Setting out with Wanderlust

So after all the retrospectives, we're moving forwards into 2016, and the journey has begun... Wanderlust 2016 is under way.  If by some chance you don't know what I'm talking about, you can see all the details here, and it's not too late to join in.  If you're tempted, just click here.

I'm going to try to keep up as much as possible in these early weeks as, come mid-Feb, I'm off on my work travels again (more of that another time), and will be away from my craft desk and all my supplies.  So I've dived straight in to my Wanderlust book with the first prompt from Kasia.

The idea is to leap in with your own journalling, but there was a lovely video tracing Kasia's own journey, and I was inspired to try some of the ideas and techniques she used in her own page.  After all, the Wanderlust journey is all about exploring and expanding your creativity.  (I won't be sharing the "how" of it here - that's for Kasia's class to share.)

So there are many things about this page that are very familiar to me...

















... but there are also some new things in the mix.












And that's the way I like it!  One of the greatest joys I find in this visual arts exploration is the learning curve.












So the word that came to me was Seeking.














There's still so much to discover, so many things to try out...














... and I'm still finding out what really suits me, what really makes me happy.











(One thing that makes me happy are these gorgeous Calico Craft Parts flourishes, and another is that I've finally started working in my Finnabair Vintage Vanity journal!)












There's a seeking going on in a wider sense too, as I continue to shape my freelance career and work out what fits where...













... what my priorities are, and how I might go about fulfilling some more of my dreams.











It's strange and slightly foolish how scary it feels embedding my own handwriting into a page.














But, as Kasia says, it's not really meant for anyone else to read.  It's my own thoughts in that moment.









That's a really freeing thought for someone who is usually creating for DT duties where the end result has, by definition, a function and an intended audience.












Obviously I always hope for a sense of flow and release, otherwise what would be the point of the time spent at the craft table?

Nonetheless, it was lovely to be officially freed of any "oughts" or "shoulds", and to allow the work to go in search of itself, rather than pushing for a deadline.








And there's nothing I enjoy more than that sense that you're not really in charge of what's going on... you're channelling something from somewhere else.

It was great to spend some time at the table just allowing paint and ink to flow on to the table - using Kasia's guidelines, but letting my own preferences shape the process too.   I'm so grateful for the time and the inspiration to play.

You can still come and join the Wanderlust 2016 journey.  (I'm on the course, but also an affiliate to help promote it.)  There's only been one class so far and none of the videos are going anywhere, so you can catch up whenever you have time.  For just £99 (around $150 or €137) you get a whole year's worth of downloadable video workshops (more than 50 of them) with some amazing teachers, technical classes and information, as well as sponsor discounts, giveaways and challenges.  

Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself.  Be bold.  When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore.  Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.
Alan Alda

Starting the new course, trying new things, starting work in a new journal - so I'd like to enter this in Something New at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge
And with all that newness, especially my new art journal, I'd also like to share this at Anything But Cute where the fabulous Redanne is inviting us to Ring out the Old, Bring in the New