MY 2015

The year is a stone’s throwaway from coming to an end and I couldn’t be anymore glad to see it go. 2015 has been exceptionally hard in ways I never ever thought would be so much so that concentrating on the good in each day was a chore as the passed by.
Along the way; I made a lot of decisions that so far are turning out for the better. I hope they hold for times to come. Regardless of my mood and emotional chaos, there were a few smile inducing moments in my darkest of days even if I had to edit this compilation several times!
01/01/2015 – New year, new beginnings
02/01/2015 – Jewellery design
07/01/2015 – Some people come into our lives to loosen up buttons we never thought of loosening in the first place.
- Sad is leaving soon
- Sometimes, it is better to be honest with a person and let the decision to stay remain in their hands.
08/01/2015 – Visit from  my girl Stella
12/01/2015 – Sad is counting days
14/01/2015 - Seeing the one to whom I am best niece and my little darling in her last stages of pregnancy
- Pre- birthday celebration for my Nyabo
16/01/2015 – Sad’s leaving for his homeland. I’m going to miss the big guy!
18/01/2015 – Knowing Sad might have his old job back is the best news ever
23/01/2015 – Sue’s graduation and I have never been so exhausted in my life!
24/01/2015 – Another drawing added onto my Heart series
26/01/2015 – Re-connecting with old friends
28/01/2015 – Catch up with Baby J and the boy talk was insightful
1/02/2015 – I love being in control but letting go has improved my disposition in this case
5/02/2015 – First poem from a boy!
- The reassurances from friends Shakira, Allen and Robert made me feel a whole lot better about work
06/02/2015 – My Nyabo saying I am a good writer
07/02/2015 – Treated myself to a fancy lunch after so many months!
08/02/2015 – Poem “we don’t always get what we wish for.”
10/02/2015 – When you least expect it; God brings you a ray of hope.
13/02/2015 - Surprise visit to my baby. So happy to see her in her last days of pregnancy.
14/02/2015 - “Tired” poem
18/02/2015 – To have someone whose written word leaves you in awe call you talented is an honour. I am humbled to know strangers find my writing good.
- A surprisingly good day. Alhamdulilah
21/02/2015 – Indecision is a decision. Let nobody tell you differently
22/02/2015 – I don’t know how Ntinda will work out but it was good to me the first time. Hopefully, it is where I am meant to be for now.
23/02/2015 - “Self preservation” poem
25/02/2015 – Got my letter of appointment for voluntary work
- Anila Naby’s birth
26/02/2015 - With change comes clarity. A clearer picture of who you want to become and the paths we must take to get there.
27/02/2015 – Catch up session with my girl Emma on the last day of gainful employment! I am looking forward to no work Saturdays
02/03/2015 - Some memories you just don’t need.
04/03/2015 – First day of voluntary work and I like it
- “The Moon” poem
06/03/2015 - Patience is a virtue for the virtuous.
11/03/2015 – The feedback on the poem “woke up to your birthday reminder” is heart-warming.
12/03/2015 – Fruitful day at work. Alhamdulilah
14/03/2015 – Added two new drawings to my Heart series and coloured one.
15/03/2015 - Art is an expression of my thoughts and life at that particular moment.
17/03/2015 – My Art portfolio consists of 20 pieces so far
18/03/2015 – Chat with my Supervisor gave me a little hope as regards the direction I want to take my career
- Some people don’t like being met at their level. so you take them to yours.
19/03/2015 – Another fruitful day at work! I’m glad for the chance to impart skills I usually take for granted
- Our thoughts are words waiting to be written.
20/03/2015 – Visit to see my baby’s baby
21/03/2015 – A reply tweet from The Single Woman
- “It doesn’t matter” poem
22/03/2015 – I pray God gives me the courage to pursue my dreams
23/03/2015 – Spent the day with my baby and her baby. I am proud of Baby J and her accomplishment. She is where I would like to be financially
25/03/2015 – The fact that people find me inspiring is an amusement in itself!
26/03/2015 – A new drawing. I can never tire of the creation process especially when a merger of two designs is involved. It leaves me awestruck
- Being asked to write for someone whose work leaves you breathless! Jon Storm!
27/03/2015 – Worked on my third coloured piece and love how it looks
28/03/2015 – Waking up to Jon’s feedback is indescribable!
- Colouring art pieces wouldn’t be possible without Ama’ help
30/03/2015 – Seeing Patience again and having the opportunity to work with her is a pleasure
31/03/2015 - Sometimes, the battle lines need to be drawn for you to know where you stand.
2/04/2015 – Sad never fails in his attempts to cheer me up
- Having a heart to heart with Clare made my heart a little lighter
05/04/2015 – The feeling of success is sweet!
- Five drawings coloured so far
09/04/2015 – Fruitful day at work! The mini-workshop was not only educational but insightful as well
12/04/2015 – Spent the weekend working on my choker necklace and the reality finally met my vision
14/04/2015 – First read into Manuscript Found in Accra
27/04/2015 – A chat with my ride or die girl is always what I need
03/05/2015 - “Imperfect hearts” poem
07/05/2015 – De Ja Vu moments due to work make me feel like I am walking in familiar footsteps
05/14/2015 – Trip to Gomba
- Creative firsts at work make me think I was meant to be in publishing
19/05/2015 – Fantastic feedback over my creative efforts especially the newsletter
22/05/2015 – Birthday!
25/05/2015 – Shakira always pops up when I need her most
26/05/2015 – Wonderful feedback about Simply Shanah
02/06/2015 – Gainful employment gives me a sense of fulfilment I am beginning to love. Alhamdulilah for the abundant opportunities.

Slave To A Muse.

No Artist Likes Being A Slave To Her Muse. 

I’ve never really had a muse before. I’ve never had a person whose voice, words, thoughts and personality act as sources of inspiration for my art.To date; all my artwork has been a result of my thoughts, imagination and most of all curiosity when it comes to changing up a design. Well, this recently changed and I am torn between good or bad as regards judgement.
Don’t get me wrong, as an artist, any source of inspiration is a godsend. It is an excuse to let go of all the banal and mundane things we do on a daily basis and just be: one with the pencil, one with the mood and let the wave of inspiration lead you where it wants you to go. The process of putting together an art piece and seeing it come to life is much more exciting and breathtaking than everything I have ever known. Much, much more.
The excitement when the creative juices are flowing and seeing your thoughts come together on paper and colour is the reason as to why artists should not be slaves to their muses. Not if the muse comes in form of a living, breathing person. Nope.
I am painstakingly putting the finishing touches to the name doodle I talked of here, a name that belongs to my source of inspiration. Yes, my muse. Someone I could frankly tell you never at all expected to inspire the pieces he has inspired. My creative juices have been overflowing and the artist in me loves it though loathes the thought of being a slave to a muse. The Shakespeare in me has been wrung out in ways you could never imagine and the ever evolving artwork has played background to many a poem. I have written more poems than I could share because they reveal so much. Sharing all would remove several cats out of the bag and arouse questions I have no answers to.
When I begun the artwork, it was a release of my thoughts and feelings. Little by little this ‘Labour Of Love’ (as I call it in my head) is slowly evolving in front of my eyes. The artist in me keeps looking at it in disbelief, wonderment and appreciation of my gift. At the back of my mind, I keep working on it with the intention to give it to him as a memento because they are my memories and want them to be his as it says but now, now, I am like hell NO! I’m going to keep it as my own memento. Something to look back on in my senior years as a reminder of my misbegotten youth and moment of folly.
Recently, it was revealed that Kim Kardashian is Peter Dundas’ muse for Roberto Cavalli. I keep thinking about this while working on my artwork, wondering how he feels having Kim for a muse because I do know how I feel. That one moment when he is in the process of fitting her with his most breathtaking dress for Fashion Week only for Kim to flee? What would happen to his entire collection?
Much as I appreciate my muse for the strokes of inspiration and flexing of creative muscle, I know I do not want my art to be a slave to a muse. No. These muses have the tendency to leave when you least expect it and before you know it, your entire creative mojo is off kilter. Some artists never creatively recover from the loss of a muse. They may keep at the craft but the pieces after are never as good as the ones before the muse fled, so the critics say.

Ps: The background in the picture is a collection of the artwork in its stages of evolution.

A Colourful Exploration.

I finally took the plunge and started experimenting with color in my drawings. You can not imagine how tedious the process was first time round. The time taken to settle on the colors to use; what to put it and the eternal question, ‘aren’t I messing it up?’ plagued my mind like no man’s business.
Drawing to me is a natural process, one that looks infinitely better in black and white in my mind. The idea of putting all that I draw in color was just a smidgen of thought at the back of my mind. A thought I never let fester at all because I draw for myself. Sharing on social media and some few friends has made me reconsider because not all of us see black and white and neither do we prefer the stark beauty of it when we can have it in color. With all that in mind; I decided to give it a go.
In all honesty; the exploration is not easy! It is easier for me to come up with a new design rather than dilly-dally over color choices and the indecision it brings. I hate indecisiveness in people and this makes it much more worse as I am forced to be. If I were a painter, it would be so easy. I personally think their mental concepts are completely in color before the final piece. By the time they translate it to paper, they know what colors would be best and know how to execute it all.
I have, so far, colored three of my many drawings and at the end of they day, I look at them with a dubious eye. This is how unsure I am. However unsure and doubtful I am over the process, I am giving it a chance. The chance to see what others see in color.