My first art journal, Page 1!

I think I've turned a corner.....or been hit by a truck carrying acrylic paints and inks.

I went to GNPE (Great Northern Papercraft Extravaganza) in Harrogate on Saturday (yesterday) full of crafty excitement looking to spend a fortune on stamps and things. However, I had to leave the madness of argy bargy women and tiny stalls. I decided seeing as I was in Harrogate I'd go to Art from the Heart. I'd been meaning to go for a while.

I can't stress this enough...I'M SO GLAD I DID!
What a wonderful place to be, why did I even bother going to the GNPE in the first place!
If you're remotely arty you could easily get lost in all the wonderful samples of art, it's better than any art gallery. There are samples everywhere, they're displayed in a way that encourages you to have a closer look, feel it, read it, admire it. The atmosphere is so welcoming too, brought on firstly by Dyan Reaveley who is wonderfully chatty, and passionate about her arty craft and secondly Kate Crane who is equally as friendly and talked to me for ages about Posca pens. Thanks for the advice girls. And thirdly all the staff are very chatty and helpful.

Here I bought my first journal, a red Pink Pig spiral bound book, recommended by Dyan herself. I couldn't wait to get it home, but first I needed some of Dyan's wonderfully bright dylusions inks. I could only afford 6, but I wanted the lot! In fact I wanted the entire shop, but I would be destitute if I did. So page 1. of the journal happened in the space of about an hour, a rampant splurge of 20 years of suppressed creative expressiveness. Needless to say it was very liberating! The results of which are below.

I just couldn't wait to get started. My first page in my first art journal.

Maybe I'll break it down so you can see what it says.

Why has it taken me so long? I'm 41 and only just realised, "hey I’m missing out on something here".  Aimlessly blog hopping, I happened upon Dina's blog. There I stopped and indeed pondered for .......quite a while, 2 days in fact! 

I felt a stirring, something was moving.... hang on a minute Michelle, you went to art college, there's a reason why you love this...remember. With a rush of excitement an arty mojo engulfed my mind...The return of an old friend.  I want to do this too!  Now I have a head full of jumping hyperactive ideas. A trip to Art from the Heart sorted me out, I felt like Alice in Wonder-art-land, a journal was bought and an evacuation was about to commence.

After a frenzied affair with colour I could have sat back with a long sigh and lit a cigarette (if I hadn't packed in 5 years ago), looking at it from afar I realised that here is where I wanted to be, not suppressed by a mundane number crunching job.

I was eating a yellow (gouda) Baby Bell, and was playing with the wax, when I thought, right you're going on too.

This is my happy face! Thank you Art from the Heart. xx

Posted this in Simon Says Stamp challenge

Just found My Mojo Monthly very apt for this post, seeing as I found mine again.