A little about me
Head in the clouds, eyes on the ground
Born in April 1977 in Outlook Saskatchewan as Sharla Bell. My Mom gave me my first name, my Dad gave me my last name. I didn't get married until many years later and that is when I changed my name to Sharla Kinsman. I left Saskatchewan in 2002 and moved here, Morden Manitoba.
Describing my creative journey is a little tricky. I have never really picked a specific direction or decided exactly where I wanted to focus my attention. It is hard to choose one thing when there are so many options. A lot of people have told me that they wish they could be more creative. Honestly, it isn't always a trait that I have found helpful in everyday life. I can't speak for everyone, but for me, creativity and chaos go hand in hand. Imagination, curiosity, creativity, freedom to use whatever you have to make whatever you want, it can quickly spiral out of control. Ingenuity and insanity seem to have a lot in common at times.
Making and sharing this website is taking a huge step outside of my comfort zone. I cringe when people call me an artist, I feel like a fraud. I believe the potential to become an artist exists somewhere inside me but I'm not there quite yet. These pictures have been made with ink on paper, abstract, black and white, random shapes and lines that come together to make a design. There is no right or wrong because mistakes are just transformed into unexpected shapes. Sometimes I start with a vague idea but never a specific vision of the final product. Every line on the paper, every swirly scribble, every dot and spot is put there one by one. Eventually, each of those individual marks on the paper become a part of one bigger picture. Once it is finished I set the paper aside, put down the pen and wait for the hand cramp to subside.