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I love the ritual of new year's intentions, but sometimes it doesn't work out well. As you prepare for your intentions, keep these 4 things in mind: 1. Pleasure- make it something you enjoy! Really! If you want to get more exercise, make sure you are asking yourself to do it in a way that is fun. Otherwise all those gremlins are going to come out and sabotage your efforts.
2. Choice- If you find yourself saying "I should" or "I need" or "I want", notice the feeling under those words. For it to work it needs to be "I choose" and if you do not really feel that sense of empowerment and self direction, make sure you find ways to tweek the intention so it really is from a clear place of self motivation and empowerment 3. Flexibility- If you are too rigid, there is going to be an insurrection of the internal forces. Make sure you have built in flexibility! 4. Singularity- cut it down to one intention! I know this is rough because there is a huge list of things. But if you can Check out the Winter Workshops! Early bird deadline is coming right up
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 I was just out walking in the woods and got drawn to a beautiful ice formation. I have no idea whether or how it will make its way into my creative work, but it is compelling to me. So I stop and look at it and soak it up. What I have found over and over is that later, sometimes much later, I will realize that I have made something that was inspired or influenced by something I saw. Its like it goes in and sits in the reservoir, or maybe it ferments like a good wine or a cheese, and emerges of its own when it is ripe. The other thing about it is that taking that time to be pleased by what pleases me, is nourishing and gives me energy to keep moving with all that I am doing and creating. It reminds me that I am connected to something much larger than myself, that I am part of a living breathing earth. I don't have to feel so alone. And, as an added bonus, that niggling hunger that is never really satisfied with the chips and chocolate that calls to me when I am not feeling nourished subsides a bit.   It is funny how as the dark descends in winter I find myself sitting on the couch and eating way more than necessary. Is this true for you too? I made this video inspired by being out in the cold for a morning walk. I would love to hear how it sits with you! Artists can lose connection to the creative juice. If you have been there I have a suggestion: the 15 minute study. Ok hear me out. There are three situations in which this is particularly useful:
1. You know that you need at least 3 or 4 hour chunks of time in order to get into anything creatively and with that reasoning - you have gotten very distant from your creative process. There may even be an emerging fear that you don't really have anything to say in your art- or you won't know what to do if you ever do find the time. 2. You have too many ideas and you are not sure which direction to go in- and you are feeling like you have a lot of false starts going on. 3. You are in the thick of a big long project and it is feeling oppressive and like a heck of a lot of labor for not a lot of joy. So what it is on a practical level - Chose a 10-15 minute time ahead of time- don't wait for inspiration or to be ready. And link that time to something you already do- in the morning with your first cup of tea, after lunch, after the dishes are done in the evening for example. -If you have a regular journaling routine- try this instead or first or after. -2-3 times a week is enough- don't try to do it every day- unless you are good at every day routines. - Choose a material that is easy to manipulate, easy to contain, not a lot of fuss and not too big. It is 15 minutes- be reasonable! It can be either one you know well or one you don't know well- they are different, but equally useful - just start moving it around, making marks, playing and let yourself be drawn to what is appealing. This is not about making something amazing, or not amazing. It is about activating that juicy creative side of you, trusting your artist self and opening up possibilities. What is it on a theoretical level It is about engaging the process of impulse (what if I did this) and discernment (ooh that is cool, or not that). In this way it helps you create a more comfortable and useful relationship between your inner judge (the part that discerns) and your inner playfulness (the part that wants to try things) Another way to think about it, it activates the parts of the Self: Awareness - paying attention to what you are seeing in front of you, and Will- trying something and making a choice. In this way it helps you to become more at ease in yourself and clear in who you are. If you do this for a number of weeks, I am betting you will find much more clarity and ease around your direction, much more juice and joy in your labor and much more drive to make the time you need to get into the studio. You may find that you want to keep the practice going forever, and you may find that it comes and goes. Either way is fine. It is a tool of connection to your deep creative self. So my challenge to you- try this 5 times over the course of two weeks. I would love to know how it goes! Please comment here or send me a note. __________________________ subscribe to my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/buTz61 Learn more about co-working with me: http://www.taprootartsinsight.com/virtual-coworking-for-artists-and-creatives.html More about coaching with val: http://www.taprootartsinsight.com/life-coach-for-artists-and-creatives-919262.html Can I interview you? It would be so helpful for me to hear what is going on for you so I can understand how to be of better service to artists and creatives and I would be happy to offer a coaching session in exchange. For more information check this link. https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=12649280&appointmentType=2437684 Procrastination has a bad reputation. You can really beat yourself up for it. Stop doing that. Stop being frustrated with yourself and notice that you can actually use procrastination energy effectively. Potentially procrastination does two things for you:
First, you can get the little things that have been bugging you out of the way- they are so much easier when there is something bigger looming in the background! Second is that while you are doing those little things the bigger issues is churning in the background and whatever is getting in your way can get clearer. The trick to this is to register the procrastination, and pose the question for yourself- what is it that is getting in my way? Or what am I not seeing that needs attention in relation to this project? And then give yourself full permission to enjoy that little nagging thing that you can take care of. Don't try to figure out the answer, just let it swim with you while you take care of that other thing. For me it is often a cleaning thing. Cleaning good because I am physically moving and my mind can wander. But a walk in the woods is equally effective- exercise, attending to the beauty of the natural world, etc. When the tub is clean, or the cob webs are off the ceiling, come back to your question and see if there is any clarity. And then ask yourself what the smallest first step is that you can take right now. You may find that it is something that you had not actually thought of previously that needs to be done first. I would love to know how this works for you! please comment! ___________________________________________ subscribe to my newsletter More about coaching with Val Can I interview you? It would be so helpful for me to hear what is going on for you so I can understand how to be of better service to artists and creatives and I would be happy to offer a coaching session in exchange. I know it is a big ask, it can be hard for many of us to be willing to get our work out into the light of day. But it is important. In this video I address three questions: --- why do it? --- what is getting in the way? --- where is the hope? I'm not saying you should not be doing all that you are doing- but what if it wasn't such a big struggle? Maybe it is because we grew up in a culture with a powerful work ethic- we need to feel the effort, the struggle, the angst, in order to value the work. You can actually get just as much done with pleasure and ease, maybe even more. In this video I describe a metaphor that helped me understand that it is possible to not work so hard. It has everything to do with internal friction, getting in your own way. I would love to hear your thoughts on it! Please comment! When you fall out of your creative practice, time goes by and it gets hard to get the juices flowing again.
We have all been there and it can seem foolish because you know it will make life better to get in there again, but the internal critics get going and it is hard to get past them. So I want to share my trick with you, a way to slide past those critical voices. I call it doodles- you might have another name for it. The thing is that the internal critic is there to make sure that you are not going to be ridiculed and thrown out of the collective- this is important! and besides you do want to make work that is valuable and worth while. But if, for whatever reason you have not been making in a while, it is hard to get back in the flow if you are trying to do good work, respectable and valuable and deep work. And you know that making work will nourish your soul and make life a lot easier once you are doing it. So tell the critic that you are just making a doodle, throw away art, a little nothing, and she does not need to worry- you won't show anyone. That should calm her down. And then really get some material in your hands and play for a short amount of time without any direct purpose. Why make throw away art? really? I know you are busy- we all are- it is hard to make the time to do anything, if you are going to make time for art, you want it to matter.... Yeah I know. But this is just to get the juices flowing past the log jam that is your internal critic. You will find after doing this a few times you start to trust yourself a bit again and as the critic starts to feel how yummy it all is, she may let you dream a little bigger... if not, lets talk! subscribe to my newsletter for irregular bursts of inspiration and occasional wonderful offerings Learn more about co-working with me- it is amazing how it can help you get moving in the studio! Sometimes when we are in a place of growth or expansion or moving in a new direction, our internal voices can get really mean.
They say nasty things like "you always have great ideas and then don't follow through, you are going to fail again, don't even try it." When this happens- do not try to shove this voice away- instead invite it to a cup of tea. What I mean by this is in the video- but what I do not mean is take on all the mean things- certainly do not do that. That voice has something you need to hear and the way to do it is with compassion for all the fear that voice represents. subscribe to my newsletter check out my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/taprootartsinsight Learn more about co-working with me More about coaching with me Can I interview you? It would be so helpful for me to hear what is going on for you so I can understand how to be of better service to artists and creatives and I would be happy to offer a coaching session in exchange. As a potter and a teacher of pottery I have a very simple saying that has come back to me a million times, "pots break". Pots break. Does this mean you don't put your heart and soul into it? No, you put your heart and soul into it. It means that you have to be willing and able to let go. You put your heart and soul into a piece, you fall in love with it, and then you give it to the kiln gods, and you let go. You have to let go. Because sometimes they come out beautifully, and sometimes not so much. And sometimes they break even before they get to the kiln. Pots break and it is part of the creative process. What I have found over the years is that when you put your heart and soul into a piece and you love it and it breaks, and you start over, the next piece will be even better. That is if you let yourself make the next piece and not try to make the same piece. Because you have learned something. I recently had a failure that looked more like a catastrophe. It was a kiln load of pots and sculpture and test tiles and my intern's work as well. And there was an explosion in the kiln. Yup. The kiln shelves were pulverized and the kiln roof was damaged and I lost about half of the art in the kiln. Luckily all of the intern's work survived. (read more below) So I was asked, what happened - how did this happen?
User Error was my first answer. My fault. And it's true, but I am not saying it to beat myself up, but rather to look at where are the mistakes that lead to this. What can I learn? After a day of walking around and poking at it and then a few days of asking some clay people and kiln people their opinions, I have a pretty good answer. I know how to fix it and I have learned a good set of lessons. Not the least of which was don't be casual about a firing - pay attention! Pots break and there are lessons. You have to take responsibility so you can learn what needs to be learned. It is important not to beat yourself up. User error happens. It doesn't mean stop, and it doesn't mean you suck. It means slow down and learn, and then keep going. ______________________________________________________________________________________
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