Help! Are you drowning in minutiae?

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Every three months a super glossy magazine comes out called “Where Women Create – Inspiring Work Spaces of Extraordinary Women.” Published by Stampington & Company’s Somerset Studio, it’s a delight to the senses – filled with feature articles on women artists – their studios, their back story, their creations, their challenges and their aspirations.

I look for tidbits of inspiration and encouragement. I am never disappointed. Here’s a few that pull all the threads together:

Theresa Cano, antiques seller:
I’m constantly learning new things, not only design trends but how to improve what I’m currently doing…we are always working toward our next adventure.

Suzi Brown, freelance mixed-media artist and instructor:
[My] greatest joy is sharing and encouraging those who say they aren’t artistic or creative. Even the smallest, simplest projects and accomplishments can brighten a person’s day and make them realize they do have creativity within, setting them on a wondrous new course in life.

Caroline Kirsch, mixed media textile artist:
When I encounter a creative block, I see it as an opportunity to take a step back and reflect without criticism…stillness let’s the next move rise from the unconscious mind.

Lucy Farmer, creating wearable beauty from salvage:
The value of networking should never be underestimated…find people you can collaborate with…surround yourself with people you admire. I have many artists I look up to who I’ve reached out to for advice and they always respond.

Rachel Butch Williams, oil painter:
Believing in my work and myself has been my biggest challenge…painting is a lonely enterprise. The little voices of negativity can get started without warning and before you know it, you are looking for a job in health care…so far, my most meaningful life lesson has been to make sure that I do what I love and to always fit it in somehow.

Karen Way – quilter, crafter, decorator and upcycler:
Organize and label everything. Spend your time creating rather than searching for your supplies

Jodi Heiberg – self taught artist:
I decided I finally deserved a real studio. ..I gathered all of the furniture I had collected over the years from the side of the road, painted everything white and transformed my unused living room into a studio that I can say is truly me. I am living proof that art has no rules.

Polly Hood – deals in vintage and repurposed items:
When you hit a creative slump, and you will (because we all do,) take some time to rest. For me, when I can’t seem to come up with one single creative thought, it’s almost always that I’m worn down and just need to rest.

April Cornell – artist and creator of table linens and feminine apparel:
She says she hit a wall in 2005 when she and her husband split up. “I looked around the house and decided to make it mine. Instead of hanging paintings by others on the walls, I painted the walls with poetry, my own words …today I find painting on walls without borders one of the most joyous things I do … Good ideas will stand the test of time, repetitiveness creates expertise, but being inexpert and trying new things is very creative and exciting.

Luana Rubin – designer and artist:
Daily meditation helps me to clear the mind, organize the thoughts, prioritize ideas, and stay happy in my little creative rainbow while the storm of real life rages outside.

And my two cents worth: Bloom where you are planted! And then Preserve That Bloom.

Happy Creating!

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