Blissful Creative Exile

Yesterday I tweeted about a cool review by Katherine Monk of Tim Burton's new movie
"Big Eyes". What stood out in my mind in the review were Katherine's two epic
words "Creative Exile".

While, for some, that phrase may evoke a lonely period of time, when you'd rather be huddled away in the clay stained art department in high school than out with the cheerleaders or in the lunch room.
Creative folks sometimes just long for a get-away where they can completely "zone in" to hone their craft and figure it out just what it is, after all, that their art is trying to express.

So when I started reading and learning about Tim Ferriss and the specific methods he uses to completely focus and zone in , without distraction, my artistic ears perked up and I find myself re-reading those parts of his Blog over and over.

One of the coolest things, other than that he puts Casino Royale on a loop on mute playing in the background while he's zoning in to write....,  is that he drinks epic proportions of Yerba Mate tea virtually all night long when he's on a tight writing deadline.

There's just something so "college cool" about Tim. He's steadily increasing his circle of influence, hobknobbing with folks like Sir Richard Branson, Tony Robbins and the like. But when he talks, you get the idea that you're just talking to the kid who sat beside you in math class, never wore matching sox and could never sit still.  Come to think of it....that actually sounds more like me.

Anywho, what does it take for you to zone in?  A fave cd? A fave playlist? Certain lighting?
Or do you have to leave your house and rent a room like Maya Angelou? Her fave writing haunt was at a hotel toting a bible, a bottle of sherry, and her famous yellow legal pads. Maya didn't write on computers.....  real pen on paper was her chosen route for creation. What is your fave creative media? Online? Or a word doc. or speaking into some "speech-to-text" app that transcribes your brilliant verbage into prose?

Carve it out folks, your niche can only be created by you. Make it yours, make it quirky, and let your family know not to bug you when you're in your zone.

Peace and productivity this week, friends.
Carla

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Assessing Your Own Work

Yes,yes, as talented as we all are, there are times when we have to get frank...not Frank, but frank.... with ourselves and what we are trying to create.

Time to ask ourselves....is what we are making or writing or molding or painting or designing really good?
Better yet....is it good enough?

Well 'tis a tough question. Really.. are we qualified to even assess our own works?
Or is it smarter to hire an outsider with a critical eye to give us the real goods on our own work?

Well, as Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is a time and a season for every activity under the sun.
Therefore, I do recommend one thing, don't apply a critical eye to your own work when it is in it's infancy stages. Nobody criticizes a toddler for wobbling when he/she takes their first steps from the couch to the coffee table. Nobody argues with a baby for missing their mouth and smearing strained peas onto their cheeks the first time they handle a spoon.

Therefore, you must be gentle to yourself, especially if your work has not yet ripened to maturity. Perhaps you need to read one of my older posts "Your First Try Isn't Going to Be Your Best Work" and give yourself a break. You might, after all,  have the extra sensitive soul of an artist.
We don't take criticism lightly...in fact we are more likely to sob into our pillows for nights on end over one harsh comment. Even if our work is brilliant our hearts remain soft and vulnerable.....because that is simply what it takes to stay good at what we do. Crusty hard hearted folks are rarely creative and when they are, it comes out in vicious ugliness. Therefore learn to guard your sensitive creative soul. It thrives only when protected.

Let me just say rather mystically, that you yourself will know when you need to take a more critical look at your own work. Maybe the page views are down, maybe the online sales have stalled. Maybe your banker is not returning your calls. Time to take a second look.

On a final note, when you've bitten the bullet and decided it's time to assess the merits of your own work, don't be too harsh on yourself unless of course your ego can handle it. Be just honest enough to be able to make the changes that are going to usher in your newer better work. Give yourself that courage to make clever changes by allowing yourself to note what is no longer working and what can be let go of.

Some ambitions are temporary  occupations. Other ambitions deserve your years of faithful persistence and
determined efforts. But know the time and the season that you are in. Is it time to tweak your strategy? Is it time to acknowledge that you are actually a better artist than your family thinks you are?

Self assessments can go both ways. They can either convince you to stay the course and build momentum and stick-to-it-ive-ness....OR.....it can challenge you to accept that something you're doing was an unfortunate mistake in judgment and needs to be let go of. Have the strength to say a firm YES or an equally firm NO to yourself once in a while. Trust me, it's easier to hear it from yourself than from an outsider.

You be the judge. Your eyes and ears and heart will know what to say..

Peace.



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Marketing Your Products as an Artisan

So truth be told, I'm back on the market selling stuff I have made from earthy materials and up-cycling.

What are earthy materials? What is up-cycling.

Earthy materials are as raw as possible, and preferably not dyed or painted with any kind of toxic substance.
They are raw materials such as jute, cotton yard, soy bean based yarns, hemp string, fabric made from bamboo etc. They are usually bio-degradable. They blend in well with any kind of
"Back to Nature" theme.


So perhaps you are still wondering what up-cycling is.....Well, in my humble opinion, up-cycling is when you take a product that already exists that might be ready for recycling or the landfill, and you fashion it and rework it until it becomes something totally new, more valuable and precious. It is recycling with a moneyed twist.

For example, I have a fondness for gathering those ole wooden skids/pallets and hacking them up and using them for firewood. But I've noticed that some creative folks have taken to making incredible
household furniture out of these very same wooden skids/pallets. I've seen whole walls make out of them, along with every conceivable style of coffee table, bookshelf and even chairs. That is genuine up-cycling.

Have you ever up-cycled something? By the way, if you want to see how I've up-cycled some ole blue jeans
check out my Etsy page at  http://etsy.me/1xDNiWV
Carla's Etsy

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