All Aboard: Book Tour

Interweave Press has set up a Blog Tour to kick off the official release of Pam Carriker's new book Art at the Speed of Life. My blog is one of the first stops on the tour. I have already written up several posts highlighting my own artwork in this wonderful book and artist resource (see here, here, and  here). So I thought for this post, some words from the author herself were in order. Thanks Pam for sharing the following thoughts:

Living Art at the Speed of Life

As the date approaches for my, ahem, 30, cough, year high school reunion, I’m reminded of the last reunion I attended; that ‘never really should happen’ 5 year one. Five years is just enough time to get started on your path in life, but not really enough time to have anything to show for it. The funny thing is, ‘showing’ is what everyone seems bent on doing and the class of 1982 was no different. We were asked to fill out a questionnaire on what we were doing and what our goals were. Even back then I was heavily involved in creating, Tole Painting was my vehicle at that moment, and I bought instructional books by the dozen. As I churned out painted things to sell, using patterns and instructions produced by other artists, a little voice inside of me kept whispering, ‘You should make up your own designs-you could write your own book’. It was a faint whisper that I quickly shushed because who was I to think I could write a book? But it was the only thing that I could think of to put down for my goal/dream on the questionnaire, so I did.

It took many years working my way through everything from Tole Painting, rubber stamping, scrapbooking, and back to painting again before I found my way to the world of mixed media art. I knew the minute I first looked at Somerset Studios and Cloth Paper Scissors that this was where I was meant to be. How amazing that art could be created using techniques and skills learned from all of my previous artistic pursuits! As I continued to find my niche and participate on some design teams I found the courage to submit some work for publication. It wasn’t until the third try that it was accepted and shortly after I was asked to write articles for both of these wonderful publications. Thus ‘Art at the Speed of Life’ was born in my very first article. I wrote from the heart about the way I strive to live my life and the importance of living your creativity daily. This is still what I try to share from my heart. I feel it’s the most important tool to have at your disposal. Learning every ‘new’ technique and buying every supply available won’t lead you to living a creative life. There’s only one thing that will-action! You have to ‘do’ something, not just wish you had the time to do something. This is where many get discouraged and fall short of their goals.

Living Art at the Speed of Life is about more than just learning techniques, it’s about giving yourself permission to create and making it happen! You can be creative every day. I know because I’m a busy mom of 3 boys and I’ve been creating my whole life. I did it when the boys were small, when I was working full time, when I went through painful experiences, and when times were good. It is doable if you set your priorities to include creativity and give yourself credit for being creative even if the only creative thing you did that day was a napkin doodle while you were talking on the phone. It all counts and when you start seeing your creative life through clear eyes, acknowledging each accomplishment, big or small, it propels you forward and you start gathering speed! Write your goals down and check them off when you achieve them, it may take time-it took me almost 30 years, but it won’t ever happen if you don’t let it. It’s very satisfying to finally be able to check that long ago goal off my list-now on to the next!

You can visit Pam at her website Living Art at the Speed of Life
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You can make all the stops on the tour from now until March 15th at these blogs:

3/4 Suzan Buckner

3/5 Sue Pelletier Laugh*Paint

3/6 All Norah's Art

3/7 Faerie Enchantment

3/8 My Collage Art

3/9 Always Chrysti

3/10 Lisa Bebi's Art Blog

3/11 Sweet Repeats

3/12 Living Out Loud

3/13 The Feathered Nest

3/14 Paulette Insall
3/15 The Art of Julie Bergmann