Add to the Beauty

Looking at other's people's art can either be inspiring or it can be discouraging. I don't know how many times I have looked at art work and thought, "My stuff looks so childish and unfinished. I can't compete with that!"  Now, that can completely stop the creative process.  But if I can look at other's art work and say, "That is so beautiful, I want to make something beautiful too," then I am looking with eyes that are not clouded with my own ego but rather they are lighted by understanding that we are all creative creatures, born to create.

Appreciating another artist's work should bring out the best in other creatives, not squash any hope they have of making something lovely.  I spent an hour or so on deviantart.com this evening as well as a couple of artist's pages on Facebook.  On other day that would have put a wet blanket on my creative drive, but tonight, it was as if I was ready to be stirred up and looking at other's art work made me want to create too.

The next time we feel discouraged about our art because we think someone else is "doing it better", remember, you were given your gift just for you and that means it is unique to you.  Art shouldn't always be one pitted against another.  Rather we all contribute to the beauty of the world by every creative effort we make.  It is so much the inclination of human beings to make that which is ugly (ie. war, murder, lies, gossip, etc. you get the idea).  Any time we can make beauty it is a good thing.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you were encouraged to go and make something lovely!  Please leave a comment and a link if you post it on line.  I'd love to see what you do!  Blessing!

Read This Book: Breaking Into Freelance Illustration

I just finished a great book that I know will be useful to anyone who is trying to start their own illustration business.  Breaking into Freelance Illustration : A Guide for Artist, Designers and Illustrators by Holly Dewolf is packed full of encouragement, inspiration and information.  She has included great interviews with other illustrators and designers along with website information.  Websites that illustrators can participate in are also listed along with other resources.  There is advice on staying motivated, getting organized, self promotion, industry information, accounting tips, copyright information, business management, going after clients, pricing, and really a lot more. Now that I have finished, I intend to go back with a notebook and pen and jot down all that useful information and put it into good use!  Go get this book an read it too!  You can get it at Amazon, of course.  I read it on my kindle, but it could have just as easily arrived in my mailbox!  So there's no excuse not to read it!  Click on Holly's name if you want to check out her web site.

The Inspiration of Having a Job

Let's get practical today.  I know there are those hopeless romantics out there who are offended by the notion of making art to make money and believe that art should be pure and created by the artist to express himself to the world in order to change it.  They imagine an artist who is tucked away in some dingy apartment in the part of town where all the "creatives" hang out, suffering for his art, living painting to painting, not sure when he'll have money to buy his next meal.  So he writes his brother who has a real job asking for some money, cuts off his ear over some dame and then because he is despondent and misunderstood by a world to hard to recognize his great talent and unique soul, he kills himself, making his art insanely valuable when sold at auction 100 years later.

Okay, that was a little about Van Gogh, who I love and who was really a very troubled man.  I can relate to emotional turmoil.  I've had my share.  But couldn't he have been just as productive if he had not had to deal with that turmoil?  Some one like Michelangelo had his emotional junk too, but he was always gainfully employed and I bet that gave him more inspiration than his inner angst.

I mean, as a creative person, it always helps to get us moving in the productive direction when we have a direction to go in.  Song writers and singers don't just sing to themselves in the shower, they want people to hear them and it sure is nice to have some cash at the end of a gig to pay for gas, a meal and have a little left over for a bank account.  And with times being what they are, we are all feeling a little lean and motivated lately.

When my kids went to school, I had a dilemma   It was time to get a job!  And a full time job is not always readily available at this time in history.  So part time is helping out, but I also realized that a couple of part time jobs can be cobbled together to get closer to a full time job.  Not only that, this extra alone time is a great opportunity.  Needing to pay the bills just adds the fuel.

Pursuing a dream for the dream's sake could have been my motivation, but realistically, I know that I have put off the dream because I always had something else, like a payed by the hour job or children who need my attention.  I can truthfully say I have more responsibilities now and have to schedule my time more carefully than I did pre-kids, so I can't say I am doing this now because of the free time.  There is always stuff to fill the minutes with.  And I am finding I use my evenings more consistently than any other time.  Day time is for my jobs.  So, I want to add another job to my daily to do list.

That makes me feel overwhelmed!  But I keep going back to one thing... I want to have a career as an illustrator.  I want to make cool stuff AND get paid for it.  If I just wanted to make cool stuff, that could wait until I'm retired.  But right now I've got to plan for the expenses of life.  I'm doing illustration because I love it, but I'm going to be honest and say I'm making progress toward that dream because I want to make some money.

Oh no, that totally takes the innocent glow off of the dream.  Makes it sound seamy and greedy.  Yuck.
I love a song by a local singer named, Danny Flanigan, (check out his website by clicking on his name.) where he says, "Money gets me down.  Down because I need it.  What a stupid thing to need!"  I so agree with that and I'm not going to let the lack of money get me down, but I'm going to keep working with the hope of filling that need.

I would love to know how you feel about all of this having a job and needing money thing.  I bet it gets you out of bed in the morning!  Please leave a comment!  Thanks for stopping by!

Inspiration Killers

Inspiration is a slippery thing, like try to catch a fish with your bear hands.  One moment you think you've got hold of it, the next it vanishes.  This week has been hard on my inspiration.  Rather than talk about what did inspire me, I'm going to talk about some inspiration killers.

Bronchitis and a sinus infection ganged up on me last week and inspiration, fair weather friend that she is, curled up and hid.  When you're sick, the ideas that were so abundant and felt so urgent when you were healthy, are now worries that induce procrastination and anxiety, which just makes you more tired than you already are.  Creativity becomes work rather than joyful play.

Once the procrastination had set in for me, I started to get behind.  My daily goals became burdens because as I missed each one, my stress increased which invariably made me want to procrastinate even more, which then had a domino effect because I just continued to miss my self imposed deadlines.  Excuses followed:  "It's not like this blog is my job and my electricity is dependent upon it." and  "It wasn't my fault!  After all I'm sick!" The stress of worry became like fog in my head and inspiration was lost in the mist.

Being sick with a chest congesting illness along with drainage from sinuses can make for difficult sleep.  Not only that, the worries I was entertaining jumped around in my head like little devils and sleep was restless at best.  The lack of sleep made me cranky with my kids and the thought of even turning on the computer made me even more cranky!  I needed sleep, but sleep was slow to come.  And with each passing night, I just felt more and more like I was just functioning.  Inspiration and creativity don't visit in those type of circumstances.

I did manage to turn the computer on and check email.  And in the spaces when I was vegging out, I looked through the web for other artists and illustrators to look at their work.  Usually I find this to be a motivating activity.  Beauty often can help us to be more creative, but this time, with all the stress and worry I was already feeling, the beautiful work of others only made me feel more critical of my own.  I began to wonder if all of this effort to pursue the dream of becoming an illustrator is really just a pipe dream, a waste of time.  My own art work began to look unworthy and not very good at all.

So how do you and I overcome all of these negative, inspiration killing circumstances and feelings?

Perseverance.  I wrote recently about the book of James in the Bible and his reminder to Christians to see trials though the eyes of faith, knowing that when that faith is tested and we weather through the test, trusting humbly that God will be with us through it, we come out on the other side, stronger and more mature and wiser.  Those traits being worth the struggle.

Someone close to me said the only difference between a pipe dream and persevering, is the outcome.  The journey there is the same.  And the only way to know the end is to keep going.  So, how much do I want to see the ending?  I better get back to work and keep going, sometimes gritting my teeth through those uninspired moments.

Voices of Inspiration

As I am doing the work of art and crafting, I'm looking for inspiration, anything or anyone who can strengthen me and keep me motivated is part of the resources needed to be creative.

Last week I wrote about friends who encourage us in our creativity and who are open to sharing their creativity   Now I am thinking of mentors.

A mentor might be someone you know, but it also might be an author or artist or musician or some other form of creative person who inspires but whom you have not met in person.  I am so thankful there are generous people out there who are blogging or making videos or books or performing so that we can participate and also absorb and be inspired.

This week I felt inspired by Jeff Goins, a writer and blogger our of Tennessee who often talks about claiming your dream today rather than saying, "Some day I will be a ...."  He says his life changed when he started calling himself a writer rather than saying one day he would become a writer.

So I am calling myself an illustrator and writer.  I am not going to do it someday.  I am going it right now!  Maybe I'm not getting paid for it, but I don't get paid to be a mom and I am definitely a mom!!

Here is a link to Jeff's blog and a really cool interview about this topic.  So find someone you can emulate and draw inspiration from.  You don't have to know them, just watch them.  Then, start claiming your dream today!

Please leave a comment!  I'd love to know who inspires you in your dream.

The Inspiration of Friendship

Since I began this blog, I've intended to talk about what inspires me, hoping I can inspire someone else.  For years I have used the excuses of being too tired, too busy, too burned out.  Sometimes you need SOMEONE to help you get out of that creative funk.

It is amazing how much a friend can inspire your creativity.  Around this person, you flourish and mature, growing under the light of their energy and love.

I have several people in my life who actively encourage me in my endevours and creative pursuits.  One friend advises me on how to overcome discouragement.  Another has listened for years to my dreams - some just fancies - but has always gently encouraged with gentle interest.  One friend suggested very earnestly that I start this blog!  I am so glad I took her advice!  Still another dear friend brags about me to other people.  And my inspiring friends are all creative in their own right.

Not everyone is so steadfast.  Some people are negative or jealous. But over the years, I have found friends who strengthen me and pray for me and share their wisdom and experience.  Being in the presence of these friends has given me the courage to step out and reach out.  Creativity is difficult in a vacuum.  If you want to be creative, find creative people who will let their own joy pour out on to you.

I would love for you to leave a comment and tell me about the people in your life who have inspired and encouraged you!  After all, dear commentator, you have the power to inspire others too!

33 Ways To Stay Creative

I found this list on http://www.stumbleupon.com.  33 Ways To Stay Creative is a list of things, many of which I guess I am already doing but only started recently.  The more I admire other creatives, the more creative I feel, the more I produce and create.  This all moves me to be more confident and centered.  The more creative I become, the closer I draw to God, because, I need help to be creative.  All of my past attempts were so forced and focused on what I HAD to do.  Now, I just do it because it grows out of me and what God made me to be.  The older I get, the less I know.  So I ask for wisdom to know the way and for strength to make the journey.  We are made to be makers.  Created to create.  I like this list.  I may print it out and frame it so I can see it and listen to good advice.

Story Teller

I want to write a book.  It has been my dream since I was a child.  I remember writing stories for my friends and reading it to them.  I recall there being bathroom humor involved...  But there was something about having the undivided attention of another human being, listening to your words and enjoying your illustrations.

When I started reading books to my children, I would get a little frustrated because babies just don't have attention spans that satisfy an adult's expectation.  But I kept reading because, you know, education people all say, "Read to your kids every day!"  Okay, so I want to be a good mom, so I am going to read.  Then as my son got older, I saw in him a growing delight over the stories I was reading to him.  I read the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time when he was only about 4 and a half.  By the time we got to the 7th book in the series, he was really engaged with the story and he was disappointed that it was over.  This is why I say first time I read it!  My daughter, who is 22 months younger was not quite there yet, but during that second reading of the series, she was becoming interested and captivated with the adventures as well.

A cartoon of my daughter.
My children like to ask me to draw for them.
They will never know how much
they have helped me get past myself to
become a freer, more creative person.

My children are my inspiration.  Life can be so practical and covered over with the to do lists and the bills that have to be paid.  Dreams get walked on like they paper wrappers from a sandwich.  They may have given you the steam to drive you to this place in your life where you can pay the bills and do the list, but since they were forgotten, despised or abandoned they are little more than trash to be tossed.  My children have opened my eyes to the world all over again as if I get a restart.  Watching them reach out into life and discover what i have become so familiar with, those ordinary things have become new to me also.  I notice a sunrise, new leaves, the force of the wind, the way people interact with each other.

Children are expected to have dreams.  We ask "What are you going to be when you grow up?"  Why do we stop asking that question of ourselves?  Even if the thing we wanted to be when we were a child is not what we want now, we can still ask the question.  What do I want to be, now that I am grown up?  A good mom, a faithful wife, a true friend, a loving daughter, a persevering follower of Christ... the list can go on.  So now I am remembering old dreams.  I wanted to write and illustrate books.  Funny because I think I can actually do it now.  When I was fresh out of school, I had not experienced anything but teenage frustration, anxiety and lust.  Not to say that those experiences are not story worthy, but I see now that I needed distance and new eyes to be able to tell the story.

Since I have been drawing pictures again recently and posting them on Illustration Friday, I am grateful for the encouragement from the folks who have taken the time to leave comments.  I have also been reading about the publishing industry and about the craft of illustration and writing.  I know it is no easy thing to undertake to become an author, but is anything worth doing ever easy?  Having children and building a family has been the most difficult thing I have or ever will do.  If God gives me the wisdom and strength to do this, will he not also give me the strength and wisdom to stretch myself and use my talents?  I believe he will even if the road is difficult and even discouraging at times.

Perhaps there is something you are dreaming of, a career change, a new home, a new community, a deeper relationship with someone you love, even God.  What can you do today to set your feet on a path that will draw you nearer to your dreams?  I would love for you to leave a comment.  Your story may inspire and strengthen me.  It may inspire and strengthen someone else too.  Sharing your dream may even be that first step you need to take.