Emma is a person who puts her heart and soul into the artwork she creates. She like to create using bold colours and feeling the paint with her hands instead of a brush. ‘Her heart is as Black as night but her Soul is as colourful as a Rainbow”

How do you live a creative life?

My creative life is an everyday thing. I come home from work and come straight into my little studio. Usually when I come into my studio I journal or create art based on how my days been or how I’m feeling in that point. Other times I’ll already know from the drive home what I want to do.

Do you put your life into your art journal? Or is it focused on technique?

Most of my work is based on feelings and emotions. With my abstract pieces, I use the colours that stand out to me the most in that moment and use my fingers to push the paint and feel my way around the page.

What is your biggest barrier to creating?

The dreaded staring at a blank page and wondering what to do.

How do you get over that hurdle?

I like to draw inspiration from tutorials that are on the Get Messy Site, I use CreativeBug, and sometimes I have a look through Instagram using certain hashtags.

What has been your biggest lesson when it comes to creating art?

My biggest lesson is learning about myself and my art as a whole. Get Messy has taught me so many different things but the main one is just being me and producing the artwork that I want to produce; not what others think I should be producing or what I should be as an artist.

What is your favourite art journal page you’ve ever made? Why is it your favourite?

I have quite a few pages that I treasure in my journals, but the one that sticks out the most to me is my bright, multi-coloured journal page with all the vertical patterns. You should be able to see it in my little gallery of images. I like this page because it’s coded. My feelings are coded into the different shapes that run down the pages. To others it just looks like a simple journal page but to me it’s something more.

Have you ever actively disliked a page you’ve made? What did you do with it?

I have quite a number of pages in all my journals and sketchbooks that I don’t like and I used to glue the pages together or rip them out. With Get Messy, I have learnt to embrace those pages and to think of them as a stepping stone in my little art journey. It’s something to look back on and improve on.

Have you ever been through artist block? What did you do to overcome it?

YES! In a very, very large way.

Before discovering Get Messy, I would come and sit in my studio and just stare at a blank page and get annoyed with myself as I had no motivation and no inspiration. I found Get Messy through ‘How She Creates’ and well my blank days were over!

There is so much inspiration within the community and so many fabulous tutorials and images of other messians journals and the prompts are amazing.

What’s the best art advice you’ve ever received?

I’m not sure if i’ve ever had someone give me art advice. Someone will have given it to me and if you have then I apologies for not remembering. I am always open to it though.

What does community do for your creating?

It makes me feel accepted, like I belong. Not many people understand outside of Get Messy how I create my art or why I do it but that’s ok because I have all I need right here.

Who would you like to celebrate in the Get Messy community?

When I saw this last question, one person instantly popped into my head. I adore looking at the art and crafts she creates, whenever they have been on the group chat they have always put a smile on my face. I have only spoken with them a few times but I do hope for more chats but Michelle Johnson @knittyscrapper is a total creative badass and a fabulous person and I’d like to celebrate her.

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