where to begin...

begin at the beginning seemed like the smart thing to do

home now, a heart full of memories and small collection of bags full of small nature finds to inspire

I've been waiting to work with what inspired me but the garden needed attention first so it was only today that I had the chance to think about where to begin and what to do

I began with a small piece of flat grey driftwood that once was part of a milled board but I quickly lost interest in that when I came across a small piece of fabric that set me thinking

it was a failed image transfer from last year but the marks that did transfer were of enough interest I had kept the cloth

as I looked at it I was taken back to a day at the beginning of my trip, when we went to Carcross and I was able to take photos of the burned hull of the Tutshi

the marks reminded me of the weathering of the hull and I thought they could be a good base to explore some mark-making inspired by the rivets and construction lines of the riverboat

wanting more to work with, a search through the paper drawer yielded some ink and ash painted papers, also showing potential for use as a base for further explorations

next was to print contact sheets of the images to start with… some to add as reference images to my sketchbook, others to use in collage.

another ink-painted paper that might work its way in

as for the driftwood piece I began with, its still on the worktable, awaiting its turn

I've been reading a lot about creativity lately, the process and what blocks us... for so long I've felt out of sync with making, wanting to work and develop pieces that reflect what I discover and think but never quite able to bring it all together

there has been a lot of frustration in that

I realize now that whilst I would collect all the ideas I wanted or needed,  I felt I couldn't get started without first knowing the endpoint 

last week I learned that in that belief  I was destroying the creative process before it had the chance to even begin

today I made this small start... I have no idea where the path will lead but I know the first steps and for now that's enough