"Art Talk" with Amanda from Mocking Bird

Her Blog ~ Mocking Bird, Her Shop ~ Paper Cameras, Her Flickr ~ Her Flickr

Good morning! Sorry I'm a little late getting this post up. My sweet niece is here visiting (she drove a 4 hour drive to help me out since I've been sick lately) and we were having a great talk in the kitchen over coffee.

Anyways, I wanted to share this inspiring article written by Amanda from Mocking Bird. I love her blog (and her photos!) because she's very real and talks about things that we can all relate to...especially as artists.

When Amanda posted this on Mocking Bird she had a huge response from her readers! I hope her words inspire you as much as they inspired me. :) Enjoy!

By the way...it's Amanda's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMANDA!!! XO



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WHEN YOU NEED CREATIVE SOULMATES ~ BY AMANDA

"Do you ever feel that sometimes your friends don’t understand your creative passions? "passions? That the creative being inside of you is often quietly hidden from your real world? Sometimes the people that we have grown up with and shared years of friendship and relationships with are a world a way from our creative addictions. I find this hard to deal with at times and often I will hide my true passions from those I am closest to.

Most of my close family and friends do not read Mocking Bird and it’s simply because I haven’t told them about it. I’ve come a long way with blogging over the years and I almost feel like it’s too late to start sharing the little pocket of the world that I have created here.

I do however have lots of friends that I can share my creative life with but many of them live on different continents and are known to me by way of a computer screen. I love that I can chat away about photography and a creative rich life with the amazing people I’ve met through the internets, but often I wish that my close friends, whom I love dearly, understood this thing I do.

I’ve just scored a book deal and I am embarrassed to even mention it to family and friends. That’s not normal, right?!

Do you have many creative artsy friends? Maybe I was supposed to meet them at university but never did. I’d take an art class but I couldn’t paint to save my life!"

"Art Talk" with Isabelle Lafrance

Her Website ~ Isabelle Lafrance Photography, Her Blog ~ Isabelle Lafrance Photography, Her Flickr ~ Isabelle Lafrance


ART IS A JOURNEY ~ by Isabelle Lafrance

I don't remember exactly when my journey started. There wasn't an event that sparked my creativity. It is just a part of me and has always been.

An artist's journey lasts a lifetime. There are bends in the road and crossroads. There are many people who inspire us daily. We are feeding our own creativity by enjoying their art. We meet mentors along the way, some will have a small impact while others will leave a lasting inspiration.

Sometimes the journey hits a roadblock. I do remember clearly the first roadblock I hit. My high school principal, who refused to let me attend the art class. He said to me: "You know, art classes are only for students who have poor grades. That way we make sure that they at least get their high school diploma. Since you are having good grades you will attend enriched Physics and Chemistry." Well, pardon me Mr., but I am not lazy nor stupid. I am passionate and need an outlet for my creativity. And by implying that art is for lazy or stupid students you are giving bad press to artists. That was my first roadblock, and I fought until I won. I'm so glad I stood for my beliefs at that time.

After a while I realized that most of the obstacles I encountered as an artist were not put in my way by others. I was being my own roadblock. By lack of faith, or confidence in my abilities. Also by what I thought others were expecting from me.

While every block led me to a deep reflexion and helped me go forward, I must admit I often wanted to put my creative mind aside. But since I can't, here I am still :)

I studied arts in college and my parents always had my back (though I'm sure they were relieved when I got my university degree in Psychoeducation. I now had a "backup plan".) Now I am a photographer. It's one and the same for me as I start with an image in mind and use the camera instead of a pencil or a brush.

What scares me the most out of this journey is the unexpected turns. I have no clue where and how it will end up. I started from drawing, to painting, sewing and knitting, now photography. It's scary and exciting at the same time...What will my next creative outlet be?

What is or will be yours? Where will this journey lead you? Are you putting your own roadblocks, stopping you from going further?


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You are a wonderfully talented artist, Isabelle. Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us. xoxo

Welcome to Art Talk with Kim Klassen!

All Images and Artwork by Kim Klassen, Her Shop ~ Kim Klassen deSigns , Her Blog ~ Kim Klassen Cafe', Blog #2 ~ 2bbb

I AM AN ARTIST, THE UPS AND DOWNS OF IT ALL ~ Written by Kim Klassen

About 13 years ago, I decided to call myself an ARTIST.

And I took great offence when people asked me if I still did crafts. It really bugged me. :)

Slowly people caught on. And when they would ask me what I did, I would say matter of factly,“I am an artist”. At first it felt kind of weird, but now it feels just right.

If we create, and we all should, I think we truly need to claim it, no matter what our art may be!! Perhaps it’s cooking or baking, writing, sewing, or photography. If it’s your passion, it is ART.

Art is pure and wonderful and full of light and darkness and depth.

Since i claimed the title of ARTIST, there have been ups, downs, and plenty of in betweens.

But one thing i know for sure... when i claimed it, life took on a whole new meaning.


It allowed me to declare:

I would get my art published in magazines

I would have a licensing rep and print publisher

I would develop a line of primitive art

I would have my work on giftware and in people’s homes

it allowed my dreams to come true, over and over

And it lead me to this moment, sharing this with you...


Claiming that title was the best gift i could have given myself. It opened up a rather small world into something big and amazing. It allowed me to be more than just a mother and wife. It gave me an identity of my own.

Your dreams do not have to be my dreams. Perhaps your dream would be to paint a mural, take a class, buy a camera, learn to stitch or sew, start writing, or create a blog.

Claiming my artist has lead me on an amazing journey. Has it been perfect? Heck no! That’s where the ups and the downs come in.

We have been way up there, not a care in the world, and we have been way down low. We were sailing along, thinking we had made it...no looking back. All our struggles were over (at least financially). But it kinda all crashed. I’m grateful for the crash. It may be the best thing that has ever happened to me. It lead me to this moment, sharing with you. It lead me to my camera and photography and flickr. It lead me to put my faith back in God....To trust and believe that with Him all things would be okay. You see, if things kept going so perfectly i would not be here. I would still be in my ‘perfect world’. I probably would not have fallen in love with my camera. I would not have started my blog, or the 2bbb blog with my kindred spirit PG, or joined Flickr (my happy place).

As an artist, I have to create. It’s not an option. So between balancing the artist in me, with the reality of life... it can be a challenge.

Oh, the reality of it all. Teenage sons, dirty dishes, laundry, messy house, bills to pay, interruption upon interruption, meals to make, books to keep, stacks of paper, knocks on the door, phone calls, family needs... i could go on. ‘sigh’

There are no dreamy actions that you can order that will turn your life right side up. There are no magic photoshop tools to fix it all. Hey, perhaps that is why i am madly in love with photoshop? Hmmmm... It’s a little like magic. It reminds me of the old sitcom "Bewitched". Gosh I loved when Sam would just wiggle her nose and everything would be just right. ‘sigh’

But if life were that easy, would I be so reflective? If things had continued so smoothly would i be so grateful? No, I don’t think so. But as I move forward and upward, I vow to stay on the ground, if that makes sense. To be smart in the things I must be smart about. To dream the things i must dream about.

Being an artist has taught me to believe...with every morsel of myself... that anything is POSSIBLE. Anything.

And to believe that there is an artist in all of us.

Have you found your artist? Have you claimed the role? Are you scared to claim it? What steps have you taken to claim the title? How has it changed you? What is the hardest part about it, what is the best part about it? I’d love to hear.

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Kim, thankyou so much for sharing your story with us. I wonder if it would work the same way if I start calling myself a PHOTOGRAPHER? I think I'll give it a try. ;)

Thankyou for all your well-wishes and prayers yesterday everyone. They mean alot!

Please drop by tomorrow to view the work of 3 new artists...and remember to leave comments to enter your name in a GIVEAWAY from Lynda Naranjo! xo