BELLE’S FIRST BLOG POST

6 minute read.

When sitting down to start writing for our blog, my sister Amanda told me all I need to be is honest, be myself. So to answer these life questions I shall….in the best way I know how! With honesty and at the beginning.

All these questions were fairly confronting when I actually sat down to answer them. But they are questions “we” creatives are always in need of grasping. Like a clumsy reach for the prettiest peach at the top of the tree, enticing and provocatively perched, it takes tenacity and determination to harvest.

When sitting down to start writing for our blog, my sister, Amanda told me all I need to be is honest. So to answer these life questions I shall….in the best way I know how! With honesty and at the beginning. I am the 4^th child of 5. I was the fat, round cheeky baby for many years and have been told my sunny nature always brought joy to those who loved me. I adored the plethora of “my” people around me and soon grew my socially iridescent butterfly wings. Our big crazy family challenged us in many ways and we all were, and are still faced with the innate need to live an authentic and passionate life. A struggle some of us wear more outwardly than others. Especially when there is a temper tantrum occurring on the floor affectionately known as “chucking a Lindsay”, an endearing reference to our Grandfather lost a lifetime ago.

I remember a golden childhood. One filled with fun and adventure. Always chasing the next pipedream until finally life with 5 children demanded our gypsy loving parents to stand still and throw roots into sandy soil. Children of dreamers who taught us the most important thing of all. To never stop quietly dreaming. Adulthood came and went and I was faced with that question I now hope my own children never have such confliction in answering. “Who do I need to be? What do I want to be?” So I stumbled along taking the easy path as a young adult. Jumping on board the next plane pretending I was Pennie Lane for a fun life in travel and tourism. A worldwide coloured carousel, tripping around in style and loving life and all it could give me. I loved to talk, and I talked a lot.

My travel love lead to aviation which came with its own challenge of kicking my left brain into gear. Logistics and procedures presenting as drudgery when all I wanted to do is talk comedic nonsense with my colleagues and play dress ups. All the while with this fun and frivolity in my 20’s and 30’s I was constantly faced with a weighted stone buried deep down in my abdomen. I was feeling underwhelmed with my path and knew exactly why! I knew I had the fairy dust, but there was just no magic in it.

My love for creativity and pursuing a creative life was covered, hidden under a beige carpet. It would every now and then peek out and slide directly in my path for me to catastrophically trip over….. “HELLO old friend! Remember me. Where has your dreaming gone?” So, to avoid sliding into an identity chasm … I would dabble. Dabble is such a superficial word and yes my commitment to creativity was safe in this place. Heaven forbid I would actually face my fears and become more than a dabbler.

However, as it seems the dabbling at the time brought me great contentment… and at the time the universe had decided that is just what I needed. Funnily enough I married into a “farming life” thinking that the bumpy dirt road I had chosen would give me permission to BE! Hence it has taken many years and many tears for me to finally have the divine knowledge that it is only me, myself and I that gives permission to BE! And why do I have to give myself permission anyway? It simply should just BE! As simple as walking, talking, breathing. Creativity is in you. Creativity is you.

Creativity is me, but it is also my friend. It has nurtured me through many tough times, brought me fulfilment and wonder. For me, the explosion of wonder is everything. Beauty, insight, human tenacity and determination and the pure joy of creativity is what inspires me. Along my journey I have been fortunate to collect a “sistahood” of creatives around me. They are all not artists or designers, but women living a creative fulfilled life. Creativity is to create.

Whether it’s mastering a gin recipe (yes my bestie is a distiller), business brainstorming, designing a new home, styling ab fab hair or putting on killer heels and “Felicia” hoops, these creative sisters are all living a journey which is an expression of themselves and their creativity. One thing I have learnt is that the spirit of the creative sistahood coming together creates possibility! An old friend always quotes, “find your tribe and love them hard”! Well, a creative tribe will love you, sustain you, celebrate and lift you. It never doubts you.

So here I am, a creative wanderlust! Still searching, learning and not travelling to a destination this time but simply living the journey. I am officially living a creative life having just completed Design at the International School of Colour and Design, Illustrating and doing a little styling work, hoping to continue with Surface Design later in the year. Colour, shape, form, line, pattern and purpose I see in all things.

I am now a single mum of 2 beautifully determined and challenging children and I still wear my rose coloured glasses. Refusing to ever take them off. But, by opening my eyes to a creative life I can now see with much more clarity. I finally feel my place! I am learning to walk in a new style of shoes on my creative carpet. A magic carpet that can take me anywhere I choose to go. A carpet that allows me to dream! A carpet that allow me to BE!

Belle xo