And so the journey begins! Or, more correctly, continues.
The Beginning
Welcome! For many years I was known as 'The Adnil Lady' - running the business 'Adnil Press', which supplied educational curriculum to families all across Australia. I tutored children, shipped products in from overseas, and for ten years, printed many of the supplies right in my own home office. But life has a way of taking us in a new direction. After some particularly rough times, I was at a place in my life where I needed some deep emotional healing.
It was December, 2015. And someone, somewhere (most likely on Facebook), mentioned this year-long course called, 'Life Book'. It was art-focussed with a healing theme. I'd meddled in art for years, taking a few 'how to paint' courses, and mainly painted landscapes. Lots of supplies sat on my shelves, and I had no clue how to use most of them! So I dived right in, and on January 1st, 2016, my art journey truly began. During that year I discovered healing through art, and I discovered that art, like most things, does not always come 'naturally'. It takes study, and work, and effort - but the rewards - well, they were amazing!
Finding My Passion
By the end of the year my passion was blooming, and I began taking many other courses offered by various teachers. Amazingly, I even discovered I could draw and paint faces - something I never thought I'd be able to do!
Never losing the passion for the writing course I had so long promoted, I was always moving between the two - between painting and drawing, and teaching writing. I kept wondering which direction I should go in until finally I decided, 'Why does it have to be one or the other?' Creativity comes in many forms, depending on our needs, our passion, or even the day.
The Birth of Dazzlefire
Why the name 'Dazzlefire'? I'm not really sure, I simply thought of it one day and thought - Yep! I like it! And with the word fire came thoughts of the phoenix, rising up out of the ashes, flying again after being broken and burnt. To this I could relate. My own pain was subsiding and slowly, gradually, my strength was returning. I was learning new skills, heading in a new direction, and I found myself ready to fly once more.
People began to ask; 'Are you selling your paintings?' 'Do you have a website?' and 'Where can I see more of what you do?' I was hesitant at first - I mean, I'm relatively new to the art world and yet, I could never shake the feeling that art was defining me. And so - why not - right? Let's build a website and see what happens! Having learnt never to set plans in stone, we shall see where this journey, this website, and this blog takes us - I will let the phoenix fly high and free - and together we shall see what we can create in 'The Dazzlefire Den'.
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