Who is Briana Blair of Blue Dragon Creations?

You may have seen the name Briana Blair or Blue Dragon Creations while browsing around the internet. This article will tell you a bit about both myself and my business.

My name is Briana Blair and I am a writer and artist. I was born in New Haven, CT, but spent most of my life in Maine, and that's the place I call home. I've never been a fan of the city, so country life always suited me well. Even now I try to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I prefer living where I can at least occasionally get out into nature.

I have been crafting in one way or another since I was 4 or 5 years old. One of the first things I ever learned to do was crochet with my fingers when I was still too young to hold a hook properly. I also remember sitting at my grandmother's craft table when I was in kindergarten experimenting with all sorts of crafts. Luckily, my grandmother was a crafty, so I always had all sorts of materials to play and learn with.

As I got older I started learning to draw and paint, and those became my favorite things to do for quite some time. When I was in middle school I used to custom design graffiti t-shirts for other students, paint intricate images on the other girls' fingernails and do a lot of sketching and painting. By the time I was in 10^th grade I was selling my paintings to other students who just couldn't get enough of my work.

At the age of 12 I started writing my first book. It was a sci-fi/horror novel that ended up with 81 chapters and several hundred pages. The book sat on a shelf for most of my life and has only recently been brought out for revisions, and I hope to have it finished this year and released to the public. I once wanted to be famous like Stephen King, whose book I adored.

When I was 16 my English teacher made the class do an assignment writing poetry. I hated the idea and was very resistant, but once I got started, there was no stopping me. It seemed to have opened a floodgate, and I started using poetry as a form of therapy. I had a very hard childhood, so I had plenty of misery and pain to spill out onto the pages. I have written over 300 poems since that first assignment. I am currently putting all of my poetry onto my blog.

I had a dry spell in my twenties where I did very little art or writing. I was convinced that my muse was gone and I had lost my creative ability. As it turned out, my life was just in a really bad place, and once I got away from the people and events that were causing me stress, I was able to begin working again. I still can't draw quite like I used to but I have discovered some other ways to use my talent.

For a while I got into web site design. I had several sites of my own, and I also designed web sites for local businesses. It was during that time that I came up with the name Blue Dragon Creations to represent myself and my company. I have always loved the color blue and had an affinity for dragons, so it seemed the perfect name. I have used the handles BlueDragon and BrianaDragon on the internet for many years.

Some years ago I started experimenting with digital art, and found that I really enjoyed it. I couldn't afford traditional art supplies, but I could do anything I wanted in my computer. It was very liberating and inspiring, and I started pumping out art like a woman possessed. It was at that same time when I discovered Print On Demand web sites and started selling my work. I currently have two shops with Zazzle, Blair Peacock Creations and Mandala Magic.

Blair Peacock Creations is the store where I have most of my art, as well as some by my husband. Our catch phrase is "Goth, Geek and Gamer Gear for all". We also have Pagan designs and a wide selection of dark humor. My art is really all over the place because I just make whatever I'm inspired to do at the time. Fortunately, that makes for a great selection in the shop. I even have a holiday section with some very unusual designs. If you look at my art, you can get a pretty good feel for who I am.

Mandala Magic was a later project that I add to now and again. I got my hands on a piece of software that allowed me to make kaleidoscopes, and I fell in love. It was so much fun, I started making kaleidoscopes on a regular basis. The store has a large selection of designs that I have created. Nearly all of the kaleidoscopes in the shop becan with either pieces of my digital art or photos of my jewelry and crafts which I manipulated to be something entirely unique.

It was only a few years ago that I really got back into writing. I discovered a site called eHow, and decided to try to write for them. I produced over 200 how-to articles in the time I worked with them. I was amazed at all the things I knew how to do, which I could share with others. When eHow was taken over by Demand Studios, I started looking for alternatives and found Associated Content.

I have only been with AC for two months, but I have produced nearly 100 new pieces in that time. I love the flexibility here, which allows me to write about nearly anything I can think of. I didn't know how it was going to work out, but I have hundreds of article ideas written down, and I feel that I am finally becoming someone in the writing world.

In my 33 years on this earth I have done many kinds of art and crafts. I have drawn, painted, sculpted, created jewelry, crocheted, written, done digital art and many other things. I have always loved being artistic, and I don't think I will ever stop. I can't imagine life without the ability to create and share those creations with the world. If you'd like to read more and find links to all the places online where I sell my work, you can go to the Blue Dragon Creations Blog.