Last week began with me feeling greatly discouraged and frustrated about many things. After sending him a particularly bemoan-ful email, Brian gave me a good talking-to/pep-talk and then suggested I take a week off and "just make crafts."
Just make crafts? But what about blogging? What about building my portfolio website? What about all the writing I have to get done?
I realized that the deadlines and goals that have been stressing me out really only affect me. And if I chose, I could post-pone them, and probably, no one would care.
So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought myself some craft supplies. Then, I read the long to-do list I'd made for the week one last time, and chucked it. I made a blank schedule, with only one major task penciled in: "Make art."
That's art with a small "a." I talked about the
crafts I wanted to make last Monday, and the first one on my list was the sharpie mugs. Tutorials abound on Pinterest- basically, write on a mug with a sharpie and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. But almost all of them have one problem....the mugs aren't dishwasher safe.
That just doesn't work for me. I hate washing dishes. With a passion. So, I set out to create a way to make them dishwasher safe. I succeeded! Full tutorial coming soon.
I've made eight mugs total, but between each, I did a lot of practice drawing.
I'd forgotten how drawing soothed my soul. Growing up, when I was sad or angry, I drew. Even during college, whenever I got really stressed and stumped by an assignment, I'd doodle until ideas came.
They always came.
But it's still a struggle to just make art. I kept thinking of all the things I "should" be doing. Then, someone posted this on Facebook:
I've decided that some things should be saved for a rainy day, but art is not one of them.
I'm embarking on a second week of reconnecting with my art.
When's the last time you reconnected with your art? By "art," I mean that thing you love doing, that gives you joy. It could be writing poetry, singing, baking something scrumptious, decorating your house, photography, sewing...the list could go on. Do you remember the last time you did it just for fun?
Labels: art, Crafts, create, Encouragement, Inspiration
