Blogtoberfest - Day 5 - Friday Friends - Guest Blogger - Kat - I Saw You Dancing

Welcome to Day 5 of Blogtoberfest12. This week, for the Friday Friends feature, I am going to hand the blogging reigns over to Kat of the I Saw You Dancing blog. Kat is hosting Blogtoberfest this year - YAY ! I will now let Kat tell you her inspirational story xo 

See you all tomorrow for Day 6 of Blogtoberfest12. 

FRIDAY FRIEND GUEST BLOGGER

KAT - I  SAW  YOU  DANCING

Thank you, Samara. I am so honoured to be featured on your beautiful blog as this Friday’s friend!

Who am I? 

I wish I had a pithy and profound answer to that question!

I am a writer, I am a blogger, I make art.

I am a mama, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend.

 My creative journey really started in earnest when my daughter was born and I stepped off the career treadmill (and gave myself “permission” not to work full time). Starting my blog in January 2010 was a huge step in sharing my art, my writing and my dreams with the world. The connection with kindred spirits from all over the world really has changed my life, in the best of ways.

E. M. Forster once described my one of my favourite poets, Constantine Cavafy, as a “Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe”. I really love the loneliness and strength of this image. It is also one of the things that jumped out at me from the Hafiz poem that inspired the name of my blog. http://isawyoudancing.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/first-day-and-rest-of-poem.html 

 It’s fair to say that loneliness, self-knowledge, the power of the written word, art and connection are the themes that run through my life. My greatest inspirations are the lonely artists of history who stood at a slight angle to the universe. Many of these were women who were labeled as “difficult” or “hysterical” or just excluded from mainstream society. But often they turned this rejection into something powerful, inhabiting the margins with defiant exuberance. I’m thinking of Frida Kahlo, May Sarton, Anais Nin, Vali Myers, Lucia Joyce to name but a few.

My favourite medium to work in is collage and I often use acrylic paints in my mixed media work. Up until now, I have just dabbled, making gifts for family and friends and sharing the odd creation on my blog. But now, with the guidance of a creative coach, I have started to focus on what I have affectionately codenamed “my dream book project”. It is a work in progress and only the goddesses know what it will finally look like! 

But, to give you an idea of the form it is taking, the art has been inspired by the work of Sabrina Ward Harrison and Christine Mason Miller: layered, handwritten, with quotes and haiku to stir the soul... and, likely, the invitation for readers to write their own thoughts and dreams in the margins.

Right now, I am hosting a fun blogging festival and warmly invite Maddabling readers to join in. 

I am especially excited that the creative prompts I post on my blog will include a guest post from yourself, Samara, with an invitation to join your wonderful photo challenge.

I can be found at isawyoudancing.blogspot.com 

Or on twitter @kat_anew 

Or on instagram @katsawyoudancing  

And more information about Blogtoberfest12 can be found at 

http://isawyoudancing.blogspot.com.au/p/blogtoberfest-2012.html