I've been thinking a lot about my work and my creativity recently. Because I was brought up to be a sensible office-worker with a 'proper' job and regular money I sometimes have difficulty letting my creativity flow as easily as I'd like it to. It's definitely in my head because I'm thinking about sewing or making jewellery and being inspired constantly but sometimes the ideas get stuck before they reach my fingers. I've also been re-assessing what I want out of life and trying to put some goals in place. Strangely, this isn't as easy as I'd expected. Looking into the future and thinking about what I'd like my life to be like takes a lot of questions to extract the information - sometimes it's like my brain doesn't want to admit to it's own dreams. Could I really became a known artist and write a book? Do I really want to move to a small village in the country, possibly alienating some of my family? Is it achievable to grow all our own veg while both running our own businesses? Will I ever work out a good recipe to use up all the home-grown cabbage?! There are so any questions and I think it's going to take me a long time to work out the answers.

In the meantime I've bought a book to hopefully help that creativity to flow a little more readily. It's called Living the Creative Life and it's by Rice Freeman-Zachery, a mixed media artist who's work I've regularly seen in Belle Armoire and Altered Couture magazines. I love the ideas in these magazines - the freedom of expression and the experimentation that people use with raincoats and shoes and wispy pieces of lingerie, creating fabulous new items that not only have a purpose but have a personality as well. That's somewhere I would like to be in the future. Maybe the book will help me get it...I'll let you know.