by Linda | May 28, 2011 | my creative journal
I’m at the third chapter of The Artist’s Way (here’s a link to the copy I bought on Amazon)
and I am already flailing a bit on morning pages. Sometimes I totally forget until later in the day. I suppose that I don’t pick up long-term habits so easily. However, I do think the stream of consciousness writing is helpful. In fact, I’ve always done it in the past… but usually only in times of need. Making it a practice means that you can always sound off and get things off your chest. I like that aspect of it.
There were many moments of nodding my head during the reading of this chapter. The feelings we go through, the ups and downs and struggles as a creative. I could definitely relate and it was nice to hear someone experienced talk about it and offer some advice. I suppose, it’s like having a mentor of sorts… the sharing of knowledge from experiences… only this is a book…LOL!
There was a particular section that struck me. The section about shame.
I never really thought that I might be blocked by shame, but I certainly face that “not good enough” or “not a big enough achievement” feeling at times. I am hard on myself and ever since I was a kid… I’ve always found it hard to accept compliments and praise.
Somehow I didn’t know that you can just accept it and simply say thank you and be happy. It doesn’t come naturally to me. I would always discount myself or note my doubts or brush it off as nothing – oh, no big deal. Why would I feel all weird about praise? I started thinking about it and… sort of all frustrated me. People have issues dealing with criticism… and here I am pushing away nice people who like my work?!
Well, I think I’ve since learned to say thank you and feel proud of my work. To accept what is given to me, not feel like I might not deserve the attention. Sometimes we have to psych ourselves up…we ARE worthy. I’ve come a long way since way back in my childhood days, so I’m happy about that. Perhaps it is something that comes with time, intertwined with self-esteem and confidence.
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by Linda | May 26, 2011 | my creative journal
Wow! Honored by the huge response to my handmade leather journal giveaway…and with the help of random.org the winner is…
Congratulations, Niina! Once I get your address, will send it out so you can journal away. Thank you to everyone for participating 🙂 Is you want your own leather journal, I will be adding a new batch to my Etsy shop soon…take a peek at the progress here… yummy leather!
by Linda | May 23, 2011 | my creative journal
[UPDATE: Comments closed, giveaway ended 2011/05/25]
To celebrate with the Sew, Mama, Sew May Giveaway event…I am contributing a handmade leather journal to one lucky blog commenter! This is a lovely luscious leather journal around 15cm by 21cm in size. The leather is a rich, dark brown color, super-duper soft to the touch with a cardstock lining for extra support. There are 96 pages of Fabriano ivory paper, sewn in with black cotton thread, ready for your journaling and doodling pleasure. There’s plenty of room to add ephemera as well, with a wraparound flap and braided mixed ribbon closure to keep everything together and safe from the elements. I think of it as a Victorian romantic style journal and the definition of “journal” is actually printed on the opening page. The last page has the phrase “create fearlessly” printed on it …hopefully to inspire and get you journaling!
Although bookmaking might seem like an exact science, I actually take a very organic approach to creating my leather journals. Each piece of leather has a style to it and rugged shape. I use it to direct me in creating a unique handmade journal…that will collect the thoughts and doodles of journalers like you. I love the rustic, rugged look, often using the raw edges of the leather piece as part of the journal. The ribbon closures have singed edges, hand-braided loosely to incorporate into the organic style of the journal. I always have a romantic sense in mind when finishing my journals because it is such a precious and important tool for many of us, collecting our thoughts, feelings and sometimes secret emotions. I’m always imagining old fashioned quill pens, scrawling in love confessions and such on the pages – oh how my imagination runs away!
I effectively “save” leather from being ground up or thrown away…because I use only remainder pieces from the leather producing companies here in Tuscany. Perfectly beautiful pieces of leather that just happens to be extra from client orders or test colors. Every time leather is made for clients (who order thousands of square meters at a time), many batches are created to ensure they get the exact texture or color for the particular product in mind. So that means a lot of extra batches that I can rescue from becoming ground up or thrown away. The leather pieces I use are truly one of a kind and unique…and I especially love the experiment batches!
This journal giveaway let’s me share a piece of “my Italia” with you, lovely leather and handmade goodness straight from the Tuscan hills of Italy.
Just comment below for a chance to win – I will pick a random commenter – open to everyone in the world! If you can’t wait for the giveaway, please do check out my Etsy shop to buy one for yourself or as a gift to a dear friend. I would really appreciate your support! Now go on and check out all the other giveaways for this event! Good luck to all – ciao ciao!
by Linda | May 21, 2011 | my creative journal
This past week, I continued my way reading through chapter 2 of The Artist’s Way (link to copy I bought from Amazon), all about recovering a sense of identity. I must admit that I found it harder to be moved by this particular chapter.
I had to re-read the whole thing because I sort of flew past it and didn’t get much out of it. Maybe I just don’t need much recovery in this department? I don’t have crazymakers in my life and the more I thought about it…the more I realized and felt grateful for the fact that I don’t have drama.
I know many folks who have a tragic story behind them, perhaps even a pivotal part of their journey to creative freedom and all that. It makes for a great story, but I don’t think you need that to happen to be a great artist or a successful person.
At times, I think people create drama for themselves to get that story. I think we all naturally have issues, darknesses, ups and downs…certainly some are decidedly more serious than others, but I don’t think you have to make it “your thing.” Not sure how to explain it, but that you don’t have to be defined by whatever circumstances you are in. Honestly, I don’t have anything to complain about or woe over because I choose not to ultimately. I look towards all the wonderful things and that makes me a much happier person and makes life way more cool…
Perhaps I have just gotten over everything, so I don’t have the patience for unnecessary drama in my life. I feel as if I have learned to live the slow life and enjoy even the little things…after coming to live here in Italy. The culture here is definitely about having a good time…or just making the best of your time here…eating well, being with family. All that good ‘ole charming homey family goodness. But since I come from a society of work, work, work and a family past of great struggles, I certainly understand what it means to work your butt off and still not have “enough.” I feel like I can jump from one to the other without drama…work hard, play hard.
I suppose part of this creative path has already been well walked upon in my case. I trust in my creativity and am growing more confident with each step. I love to follow my sparks of inspiration and have no problems when it fizzles out or turns into a failure. It happens!
I have a great support system around me that keeps me going and moving forward. I have grand plans and am definitely making progress, although I still stop and smell the flowers – often! I want to enjoy this walk of life, after all. It doesn’t have to be a painful, struggling experience and I believe it does NOT have to be so…if you choose not to live it that way.
Of course, let me backtrack a bit and note that I’m still learning so much, changing constantly and sort of growing up all the time.
I think we can never just be…in the sense of being perfect or being “there” wherever there is…because life is ever changing and we are ever evolving with it. So this week, I haven’t really changed much from this chapter of the book, but I did continue my morning pages. I missed one day and realized that perhaps I didn’t need it. I think also that sometimes doodling a bit can be as meditative as morning pages. Whatever or however we might choose to express ourselves or get things out of our minds. I’m starting to think maybe you don’t have to do it daily – yeah, I’m getting impatient already! I suppose it might be because I’m still riding off the energy from yesterday. I am so proud of myself and I guess it was a big boost of confidence and sense of self. Maybe it really does all connect after all with this week…whatever the case…I’m definitely moving forward and skipping along happily 🙂
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by Linda | May 19, 2011 | my creative journal
I don’t know why, but especially those of us into the DIY mindset, often feel as if we MUST do it all ourselves. This is the case in many areas of our lives, whether it’s learning something new or baking that new recipe. Doing it from scratch or doing it all by your lonesome self is often a premise we set for ourselves. We often refuse help even when it is offered, pushing away others and totally getting lost in our own little bubble of a world. Does the lonesome journey somehow make your efforts more worthy of results? Or would you only be proud of your successes if you built them from the ground up with you bare hands? I understand the romanticism in those scenarios and we are often serenaded by other peoples’ stories of that effect. Someone who created a great thing from nothing and how it became a huge success, blah blah. It’s all fine and dandy, but I’ve come to learn it’s a bit of a fantasy.
Of course, we often accomplish things from start to finish without issue. We’ve built upon what we’ve learned from others – our influences and past learnings. We stand on the shoulder of giants, right? We’ve all had many teachers who have contributed to our life skills and there are books to refer to…and now the Internet! Sure, one could spontaneously come up with bright and creative ideas seemingly without “help” – a big EUREKA! But I think it’s a culmination of many influences and learnings from beforehand. Everything we do is a big mix of everything we have experienced…and every mix is unique, so that’s why we can create unique and interesting stuff…regardless of if we’ve learned from the same people or sources. Pretty cool, if you think about that!
So I’ve learned to stop feeling like I need to do things from scratch and more importantly that I need to figure it all out myself. Sometimes we need help. Yes, we need education, support…a helping hand! I still feel hesitant at times to ask for help or seek it out…somehow we feel ashamed. But those feelings are just not warranted. I just need to learn something new or a bit of a push in the right direction…what is so shameful about that? Ultimately, we are seeking something positive. I think that’s a good thing, darn it! Thus far in my creative business 101 journey, I’ve been able to build up a plan, based on my dreams with full confidence. I moved on to build a website with my own skills, writing as best I can for my marketing materials and making good progress. Now I’ve hit a big bump in the road…this marketing stuff is just throwing me for a loop. I know certain things, but just can’t get it all into a plan of action. It’s new to me and honestly, I’m a bit scared and just been flailing around lately.
I’ve wallowed a bit, tried to initiate some things here and there…like getting linked up with ArtsyShark “Links to Art We Love” page… but I’m seriously blocked and just spending my time reading books, doodling and painting away…as you can see from the photos. Good things to do creatively, but not so good if you are trying to build a business. I know I need to get myself out there and market my work, direct things towards my goals. It’s fine and dandy to be creatively fulfilled, but we’ve all got to eat and pay the bills, too. I sort of know the things I should be doing, but reluctant and not sure how to approach it all.
Thursday should be my marketing effort day, yet I was painting all morning and forgot about what I was going to do…echk. I started surfing the Internet again and finally decided to invest in my education and creative business by purchasing I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion by Alyson Stanfield. It’s been on my list for a while, as the new edition just came out in 2011, but I’m always hesitant to spend more money on things when I’m not exactly making the money. It can be difficult to sort out what is really worth it and I’ve often purchased things and regretted…not because of the products themselves, but because I was snatching at random things. In this case, it is not even a big investment and I got the ebook, so it’s instant and I can start diving in right away. However, more than the monetary value, it’s about making a commitment to yourself to tackling the issue – self-promotion in this case – and getting the help I need. So, I don’t have to know how to do it myself, by myself…I’m turning to resources that I can reach out to…we’ll see what happens.
