Category Archives: Art Habit

The Real Wordy Weekender: I *AM* Not a Brand

11 Replies

I am not a brand.

I am an artist.

I paint.  

I draw.

I write.

I bind books.

I’m passionate about the things that are important to me: equal rights for all, sometimes politics, love, fairness, people being treated properly, and the list goes on. I’m not afraid to voice those opinions. I’m usually pretty direct about this fact. I don’t often mince words. I don’t see the point. I also don’t see the point in letting stuff build up until I can no longer tolerate it. I used to do that a lot and it got me nowhere. I’ve found that while it’s difficult the best things I’ve done are those where I’ve been the most direct.

I am not a brand.

I am not interested in protecting my brand. I don’t even get what that means*. I’ve gotten where I am today by being me. I’m honest. I’ll give the shirt off my back to the people I like and if I am forced I’ll give the people I don’t like my socks. I’ll forgive most transgressions after some time has passed. I believe in honor and integrity. I’ll stand up for people even if I don’t like them.  I confront issues head on, once I’ve vented and figured out a way to word it properly.

I am not a brand.

I am an artist.

I don’t believe in art world competition. I think artists, by and large do best by working together in a collaborative manner. I learn from you and you learn from me. When I teach classes I expect those people to come out of that class, take the information and add themselves to it. I ask only that they not publish exact documentation of what is in the class- ie please don’t publish my PDF files or videos. The art made in the class is the possession of the artist. The knowledge they gain is a stepping stone into bigger and better things. 

As a teacher I expect that all my students eventually surpass my skill. I’m not arrogant enough to think I’m the end all with art journaling. In fact I think that there is plenty of room out there for all of us who teach art journaling. We all fill a different niche. I don’t do “pretty girls” with their head tilted at unnatural angles or lead workshops on The Artist’s Way. No there are other people out there who do it better. I’ve done my fair share to help promote other sites, here on my blog, through the art journaling ning, and within the pages of the zine Art Journaling it’s all good.  Why? Like I wrote above I believe strongly that we work better as a team and as a collective. What I won’t do is participate in some sort of internet pissing match over who is the best because we all fulfill specific roles in the community. We all have our own specific space.

I am not a brand.

I am an artist.

I got an email telling me that someone (and others) thinks I’m hurting my “brand” by being me. You see if you think that you don’t get it, or me. It did make me think, which is good. The conclusion that I came to is that I can’t be anyone but me, trying to be something else would lose the honesty and integrity I’ve built this blog around. I will continue to be me.

I am not a brand.

I am an artist.

I paint.  

I draw.

I write.

I bind books.

Continue reading →

Wordy Wednesday: Take Some Time for Family and Friends

Leave a reply

I had an IM conversation with a buddy today that entailed us talking about doing what we love. That’s a common occurrence here on CSS. I’m striving to do what I love, pushing hard to get there, and really looking for the finish line that will allow me to leave my corporate job. I have a great DayJob but every night I come home and think about stuff I COULD be doing instead of the DayJob. I think things like “If only I had more time, I’d get that class finished. “or “If I didn’t have to be at work today I could finish that painting.” These are both valid concerns and worries. If I was able to hack at it 40 hours a week instead of 10, I’d be a lot further along in my book than 10,000 words. I’ve be able to commit to 2000 words a day instead of 500. I’d also be able to spend a lot more time painting, more time working on class materials and frankly those silly mistakes I make would stop, because I could focus on my goals, instead of splitting my time, mind and energy.

I have a goal in mind, a deadline to strive for, sabbatical in June or July and right now; I’m sorely in need of the time off to work on my art, to write and to rejuvenate myself.  

But also there is that need for pacing.

I took a month and a half off from my UStream show. I was getting stressed out and not enjoying it. Part of one of the “rules” that I’ve set for myself with this exploration of striving for my goals is that I won’t do anything that I don’t enjoy. Hedonistic, maybe, but also realistic. I won’t do anything for long that I don’t like. I’m back to doing the show, for now, but if I don’t like doing the show I won’t hesitate to cancel it. Frankly life is too short to do things you hate. I’ve spent the last 7 years doing things for other people, some of which I didn’t like at all. The change in direction toward doing what I love and pursuing my passion is supposed to be about enjoying life, not pushing myself into a new form of drudgery.

I realized this past week that part of pacing is spending more time with my family and really enjoying that time. Not being there in spirit and having my mind be elsewhere. Without my family I would not be able to push toward my goals. One can’t go for their dreams without the support and presence of their friends and family. Without Christie on my sideline cheering me on I’d probably still be wondering what I should do with myself.

This past week where Christie has been off of work and I’ve been pacing myself with the DreamJob has been amazing. There are always going to be ups and downs in a relationship but last week was amazing. There are things in life we need to stop and enjoy, family and friends are one of those things. I’ve been so busy pushing for the end result and being a work-a-holic that I’ve let myself loose contact with people that I am starting to really miss. I’m hoping to fix that over the next few months. I guess last week made me realize that HOME means as much as the DreamJob and way more than the Dayjob.

 

 

Art Habit part 1

8 Replies

I’m making a commitment to write more. Partially so my writing gets better but also because I’m working on a book. I’ve mentioned Art Habit once or twice before but this is my first public commitment to making it work. InkyGirl.com has 3 challenges on her blog, one of them is a challenge to write 500 words a day. When I’m focused on writing I can easily churn out 1500 words in an evening. When I’m not focused I write nothing. Goal setting is supposed to be good for success so I’m setting a 500 words  a day goal. Will I keep it? Who knows. I hope so. I suspect it’ll be an easy goal as 500 words is just a few paragraphs and about a decent blog post.

I can never keep to NaNoWriMo as it’s the busiest month of the year in my retail job. I’ve signed up nearly every year and failed every year. This year was no exception. I started and I’ve got about 10 to 15,000 words of Art Habit written. I’ve got another 10,000 or so stewing in my head and in various manners in various journals and I’ve given myself a commitment that in 2011 I WILL finish Art Habit. It WILL go into publication in 2012. That is my commitment to myself. This is something I’ve been working on for years, it’s been stewing in the back of my mind since 1998. Every year I’ve given up on it, put it further and further to the back of my mind and told myself that it can’t, won’t, and shouldn’t happen.

This is the effing year I MAKE it happen. This is the year I’m taking a sabbatical from my DayJob, working on an art show, a book, my blog and all the stuff that is important to me.

So let me tell you a little bit about Art Habit. It’s about making and keeping an Art Habit, how I’ve managed the screw up my Art Habit over the years, how I’ve shot myself in the foot, repeatedly year after year, and how I finally found my niche, my place and the ability to keep my Art Habit alive and strong. It’s my story, with some questions in there for the journaler and artist. It’s an exploration and I’m inviting you along to see what has worked and what hasn’t worked. It’s poignant and heartfelt. I’m going to let it all hang out and see what happens. Honesty is good. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the story.

I plan on sharing excerpts as I write here on my blog, I invite you to share with me, in the comments, your thoughts, feelings and stories. I invite you to share with your friends my words via your blog. I want you to muse on my writing in your journal. This is a personal journey I’m sharing but I’m inviting you along.

I can tell 2011 is going to be a spectacular year.

Continue reading →