Hello Everyone,

It's been awhile since I've had time to blog. So much to do... so little time!

I recently received this article from Alyson Stanfield at http://www.artbizcoach.com.

It has a slight Halloween theme, but hey, I'm only a few days late! Since Thanksgiving is coming soon, now would be a great time to write thank you notes!

Trick and Treat Yourself

Chrysti Hydeck, The Stirring of Birds. Photograph and mixed-media painting. ©The Artist http://chrysti.wordpress.com/

What chores, tasks, or jobs do you find yourself delaying or ignoring altogether? What do you dread so much that you neglect? Sadly, it’s often the stuff you really need to do--the things you can’t afford to ignore. See if you’re overlooking any of these.

• Making follow-up calls

• Writing thank-you notes

• Updating your mailing list

• Overhauling your inventory

• Cleaning your studio or office

• Balancing your books

• Researching your next series

• Making art (It happens!)

If you’ve been procrastinating something, identify it. Don’t be afraid! Just name it. After you’ve confessed, you can trick yourself into completing it and getting it off your mind. Of course, your tricks can be followed by treats. Here are some tricks that have worked for me.

TRICK - - - > Adjust your perspective.
Starting a task you don’t enjoy with a bad attitude won’t help anything. Instead, look at it differently. If you don’t like packing artwork to ship to new owners, don’t think about it as packing artwork. Think of it with a $ in front of it. “Yea! I’m shipping out a $500 sale!” is a better approach than “I really don’t want to go to the store to get more bubble wrap.”

►Treat: Download some happy tunes to match your new ‘tude.

TRICK - - - > Take baby steps.
“Clean out my office by Thanksgiving” sounds overwhelming. Instead, focus on the smallest action. Recycle or throw away 5 things each day, organize a single drawer, or buy new files.

►Treat: Pick up a new organizing component at the thrift store--maybe a filing cabinet or shelf.

TRICK - - - > Block out time on your calendar.
Having a vague idea that you need to get something done is one thing. Creating time and space for it is quite different. When you see the time scheduled on your calendar, remember that it’s a commitment you made to yourself. Don’t change it just because you’d rather be doing something else.

►Treat: “Me Time.” Your gift for honoring the commitment you made to your professional life is time for your personal well-being. Block out more time on your calendar for a hike, a manicure, or a long hot bath.

TRICK - - - > Set your timer.
If you promise to do something for 15 or 30 minutes, you can make a game of it. It’s amazing how hard you will work to beat the clock before time runs out. It also creates a certain amount of momentum, so allow yourself the flexibility to keep going after the timer buzzes.

►Treat: Chocolate, of course. Or maybe a small new art supply.

TRICK - - - > Get out.
Sometimes it just takes fresh scenery to be inspired. Plop down at a coffee shop to write your thank-you notes. Visit the library to research your next series instead of staying at your computer. Go to any other room in the house to journal in preparation for your artist statement.

►Treat: None. Getting out is a treat in itself!

FINAL WORD: Remember that for every trick you use to complete a project, a treat is waiting for you.

© 2009 Alyson B. Stanfield

Teach A Class!

It's getting to be late summer and everyone has been very busy, including me! As we know there are only so many hours in a day, and oh so many things to do. Sometimes we need a little extra incentive to work on our art projects. So... why not sign up to TEACH a class? One of my top career goals is to teach classes and workshops, besides growing as an artist in jewelry making and watercolor. What better way to make sure things get done than having to be prepared to teach someone else?

Teaching others a new art skill can be a very rewarding experience. Seeing someone learn something new to enrich their quality of life is a reward in itself. It's a good way to get into contact with people, which can be difficult when you are an artist working at home.

Are you skilled enough to teach a class? Start with beginners, who don't know anything about the art skill. You are already a step ahead of them. Teach senior citizens. They would love to learn something different and to get out and socialize with other people. Like self-employed artists, seniors can often be isolated, as well.

So I encourage you this fall to get involved in your community and teach an art class!

Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others. - Confucius

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

It seems I see these words EVERYWHERE these days. From art blogs, to art books, to motivational articles and beyond. It seems I am finally getting the message. Even “naturals” had to practice to learn their craft. Sadly, the most recent example of this was Michael Jackson. No one disputes how gifted and talented a musician and dancer he was. But one of the things I kept hearing over and over again is how much he practiced and rehearsed, first as part of the Jackson 5 and then as a solo artist. They say he could spend an entire day practicing and perfecting one dance move. That is dedication and that is discipline. He WORKED to make his dreams reality. He didn’t get on stage, sing and then go sit on his couch until the next show. Why should we be any different?

For me, fear of doing a mediocre or bad piece stops me from getting around to doing a good piece. That’s ridiculous. Every famous artist has done some not so great pieces in his career. We just don’t see them. You have to create some so-so ones to get the gems in between. In beaded jewelry, it’s easy enough to pull something apart if you don’t like it, but in painting, its on a piece of paper. Either you wash it off or throw it out if you fail. That’s a scary thought. No one wants to take a piece of their art that they have invested their time and heart into and toss it into the trash can. Just because we have physical evidence of our failures during practice, whereas a singer or dancer does not, this should not stop us from creating. Your thoughts???

"I found that the men and women who 
got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they 
had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work." -Harry S. Truman

Do a little more each day than you think you can. -Lowell Thomas

Caribbean Blues & Floral Magentas

Mimi Frawley of A Thousand Dreams Designs, recently emailed me 2 of her beautiful Nature inspired jewelry projects.

The top picture is her summer free-form peyote bracelet in progress, one of a limited edition of four pieces. She was inspired by this beautiful photo of Dianthus flowers.

Mimi said the Caribbean Bay Blues Charm Bracelet was inspired by the gorgeous blues of a Carribean Bay in the US Virgin Island of St. John. The bracelet is all hand done, including the shell and starfish charms of precious metal clay fired to fine silver (.999 silver) and also includes charms of freshwater coin pearls, Amazonite gem stones, and 6mm swarovski crystals in the color Caribbean Blue Opal.

Notice in the photo of the water, that there is color palette across the top. This is the Color Schemer tool Mimi mentioned in her informative two part blog on color on the ETSY Wisconsin Street "Moo Crew" blog. If you have a MAC you can download this tool for a free 15 day trial, but after that it costs $49.99. You can insert your picture and the program automatically creates a palette from the colors in the picture. The circles (see photo) can be moved around, so you can adjust the palette until you're happy with it. I absolutely LOVE this tool, as I can use it for both my jewelry making and my watercolor painting. So far, I have only spent about 1 hour trying it out, and I am looking forward to seeing what else it can do.

For Windows users, they have a free Color Schemer Color Pix download, but that only picks colors one at a time.

Thanks Mimi, for sharing your stunning Nature-inspired jewelry pieces with us!

(I apologize for the goofy layout of this entry. These Blogspot pre-made templates apparently have a mind of their own.)

www - wonderful watercolor workshop!

Wonderful!  That’s the best word to describe my experience last week as I attended a 5 day watercolor painting workshop taught by Judy Morris.  She is a master of using textures and other design methods such as stenciling, lettering, and stamping in her watercolor painting.  (See her Tratorria painting on her home page for an example. Since my husband and I are wine fanatics and love to go out to eat when we can afford it, I just HAD to buy a giclee reproduction of this painting.)  The event was held in conjunction with the annual juried show of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America.

I had a fantastic time!  The camaraderie with other artists was great, the teaching was superb, and the organization of the workshop itself outstanding.   If you have a chance in whatever media you work in, to get away for a workshop, DO IT! 

There’s nothing better to inspire your creativity and give you new energy than getting away from real life and relaxing for a while.  It’s also inspiring hanging around in the company of other artists.  I was having dinner with 2 of the ladies in a quaint little coffeeshop/restaurant and they stood up and started taking pictures of all the stuff hanging on the walls.  A majority of people wouldn’t even notice these items, but they were seeing all of its art and design and getting inspiration to paint from it! 

If you can’t get away to a workshop, think about joining your local arts organization. You get the benefit of the camaraderie with other artists without the expense of travel and lodging. It can also open you up to other types of art, networking, and show opportunities. And quite frankly, with the current tough economic times, these organizations could really use your help.

Now I must come back down to earth and get busy on a commissioned jewelry piece, which will transform an heirloom wedding ring into a pendant to honor the ring owner’s grandparents.  I’m really getting to like doing these heirloom pieces.

Don’t forget, if you have any recent nature inspired art to email to me for use on my blog, here’s your chance to get some free publicity! (lwjlynn@frontiernet.net)

Creativity

Yesterday the temperatures were in the 80's and the leaves are almost fully out on the trees.  Now is the time to get out there and get inspired to create art! No matter what art media you are involved in (I suspect most of you are jewelry makers), inspiration can be found anywhere. Nature is probably THE best inspiration for art.  Look for the following:  colors and color harmonies; textures and patterns, especially in foliage; repetition of color & texture in a scene.  Take a trip to a botanical garden and take pictures of pleasing color combinations amongst the flowers.  Reading books on landscape design are very helpful in learning these principles of art and design.

Email me (lwjlynn@frontiernet.net) a digital .jpg photo of a Nature inspired art piece you have recently created  and I will try to post them throughout the summer on my blog. Please tell a short story of what in Nature inspired you to create your art.

ANOTHER GOOD PROCRASTINATION QUOTE:

Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow." James Michener

This is SOOOO true and fits in well with the comments below. I think I'm going to make a little sign of this one to hang on my computer.

Anybody else want to pick a quote from the post below and tell us how you can use it to increase your productivity?