The #CreativeLife - the journey is the motivation

 What keeps you motivated?

People often say that you need to follow your passion and that will make you happy. In the context of this post, I am not going down the road of happiness, but rather discuss a few thoughts about passion and motivation. I don’t believe that following your passion will contribute to your creativity long term. Passions burn high, and like anything with a hot fire, it does not last very long. Of course, passion is not a bad thing, but it can be tragically short living. Kind of reminds me of being inspired by the muse.

She pops along, and you cannot help yourself so you create, create, create. But then you get tired and stop. Then you have to wait for the muse to strike again and the destructive cycle starts all over again. The problem is a lack of consistency and frustration. So if passion is not the answer, what is the alternative? I wish the answer was easy, because you need to clarify this for yourself, but here are a few pointers to help you out.

What motivates you to create?

1.     Creativity is not given to a selective few. It is something that we all use almost every day, even if you are not aware of it. If you think for a moment, you will realize that even solving a small problem, often uses your creative skills even if it only involves thinking about the best way to do it.
2.    Creativity cannot be used up. One of the reasons where the muse theory often lets you down. Because if you need to rely on the inspiration that is inconsistent and fickle, how are you ever going create anything for someone else? Let’s say you show this awesome painting to a friend and they want one too because her mother is having a birthday soon and she would just love this style of landscape. If you need to wait for the muse to rock up and do her thing, you are never going to produce a single mark on the canvas. That means that you need to find the inspiration within yourself to do the work because that friend is not going to be impressed if you tell her a day before her mother’s birthday that you couldn’t paint.
3.    Finding motivation needs a habit update. You are creative, and you are drawing, and the muse does visit once in a blue moon, but that is not good enough. To make it good enough, you will have to take charge of your creative practice. And there is the keyword to this whole post: practice. Creativity needs fuel, and the fuel is practice. Now you’re wondering about that fire again, right? Let’s get into that again.
4.    A habit update will keep the fire burning. What will last longer: a slow fire fed regularly, or a bonfire where you dump all the fuel on it in one go? Of course, the slow fire, there is no argument. For a sustained creative life, feeding the fire requires a regular effort. Daily if you can. Habits are those things that we do without thinking and adding a habit of creative practice to your life will not only keep the fire burning (without a fickle muse messing it up) but it will also produce the work that you can promise to others. And regular practise has the additional benefit of improving your skills too. Win-win, right?

You might wonder when I got so smart about all this? When I started writing 22 years ago, I knew nothing about writing books. I have read hundreds of books in my lifetime, and subconsciously understood what makes a good read, but I had to learn how to write that book that captured my attention. The same thing happened when I started drawing and painting. I read books, I took classes, and I practised. A lot. Now I teach art (and engineers), but I still learn and still practice, because it motivates me to keep adding fuel to my creative fire.

And that is both the journey and the motivation. Learn. Practice. Learn some more. Practice some more. And over time you will find the voice that makes you the author, the artist, the poet, the engineer that creates new solutions, new art, or new words every time you sit down to produce and deliver.

Stay healthy, and live creatively until Monday!

︙ Linzé 🇿🇦💚

The #CreativeLife 2021 - review of week 8

 Pain, procrastination, and Netflix - welcome to a week gone wrong

I spent the week on my own with hubs away to take photographs at a safari park in KwaZulu Natal (or KZN as we locals call it). I don't mind the solitude and usually spend my non-working time catching up on art projects that are behind schedule.

Calendar week 8 highlighted

Yeah right. This time I spent more time procrastinating by watching my latest addiction on Netflix: Korean and Chinese series. Since I don't speak either language this was not an opportunity to do something else while the series played in the background. Nope, I had to watch the subtitles to follow the story.

So yeah, very little sleep (3 hours on Tuesday, and 4 hours on Friday) and not much else accomplished. In the past, I would have hated myself for this waste of time, when I have so many other enjoyable things to do, but no longer. I accept that somewhere, perhaps subconsciously, I needed the time away from other things. So I file the experience in my memory, enjoyed the Korean screenwriting and some excellent acting, and am ready for a new week.

The flip side of all this butt to chair hours of Netflix is severe back pain. I know better, but I don't seem to learn so well as I think I do. Five days of back pain was not fun, but I am getting better since I made a point of moving more often.

April is going to be a hectic month for bloggers around the world, so stay tuned for the reveal next Monday.

In the week ahead, there are so many things happening again, but I will save the stories for next week, because, you know ... life.

Stay healthy, and live creatively until Thursday!

︙ Linzé  📚💚

Exploring the creativity of the #CreativeLife (Part 4 of 4)

Creativity is Community

The post today might seem counter-intuitive to you because painting a canvas or writing a novel is usually a solo event. How does a community come into play in a creative life?

I think most people could appreciate the fact that the author needs the services of an editor and cover designer, but these are professional services usually paid for. If your concept of a community follows the same interpretation as mine, you are thinking of people on a creative path sharing the experience of creating, if not together, then in togetherness.

No one can create for someone else, but being there in a supportive role can provide the necessary structure for both the new artist and the experienced creator.

How the community forms and supports its members

Linzé's February 2021 tag
for the rose prompt

When I first started writing I had no clue what I was doing and I had no one else to turn to ask any questions, so I learned from books. But even the best books on creative writing, cannot tell me what is wrong with my story or how I could improve it. That changed when I did a creative writing course that included peer feedback. While it started as a nerve-wracking experience, it ended as the best thing I could have done. The feedback was useful and I learned a lot, but I also met like-minded people.

Other writers with the same need for support often required nothing more than an encouraging word or helpful suggestion. It is here that the Pretoria Writers' Group was formed.

Artist communities work on the same principle and I love watching the new artists grow as they develop their skills. I have been there too. I now belong to both writers and artists groups and was recently invited to join a Facebook group where its members are both writers and artists in their own right. Are their creative lives special in some secret way?

If I look at all the creativity happening in the daily lives around me, including my own, having more than one creative outlet is not that unusual at all. It is being part of a community of similar minds, that provides the support for its members to spread their wings irrespective of their skill levels, that makes all the difference in the success of the members in enjoying a creative life.

In March we are going to explore some of the challenges of the creative life and how to deal with them.

Until Monday, stay safe and live creatively!

●︙● Linzé  🇿🇦💜

The #CreativeLife 2021 - review of week 7

Frustrating week. I have several jobs ready for testing or finishing, but waiting for my clients to either fix something or submit the correct documents. Then there is one job where we have to get the batteries discharged. Since these are not your average phone battery, it will take time and some serious safety measures to get it done this week.

Week 7 of 2021 (calendar)

Our art group is working on a junk journal, and we decided to start with pages dedicated to a colour per page. I have done a few examples (not only with a colour theme) to get everyone inspired. Everyone is just having fun with collaging and mixed media without the pressures of producing perfection. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

The junk journal is a project that will take a few months, so I have added a fine art challenge too: abstract work in watercolour pencil. It is going to be a challenge for both the experienced artists and the newbies alike. But how else do we improve our skills, right?

With the commission also due soon, I have to confess to procrastinating a bit. I made a serious effort on Saturday, but this coming week I will have to put in the work otherwise that will be a very bad way to treat a client. Not something I want on my list of accomplishments.

I need a break, but it will not be possible this week. However, a more focused approach will help to get things done sooner, then I can take a few hours off later in the week. Now that is what I call motivation! LOL!

Stay healthy, and live creatively until Thursday!

●︙● Linzé 🇿🇦💜

Exploring the creativity of the #CreativeLife (Part 3 of 4)

5 ways to start owning up to your creative side

Do you find it easy to own up to being a teacher, or doctor, or engineer? Then find it near impossible to tell people that you are a writer, an artist, or sculptor. Why is having a creative life such a difficult thing to put out there?

Here are 5 ways to rethink your creative life

Keyring with a tiny
illuminated letter L

1. We grow up being told that a creative life is not good enough, we have to study or do something real. Since I only started my creative life as an adult, I was thankfully spared this problem, but studying engineering was definitely not something that most people of my parent's generation considered for a woman. So perhaps I was pushing back already in preparation for the life I am now living.

2. We live in a society of instant gratification. A creative outlet requires dedication, learning, time, and practice. Lots and lots and lots of practice. Which makes the instant “getting it right” not an option, no matter how many hacks, or short cuts, or secret tricks you look for. Skill comes with time, there is nothing instant about it. Without the hacks, people often give up quickly to move on to the next big thing.

3. We compare ourselves to others, thank you social media! There are hundreds (probably thousands) of YouTube, IGTV, Pinterest, and who knows how many other channels of people sharing their own creative projects. Whether it be art or other projects, what you see online is the result of other people's sweat and suffering to gain the skills they can now rightly share with the world. 

Then we pop along and compare our efforts with them, only to decide that we are worthless at watercolour painting, and go try something else, or worse give up entirely. But the internet is also useful, you might say. You would be right, but comparing yourself as a beginner to someone who has been painting for years is simply a waste of energy. If you want to use the internet as a resource to learn, then choose to follow people who are good teachers. Practice what you learn. Every day. And then step up to learn something new. Practice some more. Before you know it your skills have improved.

4. Don't throw away your “failures”. There is a channel I follow where the host says that the medium is just paper and if you don't like the result you can just throw it away. I don't agree.

Keyring with "live inspired"
words and dragonflies
stamped image

I had the first pastel drawing I made framed. It is still hanging in my workshop. The reason I keep it is to see how far I have come in my journey as an artist. If you want to compare yourself to someone, compare your present skills with your past skills, and then appreciate how much you have grown.

I am not saying you have to keep every single drawing, but to have the “failures” on hand can be a huge motivation to keep practising.

5. I am an artist! It took years before I was ready to own up to being a writer. Even after my first book was published, it was difficult to get those words out. After seven years of learning and practising drawing and painting, I am now teaching others to draw and paint as well. They asked, and I decided to say yes because to teach means that I continue to learn and improve my own skills.

Saying the words out loud, even to yourself in the mirror, makes a difference to the way you can live your life. I live a creative life because I choose to do the work. I choose to practice. I choose to teach. And I choose to accept commissions because I am an artist.

Take that step today, because you have a story to write, a story to paint, a story to sculpt, a story to collage. Take the leap, because you are an artist, you deserve to live the creative life you want.

This video is a good place to help you get started.

Stay healthy, and live creatively until Monday!

●︙● Linzé 🇿🇦💜

The #CreativeLife 2021 - review of week 6

An interesting week at the lab where I had to tell a client his product failed (but the fix is on its way so holding thumbs it will pass the test this week) - not fun, but part of the job.

Also, have an interesting situation for the next product where I have to do the same test, but a completely different configuration. Have I mentioned that my professional life is not dull? LOL! I know like a million times, but it is still true though.

The #inktober52 prompt due this week is a drawing of my favourite insect, the dragonfly. I did a dragonfly last year in my Stoic journal where I drew and painted the wings on watercolour paper. I then cut them out, added a gloss layer over them and then glued them into my journal. Looks really cool, so I thought to do something similar. Instead of painting, I did the wings with black ink on tracing paper, cut them out and then glued them to the drawn body on the page of my sketchbook. Check it out on Instagram if you like dragonflies too.

I also made a keyring since I need it for a set of keys I want to keep separate from my already heavy load of keys. It has a tiny piece of art paper inside with an illuminated letter L on one side and some stamping on the other. The next moment I have an order to make 30 more. Gulp! But I look forward to creating more tiny pieces of art, so keep an eye out for that very soon.

But it's time to do some planning for this week (including making those key rings) so I am off and I will see you again soon!

Stay healthy, and live creatively until Thursday!

●︙● Linzé  🇿🇦💜

Exploring the creativity of the #CreativeLife (Part 2 of 4)

 This week we are looking at one aspect of creativity that many people (sometimes) forget about: learning.

I love learning new things, and perhaps you do too. But many people associate learning with school where tests and exams are necessary evils. Like most of us, I didn't like those so much, although gaining the knowledge or the skills were still worth the effort.

The same goes for any creative activity. Even engineers have to think outside the box and that is creativity too.

So what have you learned recently? Maybe you don't even realise that you learned something new or improved a skill that you already possess. Learning to draw or paint is a skill that I didn't have a child. Yes, I have been doing it for about seven years now, but I had to learn to draw and paint.

The more I practice the better my skills get for sure, but the practice also has an added benefit: inspiration. Yes, I know you are thinking that inspiration is for amateurs and there is some truth to it. But improvement comes with practice, learning, and practising some more. And the more you do, the better you see the things around you that can inspire you to challenge yourself to learn more.

Portraits have always been the one thing that scared me so this year I am learning and practising and learning and practising some more. I do not want to become a professional portrait artist, but becoming more skilled at drawing people will help me become a better artist.

If you want to learn to draw but have always been too afraid to try, check out this video, it just might inspire you to pick up a pencil. Be warned, you may never want to put it down again! 😉

Stay healthy, learn something new, and live creatively until Monday!

●︙● Linzé  🇿🇦💖