamp set or what you do with it - I have a very cool set of theirs NEVER used...Bernie I don't know how much money you would save as stamps here are so flipping expensive & I think you need really good quality inks & embossing powders for that WOW! factor so maybe you would be better off with some paints - I got some cheap acrylic tubes at the Hyper today & they look fine & can mix into a whole array of colours. I absolutely ADORE digital brushes - they are THE best thing about digi/hybrid scrapping but all the digi stuff I like isn't free 'cos I'm too fussy! Don't know that much about it yet but House of 3, Rhonna Farrer, Katie Piertet - that looks like my kinda stuff.

Vicki said...

Hmmm I definitely buy it faster than I use it and that does include stamps. I brought them to make cards with as I hardly ever use them on my scrappy pages.....but do I make cards....no! LOL. I definitely need better/bigger ink pads and like the Stampin Up ones (not sure if you have that over there)but again its more expense. You just can't win!!! LOL

topkatnz said...

Well, that was a thoughtful post. My work is random and eclectic, and hardly ever clean and neat. I actually prefer the random look in my albums, with every page somewhat different, for variety. I am alarmed when you advise that the current scrapping trend is for 'minimal' - that hasn't hit here ... YET! And I definitely buy 100xtimes faster than I create!haha

Diana said...

I totally get you. Thanks to blog world there are so many inspiring blogs and companies' sites out there -- so many ideas, so many challenges, so much inspiration -- I could get overwhelmed by all the possible pages to do, layouts to scraplift, etc. But I try not to think about it too much. I just do what I have time to (not very much, these days, but for a reason that I would never change!) and figure that more inspiration, and more ideas, and more challenges will come my way.
One of the nice things about my pre-blogging days was all my inspiration and ideas came from books and magazines, which are finite, and which I can always go back to. But blogland is constantly renewing (like every day!) and there is so much going on all the time.
I don't want it to get to information overload, b/c that's a turn off, so I'm trying to keep it not-too-serious.

Diana said...

Oh yes, about style: your style is your style. I know my style pretty well, and can identify its progression and changes over the past two years, and I'm very comfortable that way. But there are many scrappers whose work I really love looking at whose style is totally different from mine, and I have no aspirations to do what they do (like you, Piradee, Mou.)
And stamps ARE SO CUTE. I've bought a few but I never use them. They're great craft supplies for my little daughter though... lol.

Pearl said...

ooo we certainly are on the same wavelength I tell yer ! love those Tim Holtz quote stamps too .

this much I can tell yer from personal observation - for as long us we're an international scrapper - ie not a US resident - our dominant style should not be clean , simple , graphic ( but not to say you cant use it as it pleases you ! ) . that's all I can say ! lol
& I certainly dont apologize for moving between styles . lol

I have checked on the Oct gallery link for you for the Scrappiest & I have seen your layout in it ! - http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/buffy2217/?action=view&current=5d1d2453.pbw

Liz is the one picking the winners , certainly the DT has no input .

somebody who needs to love herself said...

wow Helen you wrote exactly what I was feeling! I get inspired when I see others work then buy a lot of stuff but hahaha very little stuff done.

I love the quotes stamp and shyly admit I have been hoarding them

sometimes I don't share all my LOs thinking errr(making excuses in my mind)

hope I am making sense

Carol B said...

hey! I need to try those digi BRUSHES everyone is talking about.
love those quotes.
Do you also prefer a paint-effect (distressed) wall to a solid colour?
and a 'natural' garden strewn with leaves and petals, rather than a spick n span manicured lawn?

Ella Swan said...

Blast I just lost my flipping reply! Sorry...thanks everyone...interesting thinking together isn't it...glad you all get what I am on about. The simple style seems to be very much a US thing. Yup the internet can be so overwhelming but best to take a break at times to focus on the real you. Pearl thanks for the feedback...I e mailed Liz & she got it sorted thanks...she had had a problem loading it before or getting the slideshow to work or something so I was going to use it for another challenge if she couldn't get it up but not to worry. Was just interested to know if it was a random draw or if she selected - knew the DT had nothing to do with it. Mariam you should share your LOs I think...remember, never apologize for your art!!! I was actually going to delete this post because I thought you may all think I was bonkers so I'm glad now that I didn't LOL! Carol I would definitely prefer a distressed wall but not a natural garden as I am a neat freak! Would bring in texture from pebbles, etc, though ;-D