Always remember, never forget

Have you ever tried to recall something important and wished you had some way of triggering that memory. Photo's are a great way to help. But out of context a photo two generations from now will mean nothing. If we want to ensure that our legacy is know throughout our generations then we need to find creative ways to preserve and cultivate them.

I started the art of scrapbooking in 2003 after I was diagnosed with Post Partum Depression only a few months after my second daughter, Sienna was born, and following a serious car accident. Previous to this in 2001, I had suffered serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident only weeks after my first daughter, Juliana, was born and was unable to care for her for 3 months.

It was during this second post traumatic event that I realised that my memory was challenged with the pain, stress, sleeplessness and usual pregnancy related memory loss. I tried to recall the events around Juliana's birth and especially her first 3 months and I was hard pressed to remember anything that good. I felt like I was about to travel the same road again and was determined to take more photo's and record the information surrounding them.

This journey has given me a interesting perspective on how art & craft can improve a person's well being. There is more an more evidence to show that art therapy improves the outcomes of challenged children and emotionally and mentally affected people. We are seeing this being introduced in aged care facilities as well. I would like to propose that scrapbooking and the art of preserving memories is a therapy of its own but, in so doing provides a memory book for future generations. This appeals to my altruistic need, I can justify the time spent as a way of providing for others and a bonus that it helps me.

I am hoping to provide you with images and expressions of how creativity can improve the way we see life and leave behind a legacy for our children and their children.