Drowning in minutiae? Longing to embrace a life less harnessed to your To-Do List? Read on….
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.
When I get frustrated with the endless tasks of simply living life in a highly technological age, I look for tidbits of inspiration and encouragement within its pages. I am never disappointed.
Here’s a smattering to whet your creative juices:
Suzi Brown, freelance mixed-media artist and instructor:
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 lets 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 up-cycler:
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.
Diane Waldon – photographer:
Follow your passion. And do it the best you can.
Stephanie Lee – multi-media artist:
To fuel creativity, write in a journal, get out into nature – like the garden, hiking, and hanging out at the river, digging through rocks, going on a road trip – allowing the buoyancy and lightness of the road to take over.
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.“
And my two cents worth: Bloom where you are planted! And then Preserve That Bloom.
Happy Creating!
