Artistic Medium - Top 10 Rules

I struggle sometimes with focusing myself on an artistic medium when I have an idea for a project in my head. Will I get my message across better in a beaded piece of jewelry, a photograph, a drawing, etc....?? Being a project manager by day, I make lists and think about steps that will help me move a project along. The same can go for when I am creating.

Top 10 items to consider with figuring out your medium:

• What medium "speaks" to you at the time and for the message you want to convey?
  
• What is your mood at the time? Do you need something that you get your hands dirty to help you enter the artistic creative state?
  
• Do you want to enjoy the process as much as the outcome? Some mediums are "quicker" for an outcome than others.
• Is the artwork for you or someone else? When it boils down to creating art, it is mostly for the artist, but are you choosing to give as a gift or such?
• Is there a type of medium that gets your creative juices flowing more than others?
  
• Do you want to try something new? Are you willing to learn something new?
  
• Is cost a factor? You don't want to squelch your creativity with trying to create a piece of artwork with wanting to do it in a medium that you can't afford to do it in.
  
• Durability - that may sound weird, but do you want the piece of artwork to be touched, handled, worn?
  
• Have you considered your audience? If you are creating something for a child for instance, you may create in a different medium than you would for an adult.
  
• When you think about creating, what do you think of using as your medium? This is pretty simplistic, but I know when I think about creating art, I have visualize myself doing it.
  

Now go forth and create!

Realization in Life

I have come to realize that the 2 floods Lynn and I experienced one year apart from one another is still affecting me. Labor Day this year was the 3 year anniversary of the first flood. Just like any disaster, natural or otherwise, it is hard for those outside of the event to fathom the long reaching impacts. Post traumatic stress is real - I know.

I think back to that day 3 years ago and even though a lot has occurred since then, my life kind of stopped. It is hard for me to describe what I mean, but it really sums up to the PTS. Before the first flood, I was very involved in my community and church, and that day - it all stopped.

It is hard to write about, but I think it is important to get it out there for healing reasons. It has taken me 3 yrs to do so, but I feel it is time. Moving on is hard, and it really has been slow deliberate baby steps for me. I want those steps to change to strides. So, I am forcing myself to read more on topics that I think will help. And, the next step is involvement. I think it does not help I work from home. Once I get nested in my office for the day, it is hard to leave. That step needs to be taken. I miss volunteering - I miss meeting new people.

Steps into strides...

Where Am I?

I recognized today that during the last month or so, I have been so preoccupied with work project matters, that I have not taken care of my creative and spiritual side. I have kind of broken a vow to myself to be cognizant of when that happens because I was so engrossed with work matters, it was hard to think of anything else. Thankfully, today I had a chance to just "be still" and think. I relish that I was actually able to do that and recognize that work has been overwhelming things lately.

I have a full week off on vacation this week. I am hoping to regain some of the momentum I have lost on beadwork, cooking, writing, and doing other creative endeavors. I also hope to get over to the Zen Buddhist center just right outside of my town. I have been wanting to visit there for quite while now, and I have not taken that step. Just like anything new, it takes me a while to get up the nerve to try it, but I know it will be worth the trip. And, it might open up some new doors for me.

Happiness

A quote I stumbled on today:
"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." ~Unkown

I have to say, I agree with this for the most part. I think in an a relatively stable existence, with no major life altering situations, this does apply. Thankfully, I am at that point in my life. I feel I can deal pretty well with most of the stuff that is thrown at me. The being happy with where I am at is the part that has to consciously be worked on on a daily basis. I grew up in a household that wasn't necessarily conducive to cultivating personal happiness. The old term "walking on eggshells" really did apply. Now I realize that. It is amazing what maturity can do for someone. I don't look at stuff the same way I did in the past. I can alter my perception and move on the mundane influences.

This is a good thing to remember when being creative. Alter your perception, be happy with where you are at, and don't let the mundane drag down the creative process. Do I beat myself up mentally when I am not being prolific with my creative ventures? Yes. Do I need to or should I? No. It is a matter of moving beyond.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

I know I have written about this before, but I struggle with other people's bad behavior. I think that most bad behavior stems from control issues. I try to be cognizant of my actions around children especially. I don't understand how a parent can have numerous bad habits or addictions and not see how that may affect their children sometimes both physically and mentally.

I grew up in a household of parental mind games and bad habits. I know for a fact it had an influence me. That is why I think I may write behaviors often because I am hypersensitive to certain behaviors. Both my parents had good qualities like the love of creativity, trying different things in life, lapidary, boating, and rockhounding, but also the shadow side. It was not always peaches and cream growing up. Infidelity, divorce, passive-aggressive mind games also were in the picture. And the "wonderful" Catholic guilt mentality. I have to constantly be cognizant of the passive-aggressive and guilt stuff myself. As I get older, I am even more conscious of it and I work to not do those bad habits myself. So, that is why it tends to come up as a topic sometimes. I think writing about it gets it out there where it is not hiding from reality.

Reality is that yes, bad habits and behaviors are the part of everyone's upbringing, but we have to look at what is the lesson. I learned the behaviors I did not want to follow in my adult life. And, I find myself pondering why people fall into certain habits. Especially those that are hurtful to others or counter-productive in life. To me, that is one of the mysteries of behaviors in the human race.

The draw of beadwork

My drafting table in my office is now cleared off well enough that I can actually do some projects. I made it level, so I am able to do beaded jewelry. I had forgotten how much I enjoy making my own necklaces and bracelets that express my own taste.

And, its different now with making jewelry, when I first started doing bead-work I had very poor supplies. Over the years, my inventory has grown exponentially, and I now have the proper findings and tools to create some quite lovely pieces. I am proud to wear what I have created. I think it helps me express my individuality, which sometimes I feel like I have lost in some circles.

I am glad I found some of myself again.

What to say when someone tells you they are dying?

I have had people say shocking things to me before regarding health, but I have never experienced the type of situation I did today. In my day job, I am a project manager for a major wireless telecommunications call, and I joined a weekly conference call held on Thursday's about a pretty mundane topic. The call leader kicked off the meeting with sadly informing us that her cancer has come back and it is now in her lungs and liver. She stated that even though she was taking rounds of chemo, the prognosis was not very good and her doctor told her to get her affairs in order. Then explained that one of her co-workers would be taking over the series going forward, and then proceeded through with her normal action item updates on the call.

What can I say to a virtual stranger that I have never met in person in a situation where it is a very personal tragic situation being shared in a public work forum? I was speechless and shocked. I mean, what could I even say on the call that would have come across as heartfelt and compassionate as I wanted it to be? I am still at a loss for words. I am in at awe of people being able to share such personal situations with others. I don't know if I could do that with co-workers, but I think it depends on the person and the immediate situation. My co-worker needed to express this to us, and I commend her for her courage to share it. I try to look at situations on what is the lesson I should learn from them, and I don't know if in this situation that has more of a lesson for me than "just being there" on that call at that time. I just don't know...

Clear the Space, Clear the Mind

I must admit, I have been overwhelmed with the thought of cleaning my garage. Over the winter "stuff" just accumulated in my workshop / studio space in my 2 car garage. It is FINALLY cleaned out. It took a good mental nudge to get it going. When I first started the endeavor, it took me a while to snap out of just staring at the mess.

But, I did eventually get going on it, and now I have my primary creative space back. I feel a great weight has lifted from me. I think a lot of people run into this, we just get so overwhelmed with the material junk and stuff in our lives, it takes away from us focusing on other things. It is good that that is now addressed, and I can start working on some gourd carving this coming weekend.

The next step for me is to clean my home-office. That will be a significant task, but I know that it will make me even feel more centered.

What I learned

I found out recently that my high school art teacher is retiring this year. I want to make a consorted effort to go visit her before the school year ends, and I hope I will be able to do that.

She was a very special person, one of those teachers that truly cared about her students and tried to inspire them to have faith in their own creativity. I thank her for that. She was the one person in my teenage years that told me I was "good enough" to pursue art and creativity in whatever form suited me.

I believe all of us have the potential to be a mentor to someone. To inspire another individual with believing in themselves. All of us have worth and all of us have a place in this world. While you may not completely understand someones chosen path or lifestyle, it is a part of them, not the whole package. I think it is our job as reasonable and responsible adults to see past the cover story and help others.

So how do you inspire? It does not need to be a grand gesture, it can be as simple as living consciously with a soul of a citizen. It may be where you are consistent with your pursuit of an interest, and becoming an expert on it. Or, it could be where you just listen to someone, and support them with their decisions at the time. Its our job to be open to the possibilities that we may have impact with our actions and words.

Life Lesson:
"Value those that have come into your life as a mentor or teacher. These individuals are wise and can help you see beyond your current viewpoint, and help you believe in your true potential."

There You Are

I have been thinking a lot about the saying, "No matter where you go, there you are" lately. I know several people that all they have to say about anything is negative, and they think that they will be happier if the "just" did this or that, whether it is their pining to move from where they currently live or changing jobs. I used to have that same perspective, but that changed.

What changed my perspective is experiencing two major floods that were less than one year apart. With experiencing such life altering events can either change your outlook on life or it can break you. I chose take the more positive route. I have extreme gratitude life and appreciate where I am at at this moment. Yes, I want to grow further personally, but I am not disappointed or critical of where I am now.

I feel at peace with my where I am right now, but it took a long way to get here. I don't want to go back to how I looked at the world before, because I personally found it to cause needless tension.

W.I.I.F.M.

In my day job, I am a project manager for a major wireless telecommunications company, and one of the terms that we use in the corporate world is W.I.I.F.M. (What's In It For Me). Business wise, it is a very, very useful concept to always have in mind because it keeps you grounded in always considering the benefit of the end result with how it affects your internal and external customers.

In "real life" W.I.I.F.M. can be good, and it can be bad.

Good W.I.I.F.M.: The good can be very good such as personal gratification of a job well done on a piece of artwork, or seeing the personal benefit of what you are doing and how it affects others. Let's face it, as artists, we would not create unless we saw a benefit.

Bad W.I.I.F.M.: This type is where you are always looking out for "# 1" and not considering how your decisions or actions can have negative impacts on other people. Narcissism is main flavor of bad W.I.I.F.M. The problem with the "bad" is that usually the person that has this perspective does not understand this or does not "want" to take a step back to understand the negative impacts. It is a sad case in this instance.

I personally strive to embrace good W.I.I.F.M. because I want what I create and do to have a positive impact. Life is way to complex and short to not consider the good.

Chaos and Drama

In this 35th year of my life, I have come to realize that I have so much more to learn about human beings and human nature. I have this one nagging topic that rears it's head that is related to how people treat others. I KNOW I can not change anyone's actions or thoughts, even if I see them as hurtful and just plain wrong (in my opinion), but I wish I could.

I know for my own sanity, I need to step away from the situation that is causing frustration, and just let it take its own course since it does not have to do with my immediate family. The problem is, I hate seeing well meaning people get hurt. That I do have a problem with, but I think most individuals with a conscience do also. So what do I do? What can I do? Nothing. I need to accept that. I need to realize that I am really an outsider to the situation. I can't be in another person's head, though it would be interesting to be.

Please note, the issue is NOT one of direct physical abuse or any other type of major abuse, it is about human relations, and how different two or more people could look at the same situation. If it was about abuse, then yes, I would take proper action.

For myself, it is a realization that thinking about an issue that is not directly impacting my immediate family or myself is really a waste of my emotions and mental energy, both of which need a break.

It is so easy to get caught up in drama. I think as a society, especially the American society, a lot of us thrive on having constant drama in our lives. Why? Are we so afraid to have peace, stability, and quiet that we need constant chaos? I do not know the answer. All I know is that I don't want it in my life anymore.

When drama comes into life, it takes away the focus of the important things: love, warmth, understanding, creativity, and being true to one's self. I don't want to lose focus on those things anymore. I value myself, my family, and my time way too much.

Time Slipping Away

I am amazed how long it has been since I have last posted. Ironically, I thought I was back into the swing of things with blogging. As you can see this has been an experiment in my own commitment to taking care my creative self. It is not to say that I have not done creative things over the last month, but I have not written to share them.

So what have I been doing since the last posting? Well, a lot of finally getting my house in order. It is amazing how good it makes you feel when you have accomplished simple house re-organizing. Even the simple act of moving a couch sometimes is enough to breath an appreciative sigh with the revelation on "why didn't I think of doing that before". I feel that the home Lynn and I have together is ours. It has our taste and like predominately showing. We are not scared of the use of color or hanging art on the walls. It is us, and I love it. When I walk downstairs now in the morning, I instantly smile because I know our home has character.

The Brave Artist

So, here I sit pondering what to write. It has been a while... This last month has had a lot of activity. I had to travel for work, Valentine's Day was upon us, and I somehow lost site for blogging. I think I am back into the swing of things now.

Sometimes, it is hard to write about creativity. Who am I to give anyone my opinion or advise in the realm of creativity? -- I think that sometimes, but I remember that my unique perspective may be insightful to others or help you with inspiration.

Life Lesson:
"Life takes courage every day. It is a personal choice to live to one's full potential."

It take courage to write, it takes courage to put paint to canvas, or pencil to paper. Have I personally lost my nerve? Yes my friend, I have. I remind myself though that one has to be brave to face the world, and try to have an impact on ourselves and others in a positive way. What I may do artistically may seem small beans to others, but if I do it consistently and take those small steps, it is fulfilling. That I think is the goal to life: to be fulfilled. I am getting there.

Where to find inspiration....

Well... you can find inspiration pretty much anywhere that stimulates the senses. Today, Lynn and I went to Madison for just a simple trip to run errands, and just stopping at a couple of the places on our excursion kind of inspired me. I love seeing other's artwork, no matter how small the venue. For instance, were were at Whole Foods today, and there were some original artworks being displayed on the walls of the cafe. They all were by the same artist, and they were whimsical and quirky. I find it inspiring that the artist had the courage to display her works.

Courage inspires. Courage is what all of us need to have in order to take those glorious steps with our own creative course. I know that I have to work on having courage continuously when I start doing a work of art or even getting to the ball rolling with a project.

Big and Little Appreciation

I was transfixed on the Inauguration yesterday. I am so thankful that we are starting a new chapter in our American history, because we just did not need another 4 to 8 years of the same. I feel renewed and energized with the change! I think this is the shot in the arm that our country needed to start to get out of the ills we have been feeling. I appreciate this big change, and I relish the fact that I was able to watch it all unfold.

On the flip side, I am trying to make an effort to not forget about appreciating the little things also. In a way, it is a forced appreciation, because of the economy. Everyone that I know has had to tighten their spending belts since before Christmas, and I don't really see that changing in the near future. But, I think this tightening has been a good lesson for me. I am not just appreciating things anymore out of necessity, but also out of true appreciation. I love a good Bing cherry and a good orange. I appreciate being creative in my cooking and not relying on boxed or restaurant food so much anymore. And, mostly I appreciate the fact that right now I really don't "want" for anything. Sure, there are certain things that are needed to be purchased for the house this year, but as far as personal items, I feel content right now.

Awareness My Friend...

My poor body has been in a state of neglect regretfully for sometime. Part of it was due to post traumatic stress after going through two major floods within a year, and part of of it was being depressed about that on top of the stress. I can thankfully say that I think I am coming out of the funk that held onto me for a good couple years. It amazes me how I let myself forget how good I feel when I take my vitamins, eat healthy, and get some exercise!

It was not a new years resolution that spurred me to get healthy again, it was more like it was enough is enough! I know how to be healthy; I know what makes me feel good - Just do it darn it!

This also goes for healthy actions and thoughts. It is a very Buddhist concept "right thought and right action". Both stimulate my creativity. When I clear my mind and not have negative thoughts, then I tend to be more fruitful in my creativity. I like that, as a matter of fact... I love it.

Life lesson:

"Be aware of what is being put into your body both mentally and physically. Quality thoughts and quality food nourish the body and soul."

Fear the Greatest Obstacle

I know I have written about fear before in the blog, but I believe this topic never gets old as far as discussing or thinking about it. In creativity, I think that fear is the biggest obstacle that any person faces. Whether it is fear of starting a project, fear of failure, or even fear of success, all artists or creatives have fear. For me, I fear success more than I fear failure. I am not sure why that is, but it tends to rear it's head when I get going on a project. I have to backburner those feelings in order to actually complete what I started out to do.

If you search the web about fear and creativity, you will get a lot of hits. I think it will always be a hot topic, becuase it happens to all of us at one time or another. But, why do we fear, is it how we are wired as humans, is it a basic instinct, what is the root? I think a lot of the reason I fear things is becuase of my experiences growing up. It is something I know that I must work on daily to move past it. The best thing that I have found for myself is to read about it. I think the more one learns on how to cope with it and mechanisms to help, the easier it gets to manage fear, and even in some cases see that it can be a good thing.