{ kass } an artistic journey

no longer a scrapper

yes, it's true....I am no longer a scrapper.

I am realising this the more I read scrap magazines, look at online stores....this just isn't what I do anymore. I see products which I like but I don't buy them unless they are more an artistic product - because patterned paper really doesn't get used anymore. All those Prima flowers - they're gathering dust.

Unless its paint, ink or something that can be categorised as mixed-media....well.

This is hard going for me. I have loved scrapbooking these last 3.5 years and I even bought myself a new album to motivate myself. But it hasn't worked. And when I read magazines (like right now I am reading the latest For Keeps), while I appreciate the layouts, they are not making me excited or giving me the passion to make my own pages. So that's where I have to admit it: I am no longer a scrapper.

What am I then? Eeek, I don't know. Is artist too pretentious? I don't think so, given I am in art school and my creative activities revolve more around the more traditional art practices. But I know that others will say I am not an artist because I am not selling or exhibiting my work. There's merit in that too. So I don't exactly know what to call myself.

I do, however, want to mention two layouts in this issue of For Keeps which I absolutely love:

"Sweet Dreams" by Nikala O'Brien - oh the brown, the BROWN! I love the colour use!! Just gorgeous - muted yet vibrant. There is so much warmth there.

"I Confess That" by Kim Ogden - I have those Basic Grey papers and I love them but I have not used them because I couldn't get the mix right. Kim has. This has such an industrial yet playful feel.

*****

In other news - one of my best friends, Nat, is having her baby tomorrow. We don't know what she is having but my bet is she's having a boy - I somehow can feel it in my bones. Good luck Nat!

I have a job interview in the morning with Dean's Art - wish me luck, I need to get out of this job I am in. Yesterday (and the day before) I got yelled and sworn at and abused by my boss. Why? Because of the incompetencies of his staff - except that the problems that arose were nothing to do with me, I was just trying to fix them. This is the most disorganised business in the history of the world - the office is dirty, the communication lines are blurred and, well...I just don't like being yelled at! So hopefully the interview will go well.

finally....a completed album

NYC Album

This is the album I have now finished (minus some journalling I need to complete) as a result of the Finishing Line Scrapbooking class I took with Stacy Julian at KiwiScraps. It is freakin' HUGE - it doesn't close properly and its kinda overloaded but I needed to include everything!

It includes postcards, maps, subway tickets, menus....everything I saved. I am totally rapt with the results. I used Jenni Bowlin papers, and Crate Papers, plus a variety of embellishments, most of which I painted black. I am so proud of it, because it documents everything, it's not over-embellished or flash - it just does it's job.

Thanks Stacy for the inspiration to get it done.

putting an end to the bullshit

I have resisted commenting on these issues in recent months because I did not want to add fuel to any fires but enough is enough.

There is a blog on which Australian scrapbookers log in anonymously and post their thoughts on the given topic. These are usually scrapbooking topics, or start out as such. 99% of them become personal attacks on a particular person.

A few weeks ago I was the "lucky winner" and was attacked, quite nastily, on a number of fronts, not least of which my appearance, my mental health status and other topics which are not related to scrapbooking in any way. Anyone who wants to criticise my scrapbooking can do so if it makes them feel good. But attacking a person based on personal issues and appearance was, in my mind, quite disgusting and indicative of the character of those doing the attacking.

I attempted to defend myself but didn't take it personally on board. My opinion is that any commenter that wants to be taken seriously needs to be honest about their identity. Hiding under the guise of anonymity is, frankly, cowardly and indicates to me that the person making the statement either doesn't believe in what they are saying, or they know, deep down, that their comment is unfair, unwarranted and nasty, and they don't want to be publicly known for making that kind of comment. Probably because they don't want people to think less of them. So instead they say their bit anonymously to make someone else feel bad without taking ownership of their comments and being accountable for them.

In that situation, I don't take them seriously or care about what they think.

HOWEVER:

Tonight, an attack was made on another scrapper who I used to know well and be friendly with. I think we would both admit that the friendship has cooled but, and I quote her when I say this "that is water under the bridge" and I feel no animosity towards her.

What has upset me though is that someone else - anonymously of course - has accused me on this blog of making the nasty comments about this scrapper.

I know, within myself, that it was NOT me who made the comments. I have emailed the person in question to reassure her of this. Firstly, if I had something to say about her, I would say as much to her face. And second, I would not air my grievances on THAT blog, ever. Having been on the receiving end, I know how hurtful their comments can be and I would not contribute to that.

Thankfully, this scrapper was gracious enough to respond immediately and said that she knew it was not me. Since she knows me IN PERSON, she knows I am more upfront and honest than to take that course of action. For that, I thank her. As long as SHE knows the truth and I know the truth, then what others think is irrelevant.

What I will say is that this blog is nasty, hurtful and a cesspool of what is sad, bad and disgusting about the scrapbooking industry and humanity in general. That grown adults - god forbid parents raising children most of them - think that it is a valid use of their time to personally attack others. People they mostly have never met or know - it is a pathetic indictment of where we as a society are heading. That women feel the need to attack other women. Women who share common interests, but who seek to cut down anyone who might be a go-getter, someone who might be more successful than they are. It's awful. It achieves nothing, other than causing hurt and division. It turns perfectly decent people into leeches, into people they would be embarrassed to be in front of their parents or children. I don't begrudge anyone their opinion. But I do begrudge anyone who chooses to make nasty, hurtful, critical comments without taking ownership of them, so that they cause hurt but are immune from it in return. It's cowardly. It's petty. And it's got to stop.

Think about it.

ETA: I have been asked to enable my comments on this post. I have thought about it but would prefer that any comments be made privately via email.

Wednesday is the day before Thursday...

but you knew that, right?

OK some work from the weekend:

From the Simple Covers class with Wendy Smedley:

This is a portrait I took of Jessica at her wedding in May in PEI. It is a sort-of scrap lift of a SS cover although I pretty much ignored the instructions and did it the way I liked it, so it wasn't so wintery looking.

This is another SS Cover lift and closer to the original than the Jessica one, but the stripes weren't working as the main panel so I flipped it and went with the solid red which was nicer with the photo (from Ma and Pa Smith's garden in PEI too).

I've taken a couple of photos of the NYC album I am doing with the Finishing Line Scrapbooking class. It is FAR from finished yet...but here is a glimpse.

This is an American Crafts album which I won - well swapped - for the acrylic cover album we got (I would have liked to have kept that actually but it seems it had to be traded). It's 6x6. I covered it with Jenni Bowlin paper, 7Gypsies Gaffer tape and AC Thickers letters. The apple is an iron-on from Lincraft.

Here are 3 pages so far...

I also took some photos of these little sweeties - Mini Sharpies! I realise I am the last person on the planet to probably know about these but we were given 4 by BPS as part of our welcome pack:

and then I saw Suzannah's - she had about 12! Turns out you can buy these in a pack of  8 colours and I got some today at K-Mart. Awesome - I love mini things and these are adorable!

So it's been a fun day of findings! I also went to the local art store - not Riot! - and bought some Art Spectrum Soft pastels - I plan on playing with these at Christmas. I got some Australian colours and other colours that would suit landscapes.... also some other bits and pieces, including some acetate.

OK - that's enough about the art side of life....

a serious word.

I found out yesterday that a young man I grew up with passed away about 10 days ago. He was 33 and suffered an asthma attack. I am horrified that in this day and age, people still die from asthma in this country. Coming into summer, with the pollens in the air and the heat, keep a close eye on those you know with asthma.

Rest in peace Jamie, thanks for the memories.

What a weekend

Well, what a weekend I had in Sydney.

I got up at 4.45am to get my flight to Sydney - this was after going to bed after Crowdies at 1.45am...yes that's 4 hours sleep. Anyone who knows me at all well knows, this is not good. Nonetheless, I did it and made it through the day without too much problem and not falling asleep on the lobby floor!!

My first class was Stacy Julian's Scrap Happy. It was a good way to wake up! I then took Color Me Happy, which was slightly traumatising because I did NOT want to cut pieces out of the little Prisma paper colour swatches, they looked SOOO pretty already! It WAS great though to find another colour nerd like me, someone else as obsessed with colour. People who know me, know I am a colour freak - love pigments, history of colour, the science behind colour identification...and I think I found another dork too in Stacy ;)

Third was Finishing Line Scrapbooking, and for me this was the winner, because I actually felt I accomplished something from it. The aim is to make a production line mini-album - cutting photos, using similar papers and accents throughout and just getting it done. And done it is - well as much as I could while away, although I want to go back and journal, add stuff/ephemera but for the most part it's done and I will get around to taking some photos and posting. Yes, shock horror, I scrapbooked!

My last class was with Wendy Smedley, who is editor of Simple Scrapbooks. It was called Simple Covers and she talked about what works as a cover, how their publication process works etc....it was interesting. We also got a pack to scraplift two covers....but as per usual I ignored the instructions by and large and did my own thing.

I also bought two of Nic Howard's class kits as they looked fantastic - I am looking forward to playing with those. The finished product I saw from some other girls were stunning.

Sunday I spent the day as a barfly - I had a big sleep in. I got shocked out of bed, literally jumping when they started piping through the Last post at 11am at 4000 decibels! I hung out in the bar, watching the cricket and chatting to whoever came past (mainly Karen W!). I also had a chat with Stacy about some projects we are working on together - this has been in the planning for around 4 months so to have it coming to fruition is very exciting.

Some highlights:

*Hanging out with old friends like Lee, Deb, Charleigh, Kylie, Robyn, Jen, Maree and others...it was great to see you guys!

*Making some new friends, especially my roommate for the weekend, Suzannah! She is a susperstar and I am so glad we've met. Our floor crop on Sunday night was awesome fun!

*Meeting the adorable Kayce Rehn and the hilarious Paula Wessells from BPS. Paula and I in particular hit it off straight away and had some rather funny, not for public consumption conversations!! Both are just gorgeous. Love you girls!!

*Meeting Renee Pearson and Wendy Smedley. I only took one of Wendy's classes and I didn't take one from Renee but we did chat. What a beautiful woman, inside and out! The girls told me on Saturday night that Renee and Kent (her husband who is travelling with her) are grandparents. Well, I had to say it, and told Renee - she is one FOXY grandma. Let me tell you, she is stunningly beautiful. She loved that I said she was a fox - but she is. And she deserves to know that we think so!

So on Sunday night, while watching Idol and Rove, Suzannah and I had a crop on the floor of our hotel room. We ordered in room service and just had a ball!

After saying goodbye to Suzannah on Monday, I took myself into Sydney to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It was really good, and I hadn't been there before so that was fun. I was disappointed though, as they own 22 pieces of art by Australian artist Richard Larter, and I was feeling sure they would have one or some on display. No luck - not one. I was rather bummed by that as his work is wonderful online and I would love to see it in real life, but that will have to be another time, another place. I also walked around in town for a while, then went to the airport.

Whew! What a busy weekend - no wonder I slept til lunchtime today!

scrapbooking competitions

Seems there are dramas aplenty in the US regarding the Hall of Fame contest. This too shall pass. I know rules are rules, but really I don't think it should matter who took the photos - it's about the scrapbooking isn't it? Kristina Contes is an awesome scrapper and deserves to be there, whether she pressed the shutter button or someone else did. Really - is there not something more important in their lives to be worrying about?

I wrote that on my blog here about a week ago. It just hasn't gone away and hasn't stopped. Even though, as of yesterday, Kristina Contes has been disqualified from her place among the winners of the CK Hall of Fame contest.

That should be enough, right? I mean, the haters and the people who felt personally afronted that they weren't on the list got what they wanted. She's off the list.

But no, now she's in the deep end because she said it was all OK and that she understood the decision and was comfortable with it. Not coz she said it, but because she also called out the people who hide behind psuedonyms to slag her off publicly, because she says it how she sees it and is honest about things. On her own blog.

Well, if Kristina Contes wasn't a good scrapbooker, people wouldn't visit her blog or know who she was, and probably not be worried about someone using the word fuck on their own blog. But since she IS a good awesome scrapbooker, they DO read her blog and then judge her on how she speaks. You see, if you're good at something - heck, better than most - apparently you must be a bastion of virtue and conform to what others say is right or wrong.

I understand that competitions have rules. I also stated in the above quote what I think of that particular rule - it's stupid. But to condemn the girl for what she writes on her own blog - not 2Peas, not the CK messageboard, her OWN piece of cyberspace - she's back on the hate list. People say "I have the right to be upset" and "I have the right to talk this through". Yep, you do.....and so does Kristina. You can say what you think. So can she.

Some people are so self-righteous. It's a friggen scrapbooking competition. It's not world changing stuff. Really, it's not. Affirm yourself through your pages all you like - please do - but dont act like a victim when you dont win a contest. Go to the Sudan and explain to an emaciated child orphan why it was so important that you spend weeks crying over this contest. Please - go and explain to the victims of Hurricane Katrina - those who have suffered so much in their own backyard - why this is just so important.  Go to a local oncology ward and explain to someone with chemo running through their veins why this is an important life moment.

Just dont get defensive when they call you a selfish, conceited brat.

I know some people from 2Peas are clicking through to this because my blog addy is in my profile. Great. Welcome. I am always happy to have new readers.

But this is my piece of cyberspace to say what I think. And no-one has the "right" to tell me what I can or can't write.

if I want to say FUCK I will.

And so can Kristina.

____________________________________________

This is exactly why I no longer enter scrapbooking competitions of any kind and dont submit my layouts to magazines. It's because I don't think that by putting my work out in the public arena makes it public property to critique, criticise or judge. The reality is, my pages are what I like and are about me, and my life. I don't expect my style to suit everyone. The same as many styles dont suit me or aren't to my taste. I don't want to subject myself to that. Heck, I don't even worry about my marks at Uni - because my art is my art - visual arts, scrapbooking, writing....whatever. Everyone has different taste and I cannot and will not live and die by the opinions of others. Whether your work is public or private is irrelevant. It's YOUR work. That's all that matters.

We started scrapbooking to record our memories. To record our lives and experiences. To tell our stories. I don't think there is one single scrapper out there who started scrapping purely to win competitions. I doubt they even start in order to immerse themselves in online messageboards. Sometimes, we lose sight of what our LIVES are all about. Does being mean to someone make you a better human being? Does someone saying fuck make them a lesser human being? I'm thinking not.

Sometimes, life sucks, Life is not always fair. But let me tell you, winning a scrapbook competition, whilst nice sometimes, isn't going to make you a nicer person or a more decent human being. And neither is being nasty behind fake names on message boards.

Don't get defensive.

Just think about it.

Life is all about making choices.

teaching classes

last week Ali posted on her blog about what her students wanted from classes. The responses were interesting.

I used to teach in my LSS here in Melbourne and when I was in Canberra too.

I plan on teaching again in the future in some way.

So I thought I would respond to Ali here...

I no longer take classes at my local store as I don't get much from them in terms of learning new techniques. I am far more interested in the teacher's philosophy and attitude to scrapbooking, art and life in general. That is probably why I enjoyed Ali's classes so much at KiwiScraps last year. I didn't learn a lot from her in terms of scrapbooking, but I got an enormous dose of inspiration from her approach - as I did from Donna and Cathy too.

I am going to take Stacy's classes in November purely for the approach - the inspiration, the philosophy. I don't think there is much I can be taught in terms of cutting paper and pasting it down - though I am always happy to find a technique I haven't seen before!!

When I teach, I take a 2-pronged approach:

1. My first priority is inspiring my students to go away and THINK. I talk a LOT in my classes. I open the floor to questions and ideas. I often have a couple of pages of notes. For example, if the theme of the class is "family", I would ask my students who they consider their families, what family means to them. I talk about the different definitions of family both here in Australia and in different cultures. I ask them to really think beyond the initial response that comes to them.

2. I create a project which they can totally personalise. My project will have different techniques which I am happy to teach and share but I dont tell them which papers to use or what embellishments to add. I'm happy to help choose when asked, but I encourage my students to scrap the theme in their own style. If they want to be taught step by step - no problems. But I want my students to be themselves and not walk away with a carbon copy of my project if they don't want to.

I've found this works really well - because it caters for both types of scrappers - those who wish to learn techniques and how to do the basics, and those who are looking for inspiration and ideas while maintaining their own styles.

KiwiScraps - Stacy Julian and Friends

Well, the good news is that I am taking 3 classes with Stacy Julian in November at KiwiScraps in Sydney!! I am so excited. I absolutely LOVE Stacy. Her philosophy to scrapping and life is amazing and I am looking forward to meeting her and having a great time. And of course Simple Scrapbooks is my favourite scrap magazine.

See for me, it's so much more about the meaning, the stories, than the artistic design. I LOVE art and I love arty scrapbook pages. For sure!! But that's not the crux of scrapbooking, and I love that Stacy teaches the meaning as well as the art.

So who else is going? I want to know who I am partying with! And who is going to the Dinner on the Saturday night - I'm not sure if I want to go - it'll depend on who else is going to be there, or are people planning on doing their own thing?

And I bet you're wondering how I can suddenly afford to go....

I came equal FIRST in the Customs Footy Tipping Competition!!! Hooray!!!

So excited about that, I love footy tipping and winning too!! I was hoping to win outright but hey - equal first is good enough!!!!!!

Too bad I am still sick today and not able to be really chuffed - although I am clearing up slowly. This headcold sucks big time...I am so glad I haven't had the full blown flu - touchwood - but this has knocked me around a bit. I was meant to do a presentation today at Uni, hopefully my tutor wont hate me for not going (I did email her last night). A 3 hour class with 30 others and air-conditioning didn't sound like a wise choice while like this.

Anyway....happy Monday folks.

patterned papers available

ETA: Boy some of you girls are QUICK! IT'S ALL GONE!! Thanks girls for the interest!!

OK I am not going to list each paper individually coz there is literally several hundred sheets. If you are looking for a particular one email me and I can check if I have it. Some of these papers are less than a year old.

The paper is free to a good home but you will need to pay for postage.

Some brands I have are:

• Chatterbox
• Stamp It
• Cherry Arte
• Foof-a-la
• Cosmo Cricket
• Fontwerks
• 7 Gypsies
• Rusty Pickle
• My Minds Eye (including Bohemia and Wild Asparagus)
• Urban Lily
• Hambly
• Lil Davis
• KI Memories

plus some random ones without names.

You've got a week, after which they are going to my nephew's creche.

where do we draw the line?

there's an issue I want to write about which is actually one which is really important.

but before I do - let me be clear - I am not aiming this at any particular person. I don't mind if you have a differing opinion. This is just mine.

The issue is that of privacy.

This comes up after revelations on a well known scrapbooking website that a major identity in the industry had recently divorced her husband. There were several discussion threads about it, speculating on the truth of the rumours, reasons behind it and the demeanor of this girl at the recent CHA show.

I can understand the curiosity of people about the issue. They feel like they know this girl because they read her blog and because she exudes a friendly, upbeat personality. And I have no problem at all with people posting their well wishes to this young lady on said message boards.

This girl did not at any stage publicise her divorce. She didn't mention it on her blog. She didn't tell people on message boards. She wanted to keep that aspect of her life to herself. And you know what? I don't blame her for that. Divorce is tough going, but especially at such a young age.

What I do object to is this:

1. That someone found out about her situation and splashed it across the message boards, as though they had the right to invade this girl's privacy. Even if they did come across the information, was it necessary to tell the scrapbooking world? Or was decency too much to ask when there was juicy gossip to be shared?

2. That, on reading this message on said message boards, people have added to the rumour, speculated as to reasons and floated their opinions on it. People who do NOT know the couple personally. People who know as much as they have read, much of which was rumour or hearsay.

So where do we draw the line?

Does being a celebrity - in scrapbooking or any other industry - automatically mean that you forfeit your right to privacy?

Does operating a blog mean that you are obliged to divulge all aspects of your life and thoughts?

Does being successful in your chosen field, assuming this brings some level of noteriety,  mean that we should not aspire to certain levels of success?

It's an issue that has arisen this week with the personal affairs of a well known former model, now magazine identity, being dredged through the press, at the same time the girl was burying a member of her immediate family. Where is the line? Where is the decency?

My point is this: I understand that people take an interest in the lives of others, especially those who are known in their chosen fields. That's human nature. What I object to is that people continue to gossip about it on public forums, with what appears to be little concern for the feelings of the people they are discussing. That someone else's private issues are appropriate matters to discuss, when the people involved have gone to some lengths to keep it personal.

I'm sorry about that - I really am. And I hope that if I ever find success in the fields I work hard to achieve great things in, that my feelings and privacy are respected a little more than what I have witnessed this week.