How My Creative Journey Began

My journey through the world of mixed media began some years ago when I stumbled upon Marieke Blokland’s book, Art Journaling School, and my gut told me to buy it – and I listened. 

Opening the book was like entering a world where I could use anything to create everything. I was in awe, but the pages of my journal stayed empty for a long time. As someone who thrives on structure and rules, I simply didn’t know where to start and what to do. I felt so overwhelmed that I couldn’t move – the same way I felt in life.

Wanderlust, an online mixed media course, helped me on my way. Each week a teacher told me what to do and how to do it, while encouraging me to listen to my own voice and break the rules if I wanted to.

I learned more than I ever could have imagined, not just about art supplies and techniques, but also about what I wanted and needed. Expressing myself on paper made it easier to express myself in life. Saying no to an art supply made it easier to say no to something else in life that didn’t suit me. Over time, these choices began to add up, each one a step towards figuring out who I was.

Several years and journals later, I’ve gathered many pieces of my own art puzzle.

By putting them together, I’m developing a structure of my own, which makes me feel better than I have in a long time. I don’t yet know what the final image will look like, but with each piece, my confidence grows quietly, reminding me that I am the one shaping the picture.