This blog is … 

An artistic exploration.

I can’t promise to be prolific or an expert - but I hope to show progression and I hope to illustrate a personal creative journey.

I finally get an opportunity to just be creative - see where it takes me.  Learn, think, create and dream. 

The plan and the unexpected …

The plan back in 2006 was to take my full-time job down to 4 days a week and spend 1 day a week on my artistic exploration - the plans for which were all put in place.  I thank Sandra Hall from Friction Arts, Birmingham with all my heart for her support, encouragement and sharing in my excitement about this artistic journey of mine.

However things don’t always go to plan!

My health took a nose dive and after various “viral illnesses” in mid-late 2005 came bouts of long term sickness throughout 2006.

Initially diagnosed with Glandular Fever in summer 2006 it became apparent to everyone around me that I’d actually been quite ill for a long time. 

Eventually in January 2007 I got a formal diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) - also called M.E. and  Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS) and in the US called Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS).

November 2007 saw me officially unemployed having mutually agreed to terminate my contract with my employer.  I had been off work sick continually from December 2006.  I am unable to work in any conventional sense.  My aim is to find ways of working for myself within my means for a modest income.

I am chronically ill, am housebound for much of the time and have battles with all sorts of unpleasant, demoralising symptoms and health problems due to my ME/CFS.  And this illness has put the brakes on just about everything in my life including my artistic exploration.

I have a wonderful supportive husband, family and friends, and I still have some creative juices left. 

I just do …

So now I do what I can towards my art - it’s a welcome escape from the day to day ache,  fog and lets fact it - bore of a chronic illness.  Blogging has become a life-line and highlight of my days opening up all sorts of possibilities and contact that would not otherwise be possible for me.

My blog gives me a focus and impetus for that little artist within. It’s bits and bobs - a scrapbook of an arty journey.

Due to my illness I have certain limitations (which shift and change) so I focus on what I can do and then, umm, doing it.  So a lot of the time you will see drawings (doodles), cut-ups and photographs because these are possible. I’d like to do more painting and sculpture and explore other creative interests when I am able.

I used to call my drawings doodles because they’re not ‘proper’ drawings.  For much of the time I do not draw directly from observation. I draw from my mind and from my memory, a sort of stylised impression of things. If it’s a “proper” observational drawing I label it as a sketch.

I am …

I’m 34 and live in England, in the Midlands. I’ve worked in I.T. (e-learning) as well as many administrative jobs in the private, public and voluntary sector.  None of my jobs ever gave me as much reward as posting a drawing on this blog.

I love to laugh.

If you need to contact me leave a comment or email rachelcreative [at] yahoo.co.uk

Through the eyes of others …

Here’s what Puglet had to say about me (I’m blushing):

“This blog is also a new find for me, and has me tickled pink that my crap writing can cross oceans and time zones. Be afraid, be very afraid. Rachel over at RachelCreative is a painter, photographer, sketcher, writer, internet search junkie and a person living with a chronic illness. Her disability has her exploring all her abilities, evident in poems and her artwork. What amazes me is that she has CFS and has a hard time concentrating or finding appropriate words and deals with what some of us term “brain fog”, yet she posseses such an knack for self expression that I’m turning positively green with envy. If Rachel is a “definer” of being chronically ill and mentally slow, sign me right up. She makes me want to seriously pursue those banjo lessons I’ve been thinking about. Many thanks to BBC Ouch for including me ina disability themed blog round up and pointing those bizarre and lovely accented brits like Rachel my way.”

from post Thinking Blogger Award 18 April 2007

Artist Tools

I use an A6 sketchbook (Surrey) for my day to day drawings with a Faber-Castell PITT black artist pen (fine). I’ve experimented with using a Cross ATX fountain pen with Noodlers Bulletproof Black Ink.  I use a basic 12 colour palette of watercolours with half pans designed for artists on the move.  I use a medium Pentel Aquabrush for adding colour to my drawings as it uses minimal mess/effort, and makes working very portable and accessible.

I scan my drawings on an ordinary flat bed scanner. I crop on Photoshop and tweak the balance to get as close to the original as possible. Watercolour doesn’t always show as good as the original. I have been known to correct drawings which went only a little bit wrong using Photoshop to patch in drawn corrections in order to salvage them but I’ve only done this a few times.

For day to day photography I now use a digital SLR (a Nikon D40) and a sometimes still a digital point & shoot (Canon Ixus I Zoom).  I occasionally use Photoshop (and old 5.5 copy) to crop digital photos and adjust balance. 

I also use a Holga FN with 120 film and have another “toy” camera - a Splitcam. 

I’ve just started collecting vintage cameras with a view to do some TTV (Through the Viewfinder) photography and hopefully to use 120 film in the 620 camera’s.  I currently have a Kodak Twin 20, Duaflex II, Brownie Hawkeye Flash and Kodak Six-20 (plus an almost unusable Brownie No 2).

For digital art I use Photoshop and sometimes an A4 wireless graphics tablet.

Spam poems come from spam in my main personal email account.  These, and Clusty search cut-up poems, are usually composed offline in Notepad and then pasted up. 

Though I do less than I would like - paintings are in acrylics with glaze medium and sculpture is papier mache using a fine paper paste (I make myself) with polystyrene (and sometimes wire) armatures.

Me on the web …

As well as my art blog you might like to see:

My Flickr photos

MySpace as RachelCreative

My del.ico.us links

My Art T-Shirt Shop (For UK and EU shop go here instead)

My homepage & more about me

This Page Last Updated 13 March 2008