Being who we are meant to be means embracing a title

I think as artists we are blessed with this unsatisfiable need to create beautiful things from simple supplies. Just some blobs of paint and a piece of paper, maybe just a pencil and a napkin. I can't tell you how many times I have grabbed a napkin to do a quick sketch of something that had to be captured at that moment. We often are not understood and thus the crazy artist stigma.

This crazy behavior reminds me of the time a group of us artists were having dinner at a little restaurant in San Clemente. We had all ordered our meals and we were having a glass of wine and laughing when the sun came into the restaurant through a small window during sunset and lit up a shelf full of colored jars. As if we had choreographed it, we all jumped up at the same moment and ran to the shelf to start taking photos, trying to capture the moment, the light.  Well you can only imagine how we scared everyone in the restaurant including the chef and owner as they watched us all jump out of our chairs without a word and stood in a doorway taking tons of pictures. Within minutes the sun was gone and regained our composure and looked around to see everyone staring at us and we couldn't help but laugh. They had no idea what drove us to do that, they didn't understand that need to capture a moment. They were clueless and so we did look like a bunch of crazy people. I have so many of those crazy "artist" moments when I just have to pull over and take in the scene or capture a moment.

 I know that many of you, my artist friends, find it uncomfortable to call yourself an artist. That you can't even say the word, let alone feel like one. But why my friend?

Do you have that desire to create? Do you love to experiment and play with different types of supplies. Do you see a painting in every sunset and sunrise, in every tree, driving down the street or just sitting in a restaurant? Does it feel like you have all these projects or paintings inside of you and you don't have enough time to do it all?

Now ask yourself do you feel inadequate, untalented and not worthy of the title "Artist". Do you think people will judge you and you are not good enough? Well then congratulations, POOF, you are an Artist! You need to sign all your work and appreciate your talent now and use it more often. One of the biggest artist stumbling blocks is not practicing your talent! Go forth my artists friends and create! If you haven't viewed the little video on the right side of my blog you should take a few minutes to do so, it is well worth it!

Wasted time-getting my mojo back

Since returning from market I have been busy with things but nothing constructive or creative. The paperwork part of business is always a creative killer for me! By nature I am a procrastinator so making list with deadlines is important for me to stay focused and get things done. So the combination of paperwork, housework, the let down after market makes it hard for me to get my momentum back. I find that I know I need to get started but just can't seem to talk myself into action these days. I find other things to waste my time and flit from one to the other without really accomplishing anything. Then if I happen to start a game on an electronic device, forget it, I can loose precious time without noticing. Then there are the excuses of why I can't get to things, always playing in my head, reassuring myself that the reasons are valid and some are but......

It's time to get busy and grab those moments and make each one count! I found that by making a weekly list and revising it each Monday morning was perfect for me. It listed all the things I wanted to do that week with deadlines dates for each. As I finished a project they came off my list and new ones were added. By keeping a list I was able to see my accomplishments and where I needed to work harder. It also made sure that things got finished on time but sadly made me have to let other things go so I could reach my goal. I used to think I could do it all but maybe I can't!? Anyway, by sharing this with you I hope that you can relate a bit and hold me accountable. Do any of you face these issues, the ups and downs of consistently being creative and productive? What things do you use to procrastinate and how do you avoid them? What helps you get your muse back? 

I took a walk which always inspires me, love theses wild thistles!

Lets have a Thumbtack Thursday where we pin up something we got down creatively that week! My creative business thing is adding product to my new website so it can finally launch! Then on a purely creative level I am making a block for a comfort quilt for someone who's sick and I designed a pattern for my new fabric line, what are you guys doing this week!? INSPIRE ME!