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On the site
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I'm Margaret Doyle, a mediator in one part of my life and an enthusiastic craftsperson in another. I'm part of a family business, Bledsoe Bags, which sells handmade bags and purses using old, new and recycled fabric.
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Are you good at looking? Not good looking, not even looking good. This site is about looking well, as opposed to lazy looking. It's about finding inspiration in many places.
Some of these places are local, some even humble. I like this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, whose influence in shaping the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is something we should all be grateful for.
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -
so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world."
She wasn't an expert in human rights, not a politican in her own right, a lawyer or an academic. But she is the one who saw the need to make the declaration a living one and one relevant to people's everyday lives.
What does this blog have to do with human rights? Not a lot, except that I believe passionately that human rights are about the large and the small, the global and the local. And I think it's a shame that the right to be creative isn't recognised as a human right.
How many of us were told by an art teacher at school that we couldn't draw? That we should give up trying? That we lack talent? And for how many of us did that mean we did stop trying? Maybe we even stopped looking.
This blog isn't about making artists out of all of us. It doesn’t assume any talent or ambition. Also, it’s not about looking only with our eyes. It’s about experiencing, being open to a new approach, slant, take on the world. We can ‘look’ with our hands, ears, even our feet.
This blog is written for those of us who may be art novices, ingénues, maybe artfully awkward. Some of us think we don’t have a creative bone in our body. I’m no scientist (but my sister is – I’ll ask her), but even I know that it’s an anatomical fact that each and every one of us has a creative bone in our body. And not just one, but possibly many.
This blog is not
- art criticism or analysis – but it might make some suggestions for good places to go to find that
- a guide on how to be an artist – there are some wonderful books and sites on that, some of which are listed on Things to Look At
- a travel guide to London – but if you happen to be in or near London or on your way, it might give you some ideas of active looking
to see and do on Places to Look
This blog, then, is for those of us who wake up one day and say, I want to feel more. Appreciate. Look.
Some of these places are local, some even humble. I like this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, whose influence in shaping the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is something we should all be grateful for.
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -
so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world."
She wasn't an expert in human rights, not a politican in her own right, a lawyer or an academic. But she is the one who saw the need to make the declaration a living one and one relevant to people's everyday lives.
What does this blog have to do with human rights? Not a lot, except that I believe passionately that human rights are about the large and the small, the global and the local. And I think it's a shame that the right to be creative isn't recognised as a human right.
How many of us were told by an art teacher at school that we couldn't draw? That we should give up trying? That we lack talent? And for how many of us did that mean we did stop trying? Maybe we even stopped looking.
This blog isn't about making artists out of all of us. It doesn’t assume any talent or ambition. Also, it’s not about looking only with our eyes. It’s about experiencing, being open to a new approach, slant, take on the world. We can ‘look’ with our hands, ears, even our feet.
This blog is written for those of us who may be art novices, ingénues, maybe artfully awkward. Some of us think we don’t have a creative bone in our body. I’m no scientist (but my sister is – I’ll ask her), but even I know that it’s an anatomical fact that each and every one of us has a creative bone in our body. And not just one, but possibly many.
This blog is not
- art criticism or analysis – but it might make some suggestions for good places to go to find that
- a guide on how to be an artist – there are some wonderful books and sites on that, some of which are listed on Things to Look At
- a travel guide to London – but if you happen to be in or near London or on your way, it might give you some ideas of active looking
to see and do on Places to Look
This blog, then, is for those of us who wake up one day and say, I want to feel more. Appreciate. Look.
