Creativity, the Journey.
As my Beloved Grandma guided me with pen in hand, she helped me make my very first piece of Art, and with that I was introduced to what I like to call my ‘Pool of Life’ … my Muse, my Creativity.
It’s been swimming in this pool, the length of my Life, that I’ve discovered who I truly am. In the shallow, in the Middle, and in the Deep.
But it’s currently in the Deep, I seem to be soaring the most.
It’s Chemical, like little rays of light .
I have Harvested these rays of lights through Photography, Writing, Mixed Media Art, and Visual Journaling.
I am always chasing the Light, always chasing my Muse, always in pursuit of that ‘Grace’ that only Creativity can bring me.
This was my very First Mixed Art Piece. I believe it was the Summer before I started Kindergarten and it was made at the Church on the Corner. I vividly remember choosing the Fabric Piece, the Ribbon, and gluing on the the Glitter and Buttons. I was always so very proud to see it displayed on my Grandparents Mantle.
My First Camera was a Kodak Ektralite 10 and I remember carrying it around Religiously. It was a joy to look through the Viewfinder, clicking my way through to the end of the Roll, taking the Finished Roll to the Fotomat down the street, and excitedly getting the pile of photos neatly placed in the tear away envelope! It was during this time, I started to cut up my photos and make them into Collages …
It was with this same camera I snapped my way through my First Trip to Europe. It was that initial experience that fostered a life long obsession with Traveling, Documenting, and being Inspired by everything around me!
And then in my Teens, I fell deeply in Love with Photography, particularly Film, and in Black and White (and Yes, that is my very first Selfie). I recall the joy of loading Black + White film into my Minolta Maxuum7000, whilst in parks, alleyways, and back of cars during the above trip to New York City. The thrill of the hunt, being moved by the stolen, captured Moments, and reliving them later as I poured through the photos. What I didn’t know then, which I do know now, I was living off that high of creating.
I began putting Scrapbooks together in Grade School, started Visual Journaling in High School, but it wasn’t until my 30’s did I really embrace the potency Journaling with Images had for me. I have always been a bit of a Magpie, so this particular Medium aligned with my Aesthetic.
I started a Blog back when Blogs were just starting to be a thing, to combine my three Loves of Photography, Art, and Writing (it was sort of a thing with 7k hits a day) but most of all I loved it for connecting me with so many people, and it got my work out there! I even made a ‘zine called ‘Life As Art’ … because, it is!
Onto the next part of my Journey: Traveling for shows, Teaching Art to Children, and getting a Photo Agency. Did all of those accomplishments make me more Creative? We’ll see!
Until then … Much Peace and Love, G xxx
+ In the Meantime, I am working on my Photography Website Genie C Balantac Photos , please take a Peek!