Monday Post ~ January 24, 2011
Dreaming, doing, living
What would you like to accomplish creatively this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic task or a milestone to reach for. Share your goal(s) as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
Suggestion: When you’re deciding on your creative intentions, it’s a good idea to think about WHEN you’re going to write those 2,000 words or paint that canvas. Try to schedule the time slots in your calendar (if you keep one), understanding that flexibility may be required. If things don’t happen when you wanted them to, that’s OK. Give yourself a gentle push with one hand, but pat yourself kindly on the shoulder with the other if you don’t reach your goal for a given week. Sometimes it’s easier, sometimes it’s harder. Ride whatever you’ve got.
It’s also useful to have a sense of your minimum requirements (come hell or high water I’m going to write 100 words) while keeping a lookout for sudden opportunities to do more. You know, the day that the baby takes a monster nap or your partner takes the kids out to run errands and you find yourself with an unexpected “extra” half hour. Grab that time for yourself. You can catch up on the dishes and the laundry later. If you keep something creative in the back of your mind for those sudden opportunities, you’ll be more likely to use them to your advantage — rather than squandering your precious bonus moments on Facebook or vacuuming out the sofa cushions.
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
Muddling along. I seem to have some good size mountains ahead of me. So for now, I’m keeping in mind that the way to the mountain top is one step at a time.
Moving along with my websites, taking more photos for Etsy, care taking my husband, navigating music camps, possible boarding music school for my teenage son(excellent violinist), just to name a few, oh did I mention I,m doing this on a zero budget. Really. We get a small monthly bit from my sister in law, enough to pay the bills, which have been pruned down to their minimum. None of this is a complaint, just some facts. I share this to illustrate and confess that faith can and does increase. It is through the Grace of God that I am accomplishing this. You might want to know if I get nervous, anxious, worried? the answer is yes, I’m human, of course I do. Just for a minute or two, then I find one thing to do, just one thing, and believe me, anything will do. Doing something produces something. doing nothing produces nothing. SO step by step, I’m redefining myself again, and loving the process.
Maybe this should have been on my “about” page of my website, which, for the time being, is empty.
last week, i managed to peck at a few pages since last week’s post, but the changes i ended up making were not what i planned to work on. ‘sok.
this week, writing group on tues, we will meet for four hours, write for 3 and eat and discuss for 1. that should help. i think i need to seriously remove myself from my house to work at all on my writing and get anything done. however, this week, is all half school days for the kids, and i have a bunch of other appts, so writing group may be my only opportunity to get out with the manuscript.
Nice going, Alexsondra and Cathy. (Alexsondra, sending every good wish that your financial situation eases up a bit in the very near future. You’re doing an amazing job of not letting the stress take over.)
Last week I wrote: Complete my nonfiction essay, revise, and submit on Wednesday. After that, more work on the book. My husband will be doing a bit of traveling this week, so I’ll have some “extra” evening time to work in addition to whatever I can squeeze in during the day.
Outcome: I finished my submission to the literary journal and heard within 24 hours that it was accepted, so that was rather satisfying, to say the least. I also wrote an entry for NPR’s 3-minute fiction contest, which was fun. Oddly, I was able to get a lot of work done while my family was around. (I think it helps to be working on shorter projects rather than a full-length manuscript — although I do want to get back to that.)
ALSO, we did something very exciting to our art room, which will be a blog post later this week….and did a fun art project with the kids, which I might also post.
This week: Go back to the personal essay I was working on a month or so ago and try to finish that up — or at least get to a complete draft by the end of the weekend. AND, delve into some fun creative projects with the kids.
I make time to play with my creative muse every day.
It keeps me sane.
It keeps me inspired.
I learn something new everytime I’m in my studio.
Pushing yourself is something we need to do more.
Just do it and play.
xo bonnierose
i had an inventory due … for an art show next week … drop off is on friday … well …. six of the paintings i wrote down are NOT finished yet … not even close to being finished! … eek …. so … this week, i shall finish paintings that are already named … three are 6 by 6, three are 12 by 12 … at least they are all started …. i’m also going to do 30 minutes of novel editing each evening …. i figured out i get more of that done if i do it while my family is buzzing about doing their things in the evening than i do trying to schedule it into my already full daytime minutes ….
Hi all….I finished the two custom pieces and thankfully both customers were very happy with them! I’m already two weeks behind on Wyanne’s Paint Free class, but oh well, that’s life in the big city. I don’t want it to feel like “work,” so I’m not worrying about it. Hopefully I’ll find some time to work on it this week.
Last week, I submitted my application for a full-time faculty position that’s come available. Moving over to that side of the college’s house finally would give me so much more time. Interviews should start in mid- to late- February. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I’m very ready for the change. I’ve been in an administrative leadership role for so long (17 years) that it will definitely be a transition, but it will be a welcome one. Currently working two jobs, taking care of the family and trying to fit in my creative time is the ultimate juggle.
great everyone! and good luck, fingers crossed for you, kelly! i really hope you get this teaching job!
I guess it says something that I am finally getting to this space on Friday! Dang! I did complete my task last week which was preliminary sketches for a children’s yoga book and this week I sketched 9 of the 12 pics for the final layout. Miranda I APPLAUD you that you are able to work with your crew around. That is not something I have been able to do yet. Funny though, I did it ALL THE TIME while in Germany!
i finished the six paintings i said i’d do … i also did three more … and i got them all delivered today to the show … which starts monday … i edited my writing one time though .. not the every night thing i told myself i’d do … i’m not an evening editor apparently ….