At first it felt weird for me…

Art and Soulie Spot 5

stories from the creative path

Introducing…ta daaa….Val Andrews…

Val Andrews is a visual artist who writes about the creative process.

Orchid woman in green Val Andrews © original art

Orchid woman in green
Val Andrews © original art

Here is her story –

“For me, the art-making experience started in childhood, and soon became a great escape from the stress in my troubled family.

I would hide in my bedroom and draw convoluted patterns as a way of focusing on something other than what was happening in my home.

Over the years the patterns became

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Be A Mused. Be Very A Mused.

Dad and me and creativity

Do you have a muse? Many ongoing muses?

Who or what inspires your creativity?

Dad and me

Dad and me

My original muse was my Dad, David Swain. Dad made a life of writing, cartooning and mentoring other creative sparks.
His first book, The Cantbeworried Tales, came out when I was seven. He gently satirised Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in cartoon and verse. This little book made a big impact on his world and mine.

Cantbeworried Tales David Swain's first book

The Cantbeworried Tales
David Swain’s first book

When I was eleven,

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From POG to BLOG in forty years

A Creative Source Story….

I am sixteen. I sit on the beige 1970s oval rug in the family room, with my sister and my best friend.  We are surrounded by pencils, paper, Perkins Paste,scissors and magazines such as POL.   

POL is supercool, stylish. I dream of living among its pages; of being tall, slender, popular, with a floppy crocheted hat.

We cut the title from its glossy cover page.   

With the substitution of a mere letter, we invent… POG.

 

POG

POG

We design, laugh, arrange, laugh, cut, laugh, paste, laugh, rearrange. Oh. And laugh.

We don’t know it, but

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