It is rare for an artist or writer never to face rejection and it seems that triumph often comes with dusting off and bouncing back.
As F Scott Fitzgerald noted, 'Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over'.
If vitality is crucial to a work of art, then the North-East's popular open art competition The People Show has it in spades.
The lead mining industry has left its imprint on the North Pennines landscape.
But beyond the physical remains are the stories of the mining families, many of whom were forced to emigrate as the industry changed and went into decline.
Rachel Clarke, who lives in Stanhope in Weardale, has not only studied the exodus of these workers but has followed in their footsteps.
Click here to find some great days out and fantastic family attractions,
Click here to read the new edition of Your Place, incorporating Northumberland County Council's Your County magazine. The magazine can be picked up at Thompson Old Town Farm in Catton, Whitfield Post Office and Allendale Post Office.
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Journal Extra, Northumberland's free weekly, is inside copies of The Journal across the county every Thursday, and can also be picked up from Allendale Medical Practise.
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"Sunday August 16, 2009 Allendale Beer and Bands Festival Now into its third year, this is a popula..."
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