It all started when my BlackBerry broke this morning.
It will no longer accept my password even though I have
checked online & I have the correct one. Hubby is away
& the cell phone company will not speak to anyone
except the account holder. So I am offline to all intents
& purposes, unless I am in my office sitting in front of
my computer screen - no longer MOBILE.
This depressing change of circumstance caused me to
feel demotivated so I started browsing Facebook (as one
does) - from my cheap laptop that isn't good for much
else. I came across someone ('via via' - as one does) & I
decided to check out her blog, which I used to frequent
often. She is a really GREAT & talented scrapbooker
but I started visiting her blog less & less as the
inspiration waned.
Over the years her style got less and less layered, &
cleaner & cleaner, until the "soul" in it had left almost
entirely, in my opinion. She started working for a magazine
& my guess is that this is what they were requiring of her,
and she was delivering, killing her individuality in the process.
Today almost all vestiges of journaling are gone. Hardly a mist,
no gesso, etc = no fun (again - just my opinion). Hardly a
technique to be found, bar slick cuts and over-processed
photographs. It got me wondering...does she enjoy what
she's doing? Is it still really scrapbooking? Is it therapeutic
for her?? I don't think so. Perhaps the trade-off is worth
the money. So why does it worry me so much...???
She will certainly be getting a lot of free product, plus a
publication fee per layout featured, and surely some
additional perks for being part of the magazine's regular
contributing team. Not to mention all the kudos &
accolades involved. Tempting indeed....Sounds great
hey?! Used to be my grandest ambition...not any more...
Now I don't even submit my layouts {put a lot of that
down to just not getting down to it though as it's a
time-consuming process}but that particular publication
is no longer on my radar & I don't know of a magazine
{apart from Scrapbooking Memories in Australia}
that should be on my radar to be honest. They are
not available here so it's difficult to know...and the
disheartening thing for me is that I am never a "national",
always an "international" which either obliterates my
chances altogether or certainly makes them slimmer...
Anyway, I digress...
I then went & had a look at the magazine online.
They have a sneak peek function that is relatively
new I think. Funny how they never needed that
before... My e mail is regularly bombarded with giant
"special offer" promotional information from them,
even though I have been a subscriber for years. I
can't help but wonder why the apparent desperation?
Or maybe that is just marketing today??
I paged through the highlights of their latest issue.
I don't want it. Is it just me? Have I outgrown them?
Is that a good or a bad sign? I found everything so
boring and basic. All the ideas so elementary. Seems
like their target market is very much newbie & "clean
& simple" scrapbookers with 15 minutes to spare to
create a layout. Honestly? My thoughts?? If you
don't have time to scrapbook then maybe it's just not
for you. I want to learn French, go canoeing, get into
great shape, but the honest truth is I don't have the time!
Which brings me to the other very popular concept
in scrapbooking right now. You know the one I mean.
Where you record your memories in a simple format
and keep up with it regularly with a pre-bought kit
with everything you need. Why does the idea always
make me shudder slightly?
It's a good one for sure - and a highly profitable
one too I would imagine...BUT I have some
reservations about it's place within the scrapbooking
world. For non scrapbookers - amen! It's the answer
for sure!! For "hardly ever" scrapbookers too, I can also
see the benefits. But for scrapbookers, surely there is
no-one out there with the time to do both?
I don't scrapbook "only for the memories" anymore.
If I did I would simply print out all my photos 4 x 6"
- slide them into an album and journal the details on the
back wouldn't I?! This new concept I mentioned above
doesn't appeal to me because I find it restrictive. There
must be others out there who feel the same BUT what
gets me is...
Almost every "high-flying" scrapbooker out there
suddenly LOVES the idea. Have you noticed that?
They are ALL doing it, and we have all seen a feature
on it on their blogs...It makes me wonder if there was
a fee involved. Same with the new fangled die-cutting
machine EVERYONE is using now - all the high-flyers
have almost every title cut out of it - sure, it's a trend,
and I LOVE trends. But it's almost like you just aren't
"up there" unless you spend hundreds of US$ (which
equates to THOUSANDS of South African rands),
on "one of them", especially for any serious consideration
in this particular magazine (and perhaps similar ones too).
You know how pro-athletes are paid to wear all the
right gear? You know what I'm saying?!? And I'm
not going to say it. This is my opinion only. It may
be entirely fictional. Just the workings of my
{hopefully intelligent} mind. If you've got this far &
do leave a comment please don't mention names.
I'd hate to have to delete this post.
I think that "scrapbooking" is now "so much more"
and means (and IS) different things to different people,
so much so that subcategories are now developing.
1) There's the "buy the kit and have your fun"
scrapbookers. (nothing wrong with it if it appeals!)
2) There's the "I've got 15 minutes to spare"
variety of scrapbooker, that I presume is obviously
benefitting from the magazine I used to benefit from.
3) There's the online scrapbookers, the world I
live in and happen to love. Where people are
passionate about their art, and have the integrity
to persue it without compromise. The artists.
The avant-garde scrapbookers
Definition of Avant-Garde
Web definitions: |
any creative group active in the innovation and application of
new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts).wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
|
|
Well I feel a lot better now that I've just worked out that
I'm an avante-garde scrapbooker!!
It's like being part of an "alternative" band, doing what you
really believe in and making very little money as a result!
Then the clever ones sell-out to fame & fortune (via
watered down versions of your work - that are much
more commercially viable!!!)
Despite (and in spite of!) all that it's an AMAZING
group to be a part of don't you think?