by Linda | Nov 17, 2011 | my creative journal
When it was first released as part of Seth Godin‘s Domino Project, I quickly read through Steven Pressfield’s super short book, Do the Work
. Although it’s probably not rocket science information in the creative world, I really connected with what he was saying and loved his “pep talk” style of writing. Simply put, we all know that it takes action and hard work to get something done. But breaking down the issues and problems that come up along the creative process helps me to deal with and overcome them, too.
So it’s been on my list for a while to read his more well known book, The War of Art (affiliate link to Amazon). I’ve downloaded it to my kindle and looking forward to more creative insight on this crazy thing called the creative process. The artistic genius, the creative beast, the starving artist… Art has such a dramatic reputation, don’t you think?
Although the book seems like it could be similar to The Artist’s Way, I know it’s not in a workshop style, plus I like the voice in which Pressfield writes…so I think it can only be a helpful thing to read the darn book. Have you read it? What do you think?
by Linda | Nov 16, 2011 | my creative journal
Lots of gratitude to my kindle, because I’ve managed to read a lot more than normally these past months. I’m definitely getting reading more into my normal day routine and perhaps one day I can get back to my teenaged years of devouring books by the dozen. For now, I’ve finished reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (affiliate link to Amazon) – I had started in October and posted about. Although you might think I’m probably the slowest reader in the world, I’m happy to have gotten through the book. How’s that for a happiness project?
I think of the book as a bit like The Artist’s Way that I’ve posted about before. It’s definitely a record of Gretchen’s year-long happiness project, but she shares her insights and experiences in hopes to inspire you to start your own happiness project. So you can definitely use it as a guide to go through a year of various happiness resolutions. I’ve definitely drawn out a lot of “food for thought” tid bits from the book. By no means a scientific approach to understanding the science of happiness – I had kind of hoped for more mentions of studies about happiness (listening to Radio Lab too much perhaps…) In reality, the book is more like a crafty DIY guide, documenting a year of happiness boosting attempts. I like it!
I don’t know if I can take on a project of that sort right now in my life, but just by reading the book I’ve gained insight. I think most of all, it’s about being more aware of what we do, how we do it and how we feel. I’ve certainly stopped more than once to think about what really makes me happy. What activities contribute to my happiness and how I can reduce crabbiness and grumpiness. I feel that I’m already more in tune and attentive to my own behavior. Even when it’s a bit too late to take back what I say, at least I can immediately say sorry and correct myself. Sometimes I feel like I missed all of this education and experience as a kid… maybe we should be teaching our kids these happiness ways of living, huh? It’s just a really interesting way to think about happiness and living.
Turns out there’s a whole website setup for people to start their happiness projects, according to how Gretchen approached it. If you are interested, definitely check out the book and the website for more info. Cheers!
by Linda | Nov 15, 2011 | my creative journal
Have you ever considered art licensing your work to be used on various products? I find it to be such a wonderful idea, because it’s one way to bring your art truly into the hands of people all over the world. It seems that on everyday products, your artwork would really be in front of people’s eyes. Maybe we don’t always realize that there’s an artist behind our tea towels and product packaging… but I think we do appreciate the design, color and aesthetic pleasure that comes with art on products.
Kate Harper has just posted a huge directory of art licensing companies that you can submit to, namely manufacturers and their submission pages and/or guidelines. It’s a really great resource and I’m actually one of the art angels listed at the bottom as well…
I’ve definitely been doing a lot of research and bookmarking possible submission opportunities. Although it might see like a difficult industry to get into, there are actually so many opportunities out there – too many! You actually have to figure out which ones are good fit for you, not just randomly submitting to as many places as possible. We all have to find our audience and our comfy little homes, so to speak. Check out the directory and good luck with new opportunities that could open up for you!
Do you have any links or art submission related experiences/links to share? Please do so in the comments below, much appreciated!
by Linda | Nov 10, 2011 | my creative journal
I’ve been stashing away a bunch of half-finished journals, because something went wrong during the process of construction, stopping me in my tracks. The futile quest for perfection really plagues me. I like it when things work out perfectly, even numbers, and that type of thing. It’s funny though, because I’ve never really done anything perfect… it’s just an illusion.
I couldn’t toss out all the great materials, so went ahead and finished all the journals. Now I’m one step closer to embracing imperfection. It’s a slow learning process, but I feel better every single time I challenge my crazy thoughts. I decided to turn my mistakes around into something fun and listed everything in my Etsy shop under Oopsie Sale. Some goof ups are noticeable, others are not…I’m not even sure if it really matters in the end. We are often so critical of ourselves, too critical.
After taking the photos and listing all the journals, I felt soooo much better. Whether they sell or not, I realized that I simply gave myself confidence by accepting reality and the imperfections in life. My work may not be perfect, but I think it’s beautiful. I was reminded again of how satisfying it is to create something from nothing.
Making a mistake doesn’t mean, I’m incapable of future success. We all have to get over it, right? Besides taking a step in the right direction, I just loving taking photos of my journals as well…ooo…styling is fun! So pretty!!!
by Linda | Nov 7, 2011 | my creative journal
I just saw a video presentation on Designing An MBA and started crunching some numbers for my own creative biz. I know that we have to figure out these details…but I think the fear of not achieving the goal, deters me from facing reality. I thought it would be nice to open it up and see if I’m just crazy. Please indulge me as I think out loud.
The simplest big picture calculation starts with how much profit you want. I decided to go through this exercise with a hypothetical example. Take the super low end of how much a graphic designer makes – about $36,000 yearly salary according to salary.com. In running your own business, in order to get paid that amount you have to rack in 3 times that amount in total sales. Again, bear with me here for the sake of this example because I know we all try to save on expenses and such. For that salary, it means that you want to shoot for $108,000 in total sales.
At this point, you might already be saying…oh the madness, how can that ever be possible!? Depending if you have a service business or product-based business, the costs of materials and profit margins might differ greatly. Fine, I will indulge myself by lowering the bar. Let’s say a total of $50,000 in sales is the goal for the year. If your average product sells for $20, you need to make 2500 sales a year. That rounds to about 10 products per work day, not even factoring in vacations you might want to take. Not only do you have to be able to create 10 of those products a day…you need to sell 10 a day. For a service provider like a graphic designer, $20/hour would mean working nearly 10 billable hours a day. Yikes! Obviously, there are certain scenarios that just won’t work out – simply look at the numbers.
And let me remind you that I lowered the bar in this example. I’m thinking about a whole lot of crafters and artists out there, who probably have products that are even lower than $20 a sale. How can this possibility work out, right? It’s no surprise that lots of folks are only scraping by.
How do you feel about this?
Have you crunched the numbers and figured out a plan that works for your business? What works for you and your services/products?
by Linda | Nov 2, 2011 | my creative journal
Whenever you hear about organization or decluttering, you think of closets, desks and hidden boxes around your house. But have you considered you digital clutter? Oh yes, those old hard drives, mysteriously named folders within folders and random files are sitting in digital cyberspace dust!
So why should you clear clutter, including digital clutter? I must admit that any attempt at reorganization presents a huge challenge – such a daunting task – especially today when we all have so many things to account for. The best advice I can give on that front is to take it one little bit at a time. Folder today, another folder tomorrow. One drawer today, another tomorrow. Slowly but surely is the way to go.
So although digital files don’t take up much physical space, the clutter weighs on your mind. The more “things” there are in your life, the more you are emotionally pulled in different directions. Cleaning and throwing out trash makes you feel good – the rush of getting rid of unnecessary things and clearing up free space. The funny thing is, you can’t miss these things that you probably never even knew were there.
With cleared space and peace of mind, you’ll finally have room to take on some new and exciting projects. Whether it be literally in your harddrives or metaphorically in your mind. With a clean slate, you can concentrate on new things.
I should note that digital clutter applies to digital accounts as well, not just files on your computer. Those dead accounts you signed up for – who knows when – just go and delete them!
Remember the feeling of getting your brand new computer? The blank slate, pristine, clean, sleek – it just makes you so energized to dive right in. Why not revamp and declutter to get that feeling again? Not only that, getting rid of excess usually means you’ll be getting more organized along the way. You will know what you have and where it is.
I also know that your backups will be faster after cleaning up. No need to backup 25 versions of the same thing. You digital life will be a bit more efficient…simply because there are no duplicates to deal with – generally less things.
So take a look at your digital life and see if you can clear up some clutter before the holidays. You might actually find some useful things along the way…
by Linda | Nov 1, 2011 | my creative journal
Hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween… I was actually busy putting my minibook together! It’s sort of a compilation of best hits from year to year, which will be nice to put out on the table each October. The funny costumes, the pumpkins we have carved – that kind of thing.
I actually made a huge boo-boo in scratching up my front cover photo (shouldn’t have printed it on glossy paper I think!) But I was determined to go with it and starting scratching purposefully on it…so my pumpkin is saying boo! It turned out quite nice and reminded me again that perfection is silly indeed.
The cute little images are my own Halloween illustrations. I printed them onto canvas paper and added a panel for the top of the front cover. But will be cutting out the little bits to spread throughout the pages. I love using my own products in a hybrid way…there’s something about canvas paper.
BTW, the vampire bat paper is actually my design printed on kraft paper, another digital doodle I created. Hope you enjoyed a little peek into my mini… now I have to add all the journaling strips. The most tedious part for me, although I love the look of them!
by Linda | Nov 1, 2011 | DIY printables
Need some journaling cards for your digital and/or paper projects? Lately, I’ve really been obsessed with journaling cards of all kinds. So I’ve been drooling over various products out there and creating some of my own as well. I’m not sure if the idea came from Becky Higgins Project Life, but it sure gained a lot of momentum from her products, I think. Cathy Zielske and Paislee Press has posts about printing them and many other designs who have digital journaling cards as a product.
I like to have a whole bunch on hand, so that I can jot down my thoughts in the moment – or at least as close to the moment as possible. I don’t want to lose my immediate thoughts on a memory or event. It’s so much more vivid and true when I can write down my thoughts immediately, rather than reflecting on it. Having that journaling card also spurs me to go ahead and get it scrapped as well. Win-win situation I think.
So I dug up some of my own paper designs and created a few journal cards. Feel free to download for your personal use below.
Download Journal Cards Freebie ZIP
They can certainly work for those that use the Project Life system, but a journal card can also go on any layout (digital or paper). One thing I’ve realized is that variety is the spice of life for me… I want to have lots available, so I can grab the one that fits the mood. Then everything seems to flow after that. Hope you enjoy!
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by Linda | Oct 26, 2011 | my creative journal
I just had a thought… about how an unknown designer or creative professional usually has to work really long, hard hours to make just a little money. Then there are the big names that don’t necessarily need to work as long or as hard, to make much more money. I realize there are many legitimate reasons to account for the difference, such as skill, experience, and quality. Of course, there are also many cases where the end product or service is not much different. I suppose one is the name brand, the other is an unknown little guy we are afraid to trust.
My thoughts drifted to state of mind. Those who are successful obviously believe in their own worth. They price accordingly and put their work out there with confidence. I believe that energy transmits. So part of the issue for beginners, is perhaps simply confidence and believing in oneself. One of things I’ve heard before, from formally trained fine artists…is that they definitely got confidence and “approval” from going to art school. Everyone believed in art as a profession and gained a sense of overall confidence from their years of education.
So maybe the first step to success, is shifting your state of mind and re-evaluating your feelings about your own work. Are YOU acknowledging your own worth? This could be in your business in terms of setting up your pricing and present yourself…but it also is an emotional battle. Self-confidence. You have to believe that you are totally awesome. Otherwise, how can you expect others to think so?
by Linda | Oct 19, 2011 | my creative journal
When it comes your creative business, there’s no doubt that countless hours are spent, pouring your heart and soul into the everyday tasks that keep it going. You spend so much energy putting your ideas into action, researching, marketing – following your creative path. It’s a fabulous thing, because it means you enjoy what you do and obviously have a commitment to your passion. Unfortunately, having fun, exploring and experimenting can often lead you astray. What were you doing all this time?! You can’t believe that hours, days, and weeks have passed.
Oftentimes we keep ourselves really busy and don’t understand why we seem to be so far off from our goals despite the effort. Although staring out at the window, watching the leaves fall might seem like a huge waste of time – I totally love admiring nature and find that my walks give me lots of inspiration for my illustration projects.
I’ve realized that for many creatives, we not only forget to track our time, but also to evaluate if time spent was worth it. Have you ever documented an entire day or week in detail? Literally keep a log, so that you can see exactly how much time you really spend on specific tasks.
When you have your time log, you can then go into the important step of evaluating if time spent was of value or not. What did you get out of spending those 3 hours reading those marketing blogs? Did you get any replies from that campaign you spent 8 hours perfecting to the last pixel and word? Is that product you sell actually profitable at the end of the day?
This doesn’t have to be an in-depth analysis with statistics, percentages or numbers flying around a spreadsheet. It’s simply an exercise in being more aware of your time and how you spend it. Only then can you make more informed decisions about how much time to spend on certain tasks…or if you should stop something altogether.
Something to think about and try this week – keep a time log. Review it and honestly evaluate your time spent. We can’t work 24/7, but it’s important to know what is worthy of your time. Keep things that work, shake up the rest, so you can figure out what works for you. Let me know what you think 😛 I’m currently tackling the same issues myself!
