Author name: emily

Motivate Your Creativity: Who You Are & Who You Will Be

Categories: Creativity, Inspirations, Motivation

photo by Ugg Boy Ugg Girl via Flickr

“Never mind searching for 

who you are.

Search for the person

you aspire to be.”   
-Robert Brault

There comes a point in everyone’s creative life that, in order to grow, you must critically assess both where you are and where you want to go.

Life happens to us when it presents us with circumstances beyond our control- this forms who we are.  What we do with these circumstances, however, starts a chain reaction that determines who we become.

photo by rasmithuk via Flickr

A creative life cannot be a passive experience.  Like delicately stacking stones, we must consciously choose our associations and activities if we hope to grow in a specific direction.  To nurture creativity, it is essential to be disciplined about honing our creative skills, yet we also have to attentively balance our other commitments. Recognizing our responsibilities is who we are, purposefully regimenting our schedules, with an eye on the future, is who we can become. 

What obligations do you have that are non-negotiable in your life?  

This is who you are.  I’m a wife and mother who is determined to stay active and healthy.  These occupy a great deal of my schedule!  Time spent with my family, nurturing their spiritual, academic and physical growth is a big commitment.  I also have creative endeavors that must be prioritized if I want to succeed professionally.  These aspirations require a commitment of time, money and space, and concerted discipline to use those finite resources wisely.

Nature Sculpture by Andy Goldsworthy

How do you visualize the person you aspire to be, and put that vision into actionable steps?  

This is who you can become. Here we’ve arrived at the heart of the issue!  To grow creatively, we must take our natural surroundings and shape them to fit our needs for the future.  What does that look like?  For me, it looks like a lot of lists and a limited social life! Time spent working in the studio during the week, participating in family activities during evenings and weekends, volunteering at school, and staying healthy with good cooking and exercise creates a saturated schedule that occupies virtually every moment of my time. My first step toward building the future I aspire to was to cut out the “dead-weight” activities in our schedule and focus on those that are most important.  I’m going to let you in on a secret… you actually know this, but if you’re like me, you have a really hard time admitting it: You can’t do it all.

Here’s what you can do;

In fact, what you must do to reach your goals:

photo by earthkath via Flickr

You can begin living life with an “abundant” mindset, honoring the small achievements of everyday that contribute to long-term success.  Instead of lamenting over what you didn’t achieve, celebrate what you accomplished. 

Sometimes that means you created a masterpiece to be “ooohed” and “ahhhed” (or maybe sold!).  Sometimes it means you spent your day networking and returning emails.  Sometimes it means you spent hours pouring over your art/craft supplies, putting them back in order.  Sometimes it means you washed your clothes, dishes and tidied the house, and sometimes it means you held a beloved family member’s hand while they were ill.

Each one of these is an accomplishment.  Each one of these is a building block in the foundation of your future.  With self-discipline and a strong-work ethic, actions like this honor who you are and prepare yourself for who you will become. 

It may be months or years (all good things take time), but you will become that person you aspire to be.  Focus on your goal and prioritize your daily actions that will take you there.

photo by Zach Dischner via Flickr

Want more creative inspiration? I’ve contributed a few thoughts on an inspiring post about “Fasting for Creatives” by my friend Parisa, author of Lighting Little Fires.  Her blog is full of insightful and creative musings, with gorgeous photos and heartfelt writing.

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little zen (showers): New Textile Art

Categories: Spring, textiles

This is a new addition to my textile series featuring “little zen,” a cute little humble bird that stops to rest in different settings. Thus far, he’s visited the forest, beach and now a few puddles during a spring shower.  

I have again used the thread-painting technique to create the rippling puddles and falling rain. To add to that glorious wet, spring-muddy feeling, I have aged different fabrics in the piece with Walnut Distress Ink.  I have also hand-sewn many seed beads to create a glistening, wet effect in the rain, puddles, and on “little zen.”
 

I think it is very important to frame a textile piece like this.  Of course you wouldn’t frame a large quilt or wall-hanging, but it is hard for someone to imagine what to do with a small work of textile art, even if they can appreciate it.  Years of framing has taught me this, and I always hated seeing poor little abandoned stitcheries and fiber art come in after years of storage. 

To solve this problem, I have hand mounted this piece onto a lovely pleated aqua silk. The fabric beautifully echoes the imagery of the art.  I added a title, and constructed a shadow box to keep the fabric and beads off the glass. “Little zen” will be pleasantly enjoying his little sip from a fresh rain puddle for years to come!

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“The September Issue” is a compelling documentary that elegantly enters the halls of Vogue Magazine to chronicle the creation of fashion’s most iconic publication, the September issue of Vogue.  Annually, this edition of the couture magazine reaches 1 out of 10 women, about 13 million in all!  In the film, we are invited to watch the creative teams, led by the strong vision of Anna Wintour, assemble the largest September issue in Vogue’s history.

If you’ve read The Devil Wears Prada (wonderful book!) or seen the movie, you are familiar with Anna Wintour (a.k.a. Miranda Priestly), and her infamous disposition, as the ruthless Editor-In-Chief of Vogue.  This film takes you inside her world, and gives you a great respect for the elements involved in creating a magazine that shapes the fashion industry.  Without Anna’s glamorous vision, cunning decisiveness and exquisite business sense, Vogue would not be the most profitable magazine of its time.

Anna Wintour, Editor-In-Chief of Vogue

Not only does the film incite a high regard for Anna, but it displays the true artistic talent of the designers, photographers and directors, particularly Vogue’s Creative Director, Grace Coddington.  From the outset of the film you watch Grace and Anna interact and think,”This is not going to go well!”  As it continues, you see an amazing working relationship between two highly creative, stubborn women, that is quite inspiring!  Director R.J Cutler comments on the suprising elements, such as this, that unfolded during filming in an interview on Modelinia.

Due to the popularity of the film, the September 2007 issue of Vogue, featuring Sienna Miller, that was documented in the film has peaked to prices between $80 and $115 on eBay, making it one of the most sought after Vogue magazines ever.

One of Anna’s biggest contributions to the way we read fashion magazines, is her brilliant idea  to begin featuring celebrities.  Though it is commonplace now, Anna Wintour was the first editor to do this, realizing the impact it would have on her readers.  In fact, Anna’s impact reaches beyond the pages of her magazine, beyond the readers, beyond the designers and what they feature on the runways, beyond the Conde Nast parent company, and beyond retail stores to the economy of fashion as a whole. 

Here’s a great interview of Anna by Barbara Walters:

So there you have it- a brief summary of a terrific film, documenting an amazing woman and her gorgeous magazine.  Though I’ve felt Vogue was inaccessible and unapplicable to me for so many years, I finally understand why it is such an influential publication and a reading necessity!  From the conceptual drawings of the designers, to the hand-stitched details of couture clothing, to the eloquent, fantastical magazine spreads….I’m obsessed!

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