Wordy Wednesday: Take Some Time for Family and Friends

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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.

 

 

Technique Tuesday: Poster Marker

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This image is a little different from the stuff you usually see me post. It's a fat load of writing. The paper is 140# Strathmore cold pressed watercolor paper. It's got a nice texture, handles a variety of media well, and survives abuse. It's also thick enough that alcohol inks don't soak through too easily. IN this case I've covered the ENTIRE left hand page with one of those fat red marks-a-lot poster markers with a inch wide nib. The page smelled incredibly bad for days. I don't recomend this treatment if you don't like the small of sharpies.

After that I used a variety of pens to write on the surface. I also applied watercolors over the top. On the right hand page I wrote the word red with the poster marker and then used rubbing alcohol to blend the edges. After that I added yellow watercolor and then wrote.

These are simple pages but were fun and effective.

image from www.flickr.com

Interested in a Guest Review or Technique Tuesday Spot?

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Are you interested in doing a guest blog post for Technique Tuesday or a Thursday Review? Hit me up with an email (leslie.herger@gmail.com) pitching your post and I’ll get back to you ASAP letting you know if I think it’ll fit. (Hint keep it AJ related and avoid pink…) My goal is to have one guest Technique Tuesday post per month and maybe the same with the reviews. For reviews I’d love to have someone who has a book I haven’t read or a product I don’t use review it for the blog. Again send me an email and I’ll get back to you.

UStream Monday: Midori Traveler Knock-off Supply List

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I’ll be streaming this live on my Ustream channel Monday 1/10/11 at 6pm EST.

If you want to follow along here are the materials:

  • A 9x12inch piece of 4 ounce or heavier leather.  Don’t get upholstery leather unless you want to back it.
  • Ruler
  • Hole Punch or Awl
  • Exacto or Click Knife
  • Hammer
  • Eyelets and setting tool (not absolutely necessary
  • Thin elastic cord- 2 pieces one 33 inches and one 12 inches
  • Sharpie for marking where to cut.

You’ll need to cut a 9×12 inch piece of leather. If you have a leather shop in your area most likely they can cut a chunk for you. You can also look for heavier leather on eBay. I’ve seen a few sellers on there selling exactly the kind of leather you’ll need for this. Try looking for latigo leather or Leather 4 oz. You’ll find something. You can also contact a shop and see if they will cut a piece to size for you.

Find the center of each long side. We’ll be punching a hole at the top and bottom of the piece as well as a hole in the very middle of the leather. Then 2 more holes 1/8th of an inch from the first hole. Then one to lace through.  This will make sense in the video.

After that we’ll use a few eyelets to support the holes and then thread the cord through the holes.

The 9×12 size is perfect for a moleskine cahier in the 6×9 size or my handmade jotters. I’ve also successfully carried the manuscript for my book stapled in a corner, folded in half then threaded under the elastic. Protects and holds it all together. It holds 3 elastics to hold notebooks.

Now keep in mind I’ve never seen a midori traveler in person, this is my version of their product from looking at online images. I use it primarily to hold all the handwritten notes in the various notebooks together in one place as well as my planner. I don’t know how their threading works.

Some ideas to add to this: if one wanted a stiffer back cover, a pocket could be sewn in and a piece of stiff card stuck in it. Backing the leather could add to the stiffness. I like the raw leather I’ve used as I can run acrylic paint into it to get a nice color change. The size of this can be adapted to ANY size notebook. Want one for a pocket sized? Measure the cover size, double then add an inch and a half  to get the long side. For the short side add a half inch. (3×5 would get a 5.5×7.5 cover piece)

Anyway tune into the show tomorrow night, or if you can’t make it watch the video!

See the video here:

 

Weekend Wordy: an end

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Funerals are not easy for anyone involved; family, friends and acquaintances are all grieving in their own manner. I’ve decided that when I go I want to be cremated with a small ceremony for my family and friends. It would be against everything I believe (or don’t) in to have a pastor, reverend or rabbi saying a prayer over my body. I’d like my family and friends to get together in one of my favorite places and have few drinks and tell stories, maybe cry a bit. Then I’d like my family to scatter my ashes over a few of my other favorite places. The headstone can rest at the family farm at the cemetery on the hill.

Going to a funeral should rightly make you realize your own mortality and consider, carefully, how you are leading your own life. On the ride home Christie and I discussed our options. Things straight people take for granted we have to weigh and get a lawyer involved so that our opinions are made clear, legally, for anyone who may question them. Massachusetts has, for now, gay marriage but we have not yet married and should that law fall to the religious right wing we’ll still need to be sure our will and wishes are in order. The prospects of not having all this in order are frightening and clear. I’d have to fight to keep my house, fight to keep our assets and in general do a lot of junk that most people take for granted.

So while my heart is heavy for my friend and her family my mind is racing considering the aspects of what we need to do in case something tragic happens to us. I hope to not have another dear friend cry in my arms and sob the words “I just don’t know what I’m going to do without him/her.”  

Flickr Friday: Eveline Says Daily Don’t Work

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Eveline Says Daily Don't Work
Originally uploaded by Blade21292

 

Jonathan, better known as the artistic biker is doing a daily drawing challenge, he's loading up the pictures daily. You can sign up to get them emailed to you. Read what he has to say here:

My friend Eveline (http://eveline-timeless.blogspot.com/) recently posted the "Daily don't work" for her. Meaning that she does better when she can commit to something at her own pace. I can respect that. However, I'm still going to challenge her, and everyone else to commit to 10 minutes a day doing something creative. For me, I want to improve my drawing skills. I've already started doing 10 Minute Daily Nude Figure Drawings. I won't kick myself if I miss a day, but of course the intent is to do it EVERY DAY.
A daily drawing habit was the very best thing I ever did for myself artwise. It helped me see shapes rather than objects. It help me train my hand to work with my eyes. It challenged me to get creative with the composition to keep it interesting. But, most importantly, it forced me to do something creative EVERY DAY!

So. That's something I would like to give back to you folks. I will be taking pictures of simple objects that you might find anywhere. I will post them here in color and grey-scale for you to use as a reference. They are Creative Commons license, or at least they will be, so use 'em for anything that you aren't selling. If you want to use them in something you're going to sell, please e-mail me to discuss it.
If you would like to share your daily practice, I've created an "invitation only" group over on The Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/groups/artisticbikerchallenge/). If you would like to join the group, all you need do is ask. I just didn't want the ENTIRE flickr community commenting on our posts.

If you would like to have the challenge photos and their responses e-mailed to you, sign up for The Newsletter.

Out of Range

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Sorry for the lack of updates this week. My head has been other places and I could have sworn that some of the updates that I've scheduled for NEXT week were in fact scheduled for this week. Sigh.Additionally I'm very lucky in that Christie has had this week off from school and work. We've been relishing the unusual time together and really enjoying just relaxing after I get home from work. Tonight I was greeted with a nice bottle of red wine and homemade Italian meatballs with sauce made using her Grandmother's recipe. Yum. Right about now I'm read for sleep.

Product reviews start next Thursday and Flickr Finds start Friday. The rest of the week is up in the air in terms of plans. I think that I'll start Technique Tuesday up again. Then I'll try and get the wordy stuff to Wednesday and the weekends. Then If I feel like posting within the week I can continue to do so.

Starting this coming Monday, Jan 10th I'll start up my UStream show again. I'll be working on the Midori Traveler notebook cover knock off. I'll post a supplies list sometime soon.

Updates this weekend might be spotty as it's Christie's last before she heads back to school and I really want to enjoy this time before we're knee deep in stress again. Seriously, this week has been amazing.

Hard Honest Words and a lot of them

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After my post about self doubt I sat down with my notebook and pen and wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote hard honest words and it felt good. Today, I did the same I sat and I wrote more difficult honest words. Reading the false prophet garbage that guy was spewing made me realize I want to take this book to a different place, I want it to have more meaning than “Buy my book and you too can make art full time!” or “Buy my book and make my style of art journal.” That’s not what this is about. It’s about my pitfalls, the dumb shit I’ve done, the dark stuff as well as the bright sunshine of what is good.

The last 2 installments I’ve written, close to another 5000 words, have been about forgiveness and how I’ve given myself permission to forgive and love. It’s funny, some of us walk through life and that’s normal behavior for others of us (me included) we have to learn that forgiveness and love are real and powerful things, they aren’t tools. Well, they are but not in the way I once thought.

As I write this stuff I feel like I’m making it more real, in my head it’s been floating mumbo jumbo, a sort of loose collection of thoughts and beliefs. Things I’ve written about in my journals and felt too self conscious to share. Now I’m writing it down, still self conscious, but I think I’m sharing this more for me than for the potential readers. Writing this has been as healing as it was when I first had the half baked thoughts way back when. I’m sure not all of my thoughts are new, but they are about as real as it gets. My words are honest and raw. Some of it is hard to put to paper, and will be hard to transcribe to the computer. I’m dedicated to it.