Discovering blogs...

I remember discovering blogs in 2004.

My daughter was not quite a year old, I was still nursing, sitting for hours each day, I surfed the internet for dead tree images and found her.....

L.K. Ludwig.

I soaked in her art, relating to the out of ordinary work she was creating. Stark images, not filled with sunlight, but bare branches and grey skies. The mix of techniques and unusual materials excited me. She had a free, no boundaries type of  creating that allowed me to relax and enjoy the process of learning and experimenting.

She taught me how to journal my processes, balance my time with parenting and personal expression (I did not have the guts to call my work "art" yet, it was just what I needed to do to things.).

She shared her life, in deeply personal ways that drew me into her world and had me cheering her on.

I never commented, my words were always said more eloquently by others, but she was a part of my life.

And she was a great influence on what my hands created.

Learning from her about 

Nina Bagley 

and her work with transparencies, assemblages of items from nature, presented in ways that allowed me to focus on their raw beauty. 

I grieved with Nina and her writing. I felt her words and used her wisdom to prepare myself for parenting older children, caring for aging parents and even finding love again. 

I learned of copyright issues for artists through Nina and made changes in how I channeled inspiration into my "own thing".

Reading Nina's blog introduced me to 

Susan Lenart Kazmer 

And my jewelry has never been the same since.

Susan's rough unpolished industrial work gave me ways to think outside the box. Using assortments of odd materials to build personal talisman was a way to create without having to purchase main stream supplies.

While it would still be awhile before I could pay for a full metal bench, Susan's influence in found object jewelry kept me happily assembling until I could afford to invest in a Jewelry Technicians course that taught me metal basics.

These women and their willingness to share themselves, changed me. 

I am so grateful and hope as time passes I can do the same for another girl. Perhaps sitting on the floor of an old bookstore as I type, flipping through used pages of some altered art publication and feeling something spark, grow and extend into.....

 purpose. 

Much Love & Respect,

Shannon