Hello friends!
I’m sorry I’m a day late with this post which is the last page of my Circles of Wisdom book, just circles and doodles. Hmmm, must start a new journal soon 🙂
Things are changing in my life for the better and today I was thinking about some of the people who have influenced these changes. It’s interesting that initially at least most of them I met either on-line or through correspondence.
My friend G has been my pen-friend for about 30 years, she lives in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles and we met really just by chance. Something horrible happened to her in a foreign country and I happened to be friends with someone she met while she was undergoing this terrible ordeal. G and I started corresponding with each other and became good friends. We have since both lost touch with the person who introduced us but we have had a long and loving correspondence. Her misfortune was my good fortune in that I met a true and dear friend. Over the years I have met G in person on several occasions, both in the UK and at her home in LA and she has had a profound and positive influence on my life and I love her.
Another person who I only ever knew as Pix I met on the Lomography website and I’ve never met in real life. I didn’t even really know him that well, but apart from being an outstanding photographer he was always upbeat, positive, funny and friendly. His attitude to life made a big impression on me and I decided that I wanted to be like that too. I think that is when I first decided that I wanted to change and become a more positive, happy and contented person.
I also met a man called Tracy Moore on the Lomography website he is lovely, friendly and quirky and also a great and prolific photographer. In 2007 I attended the Lomographic World Congress in London. Attending that event, with hundreds of people from all over the world, was really scary for me. I’m a country girl from a small town and I am really quite shy and insecure so it was a huge act of bravery for me to attend on my own. I was really fortunate to meet up with Tracy and his daughter, Trista, at the Congress and we spent a lot of time together. They were both so warm and kind to me. The added bonus to this was that Tracy carried around with him several different cameras AND a huge hand made journal (which he encouraged everyone he met to draw or write in). This was the first time I had ever heard about art journalling and I was intrigued.
As a result of meeting Tracy and Trista, I eventually discovered Teesha Moore (Tracy’s wife) and immediately fell in love with her art. Then last year I was fortunate to be able to attend the Call of the Wild Soul Art Retreat in the UK where Teesha was one of the teachers. That event had a big influence on my art and my life. Not only is Teesha a great artist she is one of the most generous and big-hearted people I’ve ever met.
Tracy and Teesha are the perfect couple, just like me and T are 🙂
Through art journaling I also met, online, Gretchen Miller who is an art therapist. Gretchen ran a workshop on 21 Secrets in 2011 and it was in this workshop I learnt about making Revo-lution books and how visualizing your intentions into your artwork can be so rewarding.
And recently I met another person online who is having a massive positive effect on my personal growth and well-being. Some of my art work is featured on the Tiny Buddha website, the whole website is well worth checking out if you want to start feeling good about yourself. As a result of being featured over there I’ve met Dr Amy Johnson. I love her outlook on life, what she says really resonates with me and I am learning so much from her.
I am so grateful that all these people came into my life at the exact time I needed them.
Have a good rest of the week and I’ll see you soon.
Big love
AJ 🙂