“Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

The journey to creating oneself is not an easy road.  As children I think we mostly try to fit in with others, I think this is true for most children.  We all just want to be liked and accepted.

As teenagers, we become a bit rebellious, trying with all of our energy to stand out, something that brings independence.  In my experience, most teenagers, try this rebellion with their parents.  If you rebel against the people who love you most, you are not in jeopardy of losing anything.  They will still be there to love you, maybe a bit tired, but still there. 

As we become adults, maybe we’ve found who we are, being mainstreamed into a comfortable lifestyle.  Standing out once and a while, but mostly conforming with the rules of society.  Jobs, parenting and life’s responsibilities tend to make us conform.  This is not to say that we don’t have our own identity and creative side.

For me, I think I’ve gone through all of those stages and now in my mid-fifties, I feel as though I conform when I need to, but through my photography I find my creative side.  I may have found where life was supposed to lead me.  It’s with this creativity that I find the most peace.  It’s as though I am transformed into another place and time when I am with my camera, listening to my favorite country music and quite frankly, enjoying life.

Creating yourself, your brand is a difficult task.  It takes years to discover what type of photography brings you the most comfort and peace.  I believe many artists try different genre’s before they discover what they are comfortable with, where they belong.  Once you find that comfort zone, oh my how you are able to begin creating yourself.  This is when you become your brand, when people see a photograph and a certain style and just know who that photograph belongs to.

Lately I feel as though I’ve finally found my brand, my own creative style, different from others and recognizable to onlookers as well. I am a huge proponent of InstaGram.  I absolutely love the platform, the community, the talent and the friends I’ve found along the way.  So many extremely talented and truly caring, loving people.  People I am proud to follow and proud when they follow me. I feel as though being a part of this amazing social photography site, I’ve grown as an artist, learning from these talented people.

I have recently changed my name, it feels more suitable to my brand, where I want to bring my business, bring the photographs I create.  If you have been following along, then you may have seen my new logo, a sort of whimsical little bee soaring through the air bringing my photographs and my brand to all.

I’ve been finding that people are quite interested in purchasing my greeting cards, 2018 has begun with a wonderful, uplifting start.  As the year continues I am confident that the little bee will be bringing my creative self to many.  I hope you will follow along to see where this year leads me,  and where it may lead you too.

As always, thanks for listening and I’ll see you all next week . . .