Lessons from Working in a Series

Day 299 of 2016. Fall Prairie series.

Last week I was starting to panic because I had no ideas for the next series and the Fall Prairie series was ending in two days.  Each series runs for 25 days of daily squares which I then sew together in consecutive order into a 30 inch square. I don't know why I worry because some idea usually comes to me in time. Perhaps it is that deadline looming ahead of me that makes me just decide quickly. I do not have the luxury of debating the pros and cons of possible ideas. Usually there is a clear winner. One design idea just feels right.

My last series, the Fall Prairie series, is based on the changing colors of the prairie in our backyard. Some people can look at a prairie and only see browns. But there is an explosion of colors when you look closely. Several shades of browns, greens and purples for fall aster flowers along with the blue sky and the white clouds. So this was my color palette for the Fall Prairie series. The design was my "go-to" design where I balance horizontals for the layers of vegetation and sky along with the vertical distribution of the tall prairie plants with glimpses of sky in between the plants.  

Balancing horizontal and vertical lines is a constant reoccurring theme in my art.

Day 303 of 2016. Surround series.

There is a lot of variation in the daily square designs for the Fall Prairie series because I put very few constraints on the design. While this lack of constraints can be liberating, it can be a burden when there are so many possible options. So for my current series, I knew I wanted some more limitations, more constraints. On day 299 of 2016, I decided to make a square out of blue fabric with just a small rectangle of white fabric. It reminded me of looking up at the blue sky and just seeing one small white cloud. This simple design was appealing. I decided to explore it further with my next series. I call this current series Surround. In every series, I look for a unifying theme. The unifying design will be an inside space surrounded by the same color fabric. This series will have a unifying theme in color using all different shades of purple to be the "surrounding" fabric. For the focal point on the inside space or what is surrounded by the purple fabric, I have no rules. The center shape can be any color, square or rectangle, and anywhere within the square.  This is a perfect blend for me of constraints and freedom. It makes me excited to get into the studio every day.  

While the Fall Prairie series had too much freedom, the recent series Blue Square had too many constraints and not enough freedom. To make the blue square inside each daily square, I had to measure the fabric and be exact. This is not enough freedom for me. I was also too restricted in the color palette of just blues and golds. The color palette is based on the upholstery of a couch in the Netflix series Pinky Blinders. Great example of finding inspiration anywhere, but it was way too limiting when coupled with a design that was too limiting. So I learned my lesson.  Each series has lessons to teach me.

In the end, the final piece may look great together in each of these series I have written about. However, as an artist who creates daily, I want my series work to be exciting to work on with just the right balance of constraints and freedom to keep it interesting and keep me creating every day effortlessly. So I keep learning how to do this every 25 days.

Wish me luck on my current Surround series. Interested in  seeing my daily squares? Follow me on Instagram. Click HERE to see the daily squares.
 

Part 2 What are Your Creative Values?

Discovering your Creative Values can help you move forward in your creative endeavors. To recap Part 1 from last week’s article, here is the question...

What are your values? How does this question relate to creativity?
Here is a definition of values...
a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.
synonyms: principles, ethics, moral code, morals, standards, code of behavior
So is creative expression important to you? Is it a value that you hold as important to satisfaction in your life?

If no, then no need to read the rest of this article. If yes, it is worth the time to figure out how to add creativity into your life in a seamless and joyful way. This is not another "to do" item but instead a “I am lucky I get to do this" item. 

I am offering a helpful tool to think about where you are in your creative journey and where you might want to go. This may sound hokey, but it really is a meandering trip from finding what lights you up creatively, to dabbling in it, to practicing every day to figuring out how to incorporate your self expression into your life on a regular basis.

Are you somewhere on this continuum? 
To get to the next level, it may help if you think about your creative values. 
There is no judgment about any of these values. One way is not better than another way. The point here is to discover which approach works for you. Then you can use this knowledge to continue on your creative journey in a way that feels like a pair of broken in shoes or a comfy pair of jeans. Knowing where you are and where you want to go are prerequisites for any journey.

To refresh your memory about  Value 1 How do you approach your art? Traditional vs. Non-traditional Design and Value 2 How do you get your ideas?
Traditional vs Non-traditional Inspiration Sources, click here to reread last week's article.

Value 3 How do you make your art?
Project-to-Project vs Creative Practice

Another question to help you determine your creative values is, "Do I want to just work on one project and then another project when I feel like it? Or do I want to set up a schedule where I have a creative practice working at regular times on a regular basis like a creative habit?" Everything changed when I decided to create every day as part of the 100 day project in 2015. I decided I liked the rhythm of this style of creating art and just kept going. The real question is... which way brings us the most joy? Which way feels like a settling-in? Taking the time to answer this at your particular stage right now helps you set up some creative boundaries with your mental space and time. When I first started quilting, I would get fabric with a project in mind and make a specific quilt. About 12 years ago I made a coin quilt with an Amish theme using Amish color choices and a black background. When I completed this, I waited for the "right " time til I worked on another project. The problem is the right time was maybe a year later. I never got to create as much as I wanted to. But I didn't know what was holding me back. I guess it was ideas of what to do next and a strategy of how to fit the time in to our busy lives.
Other people may want to just do a project every once in a while. Creating is something they like to do but not necessarily something they need to do. Again where do you fit in to this continuum?

Value 4 How do you give your art meaning?
Stand Alone Projects vs an Entire Body of Your Life's Creative Work

Day 293 of 2016. Fall Prairie series.

This is similar to the project-to-project value but on a bigger scale. Many people make art as gifts to give away and to step into that creative flow to relax and spend a relaxing time with a project. But when you consider your life's creative work as a body of work, how does that change what you are creating? The 100 Day Project again forced me to look at my creative output differently. I wanted more than a one off piece of art. I wanted to develop themes in my work. I started doing this by coming up with a series idea for every 25 days worth of daily squares. But now I have almost 2 years of creating under my belt and I am thinking... What is next?  I have created 250 daily squares in 2015 and as of yesterday I have created 295 daily squares in 2016. By the end of 2016, I will have worked on 24 series which results in 24 pieces of art measuring 30 inches squares that includes all 25 days of daily squares sewed in consecutive order.
 But now what? There is always another layer to think about. What are my next steps? For this upcoming year, do I keep making daily squares? How do I find my next step? We all have next steps to consider. 

I hope you find these creative values questions helpful in considering your next steps. Feel free to share your thoughts on how these questions resonated with you and what actions you are taking because of those answers you found.

Email me at kathleenwarrenstudio@gmail.com or comment on my Instagram account @blueskyquilter.

What are Your Creative Values?

What are your values? How does this question relate to creativity?

Here is a definition of values...
a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.
"they internalize their parents' rules and values"

synonyms: principles, ethics, moral code, morals, standards, code of behavior
"society's values are passed on to us as children"

So is creative expression important to you? Is it a value that you hold as important to satisfaction in your life?

If no, then no need to read the rest of this article. If yes, it is worth the time to figure out how to add creativity into your life in a seamless and joyful way. This is not another "to do" item but instead a “I am lucky I get to do this" item. 

I am offering a helpful tool to think about where you are in your creative journey and where you might want to go. This may sound hokey, but it really is a meandering trip from finding what lights you up creatively, to dabbling in it, to practicing every day to figure out how to incorporate your self expression into your life on a regular basis.

Are you somewhere on this continuum? 
To get to the next level, it may help if you think about your creative values. 
There is no judgment about any of these values. One way is not better than another way. The point here is to discover which approach works for you. Then you can use this knowledge to continue on your creative journey in a way that feels like a pair of broken in shoes or a comfy pair of jeans. Knowing where you are and where you want to go are prerequisites for any journey.

Value 1 How do you approach your art?
Traditional vs. Non-traditional Design

First quilt based on online directions from about.com in 1998.

Are you someone who likes "outside the box" thinking? Or someone who persistently practices a technique based on the traditional approach to this type of art?
An example for this traditional vs. non-traditional value is based on when I was just learning how to quilt. I started making quilts based on traditional quilt patterns like Ohio stars and nine patch blocks.  I included a photo of my first quilt. It was the beginning of quilt blogs becoming very popular. I would see these fabulous bed quilts completed in such a short time. At that time in my life, I felt lucky if I got to take a shower when my children were so small and active. Everything about these projects was perfect. Perfect fabric. Perfect sewing. Perfect everything. I'm not saying this to sound bitter. I realize it just wasn't my cup of tea. It actually was the opposite of inspiring. I stopped reading those blogs after a few years. It took me a while to start creating again. But when I did start creating again, I did so with fresh ideas based on things that inspired me like modern art and minimalist design. I used traditional Amish quilts and Gee's Bend quilts as my initial inspiration to start designing my own projects. I was able to think "outside the box" and follow what I was inspired to do in my own way. I still use antique quilts as a jumping off point as inspiration for my designs but I would not try to recreate it exactly as I see it. I realized I enjoy the ideas and design phase of my art. So looking for new ways to create was what kept me moving forward and still does to this day. So I value non- traditional approaches to my form of self expression.

Again, no judgment about people who like to follow patterns and derive great satisfaction from doing this in what ever area of art they choose. If you like this value, you may place value on the process itself and enjoy the construction and the “doing” phase of your art. Many traditional quilters fall into this side.  Many other art forms stress the importance of traditional training like in drawing or oil painting. Drawing what you see in front of you is a time honored way of practicing your technique.

But as we know, nothing is simple.  This really is a continuum and often times people can slide back and forth at different times on their creative journey. Of course, there is no hardline rule of ...you either like the design ideas or the construction. Frankly, many people like both. However, this is a helpful question to ask yourself how to get your creative mojo in gear.

What excites me when I think of my next project? I want to come up with something totally different than I've done before? Or I want to learn this new process technique to push through my boundaries?

Sometimes during trying times it helps to do something that's familiar and repetitive. You know what I'm gonna say here. There are no rules. These are just questions to ask yourself to inspire you to create more art.

Value 2 How do you get your ideas?
Traditional vs Non-traditional Inspiration Sources

How about your inspiration sources? Do you find inspiration everywhere or do you have one specific inspiration source? Perhaps you are just starting to embroider and get inspiration from the hundreds of embroiderers who share their work online. I started with traditional quilts for inspiration and then looked up and decided I could use whatever I saw to inspire me. I started looking for different color combinations and different ways of constructing fabric pieces together to match what I saw in my mind's eye. I often use nature for color and design inspiration, breaking the landscape into horizontal and vertical pieces. For some people inspiration comes from seeing what other people have done before them.  For me, I find the most inspiration from non-quilt sources like modern art or other random places like the upholstery on a the set of a Netflix series or  a photo of moroccan baskets on Instagram. If you feel stuck in a rut, try another approach. Look at some traditional sources for your chosen art or conversely, If you usually look at traditional sources, try something unique. Use google images. Walk around the book store and look at book covers. Go to your local botanic garden. Mix things up.

Why bother doing this exercise? Self-knowledge can be a wonderful thing. You may find you are exactly where you want to be. However, you may be stuck in a rut and exploring some of these other options, sliding up and down the continuum to these different ways of looking for inspiration or how to create a project, maybe just what you need to kickstart your creativity.

Stay tuned...I will be talking about more creative values next week. 

Alternatives to a Creative Challenge

So what do you do if you want to add some creativity in your life but you don't want to commit to a full blown creative challenge yet? Something like a Lite Creative Challenge.

One option is to take art classes for adults from the local community center, park district or community college. I took a ceramics class from the local park district when my children were very young because I needed something creative in my life. I needed something that I could start and finish and mentally dive into. Instinctually, I knew I needed to replenish myself. I had never taken an art class before, not even in high school. I thought I was not creative because I could not draw. Now, I know creativity comes in many forms from cooking interesting meals, taking photos based on content that inspires you, sInging in a choir, or decorating your home, etc. Being creative just means doing something in your unique way. Every time you do something the way you want to, as opposed to imitating what someone else did, that is creativity. Yes, when you first start much of your work will be imitative.  It is like starting with training wheels. But you still bring something of yourself to each project. This is why it is called self-expression.

I realized quite quickly that ceramics was not the thing for me. However, I had no regrets having taken the ceramics class because even though I wasn't crazy excited about ceramics, it was still better than the alternative of doing nothing. Having a scheduled class time and a specific project to work on was the beginning of a creative habit.

There are so many options for classes. You could take classes on painting, watercolors, or photography, collage, etc. Other options: knitting or crocheting classes from your local yarn shop, or quilting classes from your local quilt store. Even the big box stores like Joanne’s and Michael's offer classes based on different types of activities. You could look online and see what sparks your interest.

This is like the Beginner 101 Creativity Class for figuring out what you might like to pursue.

If even this step of taking classes is too much for you at this point, consider a trip to your local library. Find the arts section in the non-fiction stacks and walk through looking at the spines of the books. Do not filter your thoughts. Find books that looks interesting. Maybe it's on mid-century modern furniture. Maybe it is on Navajo woven rugs. Grab it. Pick about 10 books that look interesting to you and find your way to a table in the library. Take an hour to peruse these books and write down what you think appeals to you in these books. You could be like a detective figuring out what it is that attracted you to these books.  

Day 280 of 2016. Fall Prairie series. Example of my artistic style with colors and design based on nature.  I have included yellow and purple for the flowers, browns for the dried grasses, and blue for the sky and white for the clouds with a complicated design of smaller pieces of fabric to reflect the variety of colors I see in the prairie.

I have checked out every quilt book in two local libraries. This is how I learned to quilt initially, just from books in the library and directions on quilt construction from an online quilting site in 1998. In a way, I attribute my artistic style to being someone who likes to figure out stuff in my own way and following my own path.  The path may be longer and more circuitous but it helped me define my artistic style.

So what do you do with the books you really find interesting?  Bring them home. Treat yourself with the time to read them and think about what inspires you and what seems like the natural next step. Buy art supplies and just spend time making art, signing up for a class, looking for online class instructors, etc.  If you are interested enough in following your interests, you will find a way to make the next step happen. If nothing grabs you enough to keep going, then keep looking for the thing that holds you attention.

These are two relatively easy things that you can do to add more creativity into your life. I have personally done both of these activities and they started me on my path to finding fulfilling creative activity in my life. 

On a side note, I am on our local Fine Arts Commission and as a member I am part of our annual Public Art Program where we select artwork to be displayed in our public buildings for one year. We hosted a Meet the Artist event in September and three of the artists said they started by taking an adult art class when their children were older and they had more free time. One is a sculptor. Two are watercolorists. These three artists had their artwork selected for the past three years in our community. If they had never taken that first class, they would not be where they are today. 
 

You may not know where you want to go with your creativity. You just need to take one step at a time. Here are two activities that you could help you start today. 
  • Sign up for an art class. 
  • Visit your library art book section. 

Looking for some new music to listen to? I have made music playlists based on the theme of the series. You can easily access these from my website. Click HERE for the link.  The Spotify playlists are embedded in my website and you just need to click play and then enter your Spotify info to continue.  Not on Spotify yet? Why not? It is free with minimal commercials or commercial free for a small monthly fee.  I am not affiliated with them but just a big fan.

I just added the Blue Square playlist .  Click HERE to listen. 
 

How to Use What You Learned

Serena of @sirensfinds and I @blueskyquilter hosted a Q&A on Creative Challenges on Instagram the week of September 5, 2016. What do we know about daily creative challenges?
Serena of @sirensfinds has experience with the Austin Kleon's Steal Like An Artist Journal Challenge. Kathleen of @blueskyquilter has experience with The 100 Day Project making improv fabric art. On the fifth and last day, we talked about How to Use What You Learned. 

How to Use What You Learned

Kathleen...At the end of the creative challenge, bring all your daily creations together somehow as a sense of accomplishment and completion. You can set up your creative challenge to have some tangible project done in that time frame, be it a written song, a finished art piece, a written journal of poems or an organized living space. We all need a sense of completion. Reflect on how your creativity has changed over the time. See where you made progress. Acknowledge your progress and share the completion with people you care about. Now start another creative challenge or extend your current challenge. You accomplished what you set out to do. You established a creative habit. Congratulate yourself.

Serena...I agree that there is nothing quite like that sense of accomplishment once you've made it through. You've got all of your experiences throughout the challenge plus the final results and there's nothing quite like it. Treating yourself is definitely in order!
My advice is to use the challenge as a chance to change your perspective on what you do. Look at your process or progress before the challenge and see what elements helped and hurt your work. Make note of these things and work on them over the next few days, weeks, months, etc. Never stop learning, because when you stop learning you stop making chances to improve.

Kathleen...I agree a healthy dose of self reflection can help tease out what you learned so you can figure out a plan to move forward. Serena, why do you think both of us continued our challenges? Yesterday was my 500th day of making a 6 inch improv fabric art square.  I continued to create every day after the 100 Day Challenge because it gave me a structure to create more art on a regular basis and it really just became a habit. I love the intellectual challenge of coming up with the colors and designs for my square every day. Why would I stop?

Serena...Structure is important and keeping yourself actively engaged with something. I continued because I enjoyed seeing my progress. I was right in the thick of being burned out creatively and I could slowly feel my old motivation coming back the more I worked on the challenge. Like you said, why would I stop?

Kathleen...My last thought is that one can use the daily creative time as a sort of creative meditation. Step out of time and be present creating. Reflect on the benefits of this daily "Reset" time and think about if this is time well spent and do you want to continue.

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions, joined in the conversation, or read the comments and weekly articles in my Studio Notes blog. We both hope that you found some inspiration to start your own creative challenge. Still feel you need some encouragement? Reach out to us to our Instagram accounts or blogs.  The more ideas the merrier.

Remember adding creativity reduces stress. +creativity-stress

Serena, thank you so much for hosting a Q&A with me. We have discussed and shared so many ideas that I will be thinking about for awhile. 

Find Serena @sirensfinds on Instagram and hello@sirensfinds.com for email. Her website and blog are at sirensfinds.com.  Find Kathleen @blueskyquilter on Instagram and kathlenwarrenstudio@gmail.com for email. My website and blog are atkathleenwarrenstudio.com.

Click HERE to hear my playlist on Spotify for the Blue Square series.

How to Stay Motivated

Serena of @sirensfinds and I hosted a Q&A on Creative Challenges on Instagram the week of September 5, 2016.  What do we know about daily creative challenges?
Serena of @sirensfinds has experience with the Austin Kleon's Steal Like An Artist Journal Challenge. And I, of @blueskyquilter, have experience with The 100 Day Project making improv fabric art. On the fourth day, we talked about How to Stay Motivated. Our discussion is reproduced below.

How to Stay Motivated

Serena... My advice is to find or build a community around it. This creates accountability and a support system. During the initial challenge, there were many people also working through the journal so knowing there was a group to hold me accountable-and seeing their progress throughout-really kept me going. Now I'm motivated by the improvements I've seen in my own work and in my thought process when I come to certain points in my day... But it helps to have a community by your side.

Kathleen... Oh my goodness! I agree. The community on Instagram of fellow creators has been invaluable to me both during the 100 Day Project and to this day. Other creator's work can inspire you and help you find your unique style by analyzing why you like something. I have fallen in love with abstract expressionism by noodling around in the hashtags of Instagram and it has helped me work out ideas in my own art. Serena, I love how you say you are "motivated by the improvements ...in my thought process".  Your creative challenge has made you have more clarity in your life. Yippee!

Serena... It's very true! After all, it's through Instagram that we came across each other! It's so encouraging to see other artists at work even when the medium is vastly different from your own. More than that, as you said, what they do can inspire your own work in unexpected ways.

Kathleen... As we have talked about the past few days, the best motivator is to have set up your creative challenge to be successful in the beginning. Here’s how...

Pick a creative activity that really, really interests you. (Not one you feel you should do! Cannot find a challenge, make one up for yourself) 
Pick a short amount of daily time to create. (10-30 minutes)
Pick a long duration for the challenge. (More than 21 days)
Pick something that scares you a bit by its scope or duration. (You know, a “challenge")
Make decisions up front so you know what you will be doing every day. (Get organized!)
Keep a light focus and sense of play. (This should be fun)
Evaluate at the end. (Stop judging yourself)

From Josh… I’m a beginner at everything and I don’t know what to focus on so that I keep on pushing myself to learn. It’s like I plateau before even getting anywhere which is annoying. I’m trying to figure out to avoid or get over that?

Kathleen... I understand your frustration. Learning any new skill takes time and patience. In the beginning, it is easy to fall prey to discouragement. Your immediate goal is to consistently put in the amount of time you decided daily.  Success comes by putting in the time. Save the evaluation of how you are doing for the end of the creative challenge.  Then you will see the progress you have made. If you are not happy or decide you are really not interested in this creative pursuit, keep trying till you set up a creative challenge that makes you look forward to it every day. If you are not sure about what to do, your creative challenge can be to find out what interests you by exploring your options for 20 minutes a day for 21 days.

Serena... Hey Josh, I want to encourage you to work through it. Whenever I find myself coasting, I've found it's time to rejuvenate. Picking up a few extra books or finding someone who's done well in that field and heading their advice can help. Additionally, look for a new angle. Present your work to someone you trust (preferably in that field, but that's not necessary) and ask them what you can do better. Focus on that area for a while and see where it takes you. Breaking the plateau requires vulnerability and as much as my pride and I would like to tell you it's avoidable, it's not.
Kathleen, I like your suggestion to use the challenge time as a time of exploration? It's like creative taste-testing.

A comment from an Instagram follower suggested that Josh consider reading the quote from Ira Glass about creativity and encouraged Josh saying that when you first start an activity, we understand we are not going to be an expert at it when we first start. This perspective can really be helpful.

Kathleen... You do definitely have to go through a phase to get to your style. It has taken me years but I have enjoyed the journey. 

Here is the full Ira Glass quote.   “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” 

By the way, thank you to this Instagram commenter who is one of those creators on Instagram from the 100 day project in 2015 I mentioned above that help motivated me to continue.

Serena... It's so very true! Our expectations often heavily surpass our realities, but we still need to work with that with what we have. Thank you for chiming in and reminding us of the awesome power of community support. Also… Based on the conversation above I want to add a video suggestion: "the expectation trap "by ElliotExplicit on YouTube that is heavily based upon Ira Glass's wisdom.

Another Instagram commenter wrote about her experience where over time she has started to feel good about her finished art compared to her expectations. 

I responded that I know it takes a lot of effort and soul-searching to get to that level. But that's why we do this work. We practice and we keep practicing to get to that point where the vision we see in our mind's eye is what we eventually see in front of us in our own art. 


Let the conversation continue. Ask any questions you have about staying motivating.  

Find Serena @sirensfinds on Instagram and hello@sirensfinds.com for email. Her website and blog are at sirensfinds.com.

Find Kathleen @blueskyquilter on Instagram and kathlenwarrenstudio@gmail.com for email. My website and blog are atkathleenwarrenstudio.com.

How to Make Time

Serena of @sirensfinds and I hosted a Q&A on Creative Challenges on Instagram the week of September 5, 2016. On the third day, we talked about How to Make Time. Our discussion is reproduced below.

Now we know we cannot actually make more hours in the day, but we try to help you figure out how to add creativity to a day that may already seem too busy. I learned about habit triggers from Leo Babuta of Zen Habits.  This concept got me thinking that I do not need to expend the energy and recreate the wheel every day by deciding what to do and when. Using a trigger to just start my next daily habit, now my days flow more like water. This took many days of making mistakes and stumbling around trying to figure out what schedule works best. But this is a process everyone must go through to see what works best for themselves. For example, do you work best in the early morning quiet right after your coffee or tea? You may not know til you really try it. I found my assumptions about myself were rather off-base. Maybe you work best at the end of your day when you are trying to relax after dinner. Creating can help you relax.  But ultimately, keeping your creative time to a reasonable amount of time 10-30 minutes a day is the best way to make time every day or rather fit this newfound activity into an open time slot (or one that could be used a bit more productively than watching cat videos on Facebook). 

How to Make a Time

Kathleen...Serena and I talked earlier about How to Get Started by deciding to use just 10-30 minutes out of your day on building your creative habit. Make your creative challenge a habit by doing it at the same time each day at least in the beginning. Use an already existing habit as a trigger. Build it into your daily routine. For example, after I drink my morning coffee, I will work on my poetry for 20 minutes.  As the habit becomes more established you might want to change the timing but in the beginning it helps to be a real taskmaster with yourself on this issue.

Serena...Try to find a time you devote to something unnecessary or unfulfilling and slowly add the better habit there. I started adding journaling into my after dinner time-a time I realized I would sit around and waste a good portion of the day-and it seemed like such a burden at first. Now it's specifically my brainstorm, practice, or challenge time, which makes it much easier to keep going. How do you make time for your projects, Kathleen?

Kathleen...In the beginning, I made time for making my daily fabric art squares by keeping it to 20 minutes a day and setting a timer on my iPhone for when to go into the studio. To keep it to 20 minutes, I needed to have decisions already made like what fabric to use and what design parameters for my series. Keep it simple. Keep it short.

Kathleen...Serena, I love your idea of using your after dinner time when you realized that time was ready for an upgrade. You are very honest about that it can be an adjustment when you first start too.  

From Jessi…I already try to do a little of my projects every day, but I’m not sure if it’s enough time. Any tips for that? 

Kathleen...I would ask, do you feel challenged? Do you find yourself daydreaming about your next day on your project? If the answer is no, you may consider making a change by adding more time each day or adding in an additional creative challenge. When my daily improv fabric art square became relatively easy to do, I added in another creative challenge in 2016 of writing a weekly article for my website blog. This writing commitment still scares me a little bit.  This is where the word challenge comes up.  The goal is to push yourself a bit beyond your comfort zone to make it exciting but not too far where you will not even start. Think about what you really want out of this creative project. Oh the mind games we play with ourselves to get work done. 

Serena...It's difficult to determine how much time is enough time but ask yourself a few questions. Am I seeing any progress? Am I getting to my goals? When I finish my timeslot, does it feel like I've done something? If most of those answers are yes, then you're spending a good amount of time. If there are more no's, bump up your time by five minutes day by day (or week by week) until you get more yes's on your side.

Let the conversation continue.

Ask any questions you have about adding more consistent creative time in to your schedule. It truly is a form of mediation. Some people have trouble sitting to meditate. A moving meditation that focusses on creative activity could be the answer you have been looking for. 

Find Serena @sirensfinds on Instagram and hello@sirensfinds.com for email. Her website and blog are at sirensfinds.com.
Find Kathleen @blueskyquilter on Instagram and kathlenwarrenstudio@gmail.com for email. My website and blog are at kathleenwarrenstudio.com.

How to Make it Doable

How to make it Doable was the theme for our second day of the Q&A Creative Challenge week hosted by Serena of @sirensfinds and myself @blueskyquilter on Instagram.  For all of the participants and my weekly Studio Notes article readers, I have summarized the discussion below.

How to Make it Doable

Serena…My advice is usually to break it down into actionable steps and goals and try to be as realistic as possible. Think of the resources and time you have available and base your goals on that. Then as you grow, push yourself more and more.  After a while it won’t seem like as much as a challenge as a part of your routine.

Kathleen…Good advice. Action steps and goals made clear at the beginning based on a reality check is a great way to start a creative challenge.

Kathleen...My advice to "make it doable" is to do most of the decision-making when you start your creative challenge.  During our daily lives we make a lot of decisions which can lead to decision fatigue. So up front, I would decide what you want to create, where you want to create, what time you want to create and what materials, etc. You make the decisions only once. This way all you need to do is show up at that time and place with your materials all ready to go. It seems simple and just common sense but it works like magic.

@chrisaraymond asks...I am having trouble defining a new set of parameters to get going on a new series of work. Have too many ideas and so it's the problem of too many choices.

Serena...I try to comfort myself with the thought that too many ideas just means I'll always have something to work on. If I have too many ideas at once, I write them all down and ask a friend to pick one (without telling them why) and that's where I start. To go beyond that, try to set a realistic frame of time to have that idea done then move right on to the next.  Create a sort of "schedule" to get each done and always write down new ideas as you get them.  It might help you get a rein on some of those ideas… and get them done too!

Kathleen...Sometimes it seems like a curse to have too many ideas, but it is better than having too few ideas.  It would help to organize all these ideas into series work and stick with one idea at a time. Deep focus is your friend here. Doing multiple series at a time dilutes your attention. Consider just picking one series for two weeks then switch to another. Cycle back to one that you want to develop further.  For me, the sweet spot of creating is developing new ideas within a set of constraints with color and design parameters by seeing how far I can go with the concept and how many variations. For example, let’s say your creative challenge is to draw fruit every day for 21 days. The obvious way to make this interesting is to use different types of fruit. But then you could draw groups of fruit, or fruit from a bird’s eye view, or use watercolor one day and charcoal another day. Get the idea? The fun is in the experimenting. The series is just a general guideline but it gives us a much needed structure. Your creative challenge should be loose enough that you can play around with it and look forward to discovering something new and different, not to do the same thing over and over again. It can be a challenge to find this balance but you will only figure out the balance that works for you by doing several series in a row.
 
@st.remy asks...Before you start, do you select all the colors you are going to use for the theme?

Kathleen...Yes I do select my color palette before each series. I usually pick about 8 colors for enough variety to keep it fun balancing light and dark colors with warm and cool colors. When I get to that studio, I want all my decision-making focus to be on how to use the colors and the design parameters I've already selected in a new and different way than I did the day before. It forces me to think outside the box and push the boundaries. If I allowed myself to use any color out of my fabric stash, I would have decision fatigue before I even started sewing.  When I get to the studio I have my fabric all ready. I walk in and start playing with the color combinations and design possibilities and then I sew it together.  The focus is on the play.

@fairyoaksartworks asks...The new projects are not the problem.  I lose interest and want to move on. What makes you feel like finishing? I often just trudge through it but what can make it fun?

Serena...When I lose interest in something I try to figure out why I'm losing interest. Is it how much time I'm spending? Is it the content? Etc., then I try to fix that. Otherwise, I try to reward myself in a relevant way (new/better supplies, going to my favorite park to work, something interesting that I don't normally get to do) then I hype myself up over what the end result will be. If it's really that bad though, maybe it is time to move on to something even if just for a little bit.

Kathleen...I think the most important step is setting up your creative challenge in a way that is exciting to you. What have you liked the most from your past creative projects? Is it the design work? Is it the finishing details? I would take some time to reflect on what part of the process you like the most. It sounds easier than it really is to implement, but I would structure projects to focus on those things you like the most. I've been a fabric artist for almost 20 years so I knew that was what I wanted to do, generally. My favorite part of process is the design work so I make sure I create a new design every day which keeps it exciting for me. There is a lot of trial and error to get to that point of knowing what you like the most but it is worth every minute of effort.

Kathleen...Another idea. Keep the scope small by limiting the daily time limit but make the challenge duration long. Everyone has less resistance to only 15-30 minutes a day. When you see your creative output evolve over 21 days or more, you see your growth and that keeps you wanting to create more.

Serena...Oooh good point! The idea of ideas is incredibly terrifying so setting your daily goals and giving yourself a smaller amount of time to get started takes a lot of pressure off of trying to make it do on the spot. Great points!!!


The conversation can continue. Leave any comments below or email me your thoughts and questions. 
 

How Do I Get Started Part 2

Serena and I have started our Q&A week discussing Creative Challenges over on Instagram. We are excited about the thought-provoking questions we have already received from our blog readers. Keep the questions coming! Today’s weekly article is a summation of the questions and answers from the first day's topic of How to Get Started posted by both of us on Instagram September 5, 2016. Sometimes seeing someone else's questions can spur you on to think about your own questions and help you articulate them.  All questions are welcome.


Our discussion about How to Get Started

Serena...In general, start small to get started. Dedicate a few minutes a day to your craft whether it's learning something new, practicing, or adding to something you already have.

Kathleen... I agree Serena. Starting with a small amount of time makes it easier to just start. Oddly enough, small daily progress seems to add up to more productive work then huge blocks of time every once in a while (which can be full of procrastination and resistance to the work!)

Kathleen...My general advice is the Nike slogan, Just Do It. Follow your interests. If you have an inkling of an interest, make a commitment to do something for 15-30 minutes a day for 21 days that helps you learn more about what you're interested in. If you're looking for something easy to start with, I recommend a 21 day photo challenge where you take a photo of something that interests you every day for 21 days.

Serena...Kathleen, following your interests is so important! If it's something you already like it will be a little easier to get into and so fulfilling once you've accomplished even the little goals.

Questions from our readers
From Nancy... Do you think this method would work for anything in life like perhaps getting closets and the entire house organized? Is that a creative process?

Kathleen...Everyone is creative in their own way. Bringing order and structure to your house and to your family is a creative process because you use your imagination and vision to do this in your own way. Being creative is something you do, not necessarily feel. A creative challenge is a way to do something for a set period of time. One example of a creative challenge is organizing your living space to match your vision for 30 minutes a day for a month.

Serena...Yes, Nancy! To me, creativity involves using your ideas to create something "new". In this case you'd be creating new storage solutions, etc. I apply 30 day challenges is to EVERYthing I need help accomplishing because it gives a solid frame of time and makes the end goal seem possible.

From Drew...With posting every day what do I post on days when I've messed up my artwork? I don't mind being authentic but I don't think my followers want to see a wreck every few days.

Kathleen...This is a question all creators struggle with. In my case, I decided the momentum of posting my daily progress outweighs that vulnerable feeling of showing your mistakes. First, I have found people respond more to people when they know they are human and have "not so good" days just like everyone else. I stopped reading certain blogs years ago because they appeared to be super people who do it all effortlessly. It was exhausting to watch people try to do that. Also, knowing I will be posting every day makes me bring my A game as much as possible. Maybe I work best under pressure.

Serena...Usually, when I've messed up my work rather than post a picture of the mess I post what I did after and explain in the caption what happened. Then again there's that saying about how people can't look away from a wreck…

From Brianna…I always see challenges at the beginning of the month but I read through them and get discouraged because there’s always something I know I can’t do in them. Am I being too picky? Was your (or either of your challenges) a natural progression or are they really…I guess challenging?

Kathleen...I know what you mean and I do not think you are being too picky. You could create your own challenge based on something so interesting to you that you want to do it.  Another idea is to give yourself permission to skip those days if it is of no interest to you. In my case the 100 day project had you pick your own thing to do. This is the only reason I did it. And 100 days is a long time so it scared the **** out of me. So, yes, I felt super challenged. But it only worked because it made me get in the studio every day and create. The rest took care of itself. A creative challenge is just a structure to get you doing something and then an opportunity to look back and figure out what you learned.

Serena...I definitely know what you mean Brianna! It wasn't a natural progression until much later for me. I had to set a specific time to get into it and even then I'd feel like I wouldn't finish the days challenge. But do what you can. There are always some days that won't be something that falls into our skill set, but still do something. Build on one of the past days… Or try to do whatever it is to the best of your ability. A good challenge is definitely challenging.

What is keeping you from creating more in your life? What is stopping you from even starting?

I hope these questions and answers give you some insight into how to just start. There really is no right or wrong way to create more. A creative challenge gives you a structure to get it done and make decisions up front about how you are going to get it done to set yourself up for success.

 When you feel good about what you created everyday, you will want to create more.

The whole goal is to create more in your life of what is important to you and by doing so, you create more meaning in your life.


Our Q&A session is going on this whole week of September 5-9, 2016.

Monday, September 5: How to get started
Tuesday, September 6: How to make it doable
Wednesday, September 7: How to make time
Thursday, September 8: How to stay motivated
Friday, September 9: How to use what you learned

You can ask us questions through Instagram comments, email or comments on our blogs.

Find Serena @sirensfinds on Instagram and hello@sirensfinds.com for email. Her website and blog are at sirensfinds.com.

Find Kathleen @blueskyquilter on Instagram and kathlenwarrenstudio@gmail.com for email. My website and blog are at kathleenwarrenstudio.com.

Not on Instagram, no worries because I will be writing about each daily topic for the next several weekly articles in my blog Studio Notes so you will be able to see it all! 
 

How Do I Get Started?

As I mentioned last week, Serena and I are doing a Q&A on starting a creative challenge September 5-9. So it got me thinking who would even be interested in starting a creative challenge? And what exactly is a creative challenge? A creative challenge is simply where you challenge yourself to create something over a certain period of time. There is an infinite amount of possibilities. It isn't so important what you do. It is just important that you start something.

In my mind, it would be good for everybody to set up a creative challenge for themselves. I speak from experience. When I started the 100 Day Project making improv fabric art every day two years ago, I had no idea how this daily creative challenge would totally change how I see myself and how I create. Before this creative challenge, I would jump project to project with no real plan to try new things or learn more about myself as a creative artist.  After this two year experience, I feel I have pushed myself to learn new ways of using color and design to express myself. Working in a series every 25 days has provided a much needed structure and framework for me to explore new color combinations and new design themes. I may not always know where I will end up with my art but at least I have a general direction.

What about people who don't even consider themselves creative let alone use the "artist" word? These are all just labels. The important thing is to do something. To create. Creating is a word about doing. Honestly, our culture can be geared towards consuming. As wonderful as reading and listening to podcasts(which I do on a regular basis) can be, it can be passive. It may get you thinking about things in a new way and learning stuff. I'm all for learning stuff. But sometimes you need the feeling of power in your life that comes from creating something unique made by you. 

Some people will say, “Well, I can't draw or I can’t do this." Well, I can't really draw either. The point is to try something that interests you. And keep going till you find what really, really interests you.

Creating is a doing. It's not a feeling. It is a word about action. In a way, I think it is the doing or the activity that brings the power to these creative challenges.

But how do I get started? I don't think I have any talent. First of all, I would not agree with that. Everybody has some interest in some subject. You are deluding yourself to think you have no interests. Talent is overrated. If you are interested in something, you will put in the the time to learn it and get better at it.

If you are at a loss of where to start, I think one of the easiest things people can do is a photo challenge. Most people have cameras on their phone. Take a daily photo of something that has meaning to you. Set up a creative challenge to take a daily photo for three weeks. Yes, it can be that simple. The point is.. it gets you doing. You make a commitment to yourself that you will do something every day for a period of time. The amazing thing is that when you're done and you look back, you are going to find patterns. You might realize that at the beginning you really weren't so good at it. But the more you do it, the more you will refine your technique. The more you will learn. The more you will want to keep doing it. You have become a creator.

If your interest is in cooking, you can do the same thing. Pick something to do and do it for a certain period of time. Did any of you see the movie where a blogger cooked every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook called Julie &Julia? That was a whopper of a creative challenge. It holds zero interest to me. I would never do anything like that. But we all have our own interests.
If your musically inclined it could be learning 10 measures of a new song every day or making playlists of your favorite songs in Spotify. If you are someone who is interested in creating order, it could be organizing your living space for 30 minutes a day for a month. If you're someone who is interested in knitting, it could be just sitting down and doing it for 30 minutes for 21 days.
You get the idea. This is not rocket science. This is just a way to get you to create on a consistent basis.

What about those who are afraid of failure? Welcome to the club. You may hate what you decide to do. Then you can cross that off the list. No harm done. Start another one. Set a shorter time. Maybe just seven days. Keep cycling through ideas. You will eventually find one because you will become more in tune to what you like. You don't necessarily know unless you try. It's kind of like a treasure hunt. You could call this a hobby or you could call this developing your creative side. It doesn't matter what you call it. It's the doing of this that brings a sense of power and honesty and being who you really are.

Day 239 of 2016. Moroccan Basket series. I am using this photo on my phone as the wallpaper. Interested? Email me and I will send the photo file. 

Hopefully this has sparked some questions about how to get started. Ask your questions through email or comments on this article or on Instagram.

As a reminder, our Q&A session will be held on Instagram the week of September 5-9, 2016. 
We have a question theme for each day:
Monday, September 5: How to get started
Tuesday, September 6: How to make it doable
Wednesday, September 7: How to make time
Thursday, September 8: How to stay motivated
Friday, September 9: How to use what you learned

 

Go ahead and send the questions anytime before that week if you want. We will be answering the questions relating to the daily topics in the afternoon on this days. 
Not on Instagram? That is ok. We will answer the question on Instagram and then email the written responses back to you. 
You have a few days til the Q&A starts on September 5, so start thinking about your questions! 

Find Serena @sirensfinds on Instagram and hello@sirensfinds.com for email. Her website and blog are at sirensfinds.com.
Find Kathleen @blueskyquilter on Instagram and kathlenwarrenstudio@gmail.com for email. My website and blog are at kathleenwarrenstudio.com.

To access the Spotify playlist for the series Moroccan Basket, click here.