Who Am I as a Scrapbooker

I have been facing challenges as a teacher of scrapbooking. I want to share the passion of scrapping with anyone that will sit still long enough to listen to me. I want to sit and listen to those that have reached the levels of success in scrapping that I long to attain. I long to share
both personally and publicly the art that is my passion. How do I best reach this goal.

Last weekend in Calgary the theme for both the retail and general convention was keep it simple and complete more. Make it attainable for all that look at your work and make the new scrapper feel that it is easy and productive. Remind the older experienced scrapper it is about productivity.

I heard the words of industry experts like Stacey Julian, the former editor of Simple Scrapbooking and published author of her own books. I heard the words of Layle Koncar of Scenic route and took her classes where 8 pages were done in an hour and half. Saskatoon's on Leica Forrest stepped up to the plate with teaching her first convention for Luxe Designs - again the emphasis was on keep it simple. The editors of leading magazines have told me repeatedly that my layouts are stunning and artistically and technically sound. But they can't be printed because they are not replicatible for their readers.

I can't be the only person that feels the need and desire to add dimension, texture and interactivity to their layouts. There should be a category called extreme scrapbooking for those that are creating ScrapArt. I can't be the only extreme scrapper, I can't be the only one that loves viewing other ScrapArt created by others.

I try to kick it back for publication and teaching - but my heart longs for the complexity and intricacy of ScrapArt. There has to be room in the magazines and Design Teams for ScrapArtists and for Designers that prefer the clean and simple lines or those that prefer to kick it up with artistic complexity of pattern papers.

Ultimately, I feel that all levels and degrees of scrapping are important. You can't have complexity without the elements of simplicity and mediocrity. You have to appreciate how they all co-exist, the importance that they all play in an album. So I hope one day Scrap Art will be as revered and appreciated in the industry mags and design teams.