Your Creative Intentions: The Monday Post ~ January 14, 2013
“Finally, if you want to write, you have to just shut up, pick up a pen, and do it. I’m sorry there are no true excuses. This is our life. Step forward. Maybe it’s only for ten minutes. That’s okay. To write feels better than all the excuses.”
~Natalie Goldberg
Now is the time to recommit to a regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is one of the best ways to stay in touch with how you make meaning. Can a regular creative practice be part of your intentions for 2013?
What are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention or practice plan — and ink that time in your calendar. The scheduling part is important, because as you know, if you try to “fit it in” around the edges, it generally won’t happen. An intention as simple as “I will write for 20 minutes every morning after breakfast” or “I will sketch a new still life on Wednesday evening” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals 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. We use a broad brush in defining creativity, so don’t be shy. We also often include well-being practices that support creativity, such as exercise and journaling.
Putting your intentions on “paper” helps you get clear on what you want to do — and sharing those intentions with this community is a great way to leverage the motivation of an accountability group. Join us!
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Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
Last week:
Is friday too late for a Monday post? This week I will:
1. finish the new plate for Elegy/ Twin Trunk Pine.- done, it later broke but I got 2 decent prints and posted them in my art blog
2. write a short essay/ couple of paragraphs about the current artist at the OSS Gallery- done! Short, but done. And submitted for the friday 5PM writing crew
3. print the new plate with the open acrylic paints on the new Rives lightweight paper- done, see number 1
4. continue reading The Artist’s Guidebook- not so much
5. continue working with and reading about Nourish, my “word” for 2013- I’ve been working a lot with this theme, found some great books, had a great conversation with a friend about nettles (!), and Sunday morning made sweet potato minestrone variation with homemade bread, while making waffles for a sleepover and before heading over for an art reception and later teaching a yoga class. Hello superwoman! Did I mentioned that I utterly collapsed after all of that? Literally falling asleep while reading to the kids. They had to keep nudging me to wake up and finish the story.
6. Add a few items to the list of goals from the brainstorming session discussed in the Artist’s Guidebook- ooh yes, independent curating idea, show to enter with a feb 13 deadline, and jurying a show
7. working on finding 15 minutes a day to work toward studio clean-up/ organization- not so much. A little, a tiny bit.
This week:
Creative Goals:
1. Finish the brainstorming session and begin to break it down into a 5 year plan (re the Artist’s Guidebook)
2. Figure out what I’m making for the CAA show deadline of 2/13. I’ll be dropping off actual work so it needs to be framed. I’d like to work just a little bit bigger. Begin working on it, order what supplies I might need.
3. Daily drawing/ art practice, keep the studio journal going
4. Writing- continue working on the memoir
5. order the big calendar and by some multi-color post-its
Yay, artem!
I can totally relate to falling asleep while reading to the kids. I’ve gotten to where I can sleep AND read aloud at the same time. It’s amazing!
I really liked the quote you shared at the top here. It makes me remember that even if I only have 5-10 minutes to start writing each day, it still adds up over a week and over a month. We don’t need a perfect block of time to get started!
Yes, Stephanie! It totally adds up. Read more on this topic here: https://studiomothers.com/2011/05/03/writers-how-far-can-you-get-on-just-250-words/
how is it already monday again?
i was successful last week with more than the hoped for seven hours … i had seven hours on tuesday with 2 cleaning my studio and 5 working …. and then i got enthusiastic and found about 8 more hours of work time.
so… again this week, i’ll aim for 7 hours of art studio time … and hope for more …. i’d also like to get some blog posts written and scheduled to post … i do better that way than writing one every day ….
Whoa, Elizabeth! Awesome!
🙂
Streak continues in my daily writing practice — I’m up to 33 days in a row of logging at least 500 words daily in my WIP. Feels great.
Got my mother-in-law’s new room set up, which also entailed getting the dining room set up as the art room. Lots of moving furniture around, weeding out the massive accumulation of art supplies, and getting everything set up in its new home.
Was hit by a virus of some kind at the end of the week — I don’t think it was the flu, as my fever never broke 100F, but sore throat, congestion, headache, malaise, etc. Throat and headache persist, and now my littlest guy has it. Which means that we’re doing the all-family share thing, which can drag on for weeks.
Last week’s creative/well-being intentions:
* Daily morning centering practice w/Morning Pages and intention journaling [yes]
* Daily writing practice [yes]
* Complete installment of short story for “5PM Friday” weekly accountability group [yes]
* Write a blog post [no]
* Yoga x3 [only x2]
* Reading [yes]
* House projects: moving art room, painting bedroom, etc. [yes]
* Another installment of Project Life catch-up [no]
This week’s creative/well-being intentions:
* Daily morning centering practice w/Morning Pages and intention journaling
* Daily writing practice
* Complete installment of short story for “5PM Friday” weekly accountability group [daily]
* Write a blog post [T]
* Yoga x2 [Th/Sat]
* Reading [daily]
* Another installment of Project Life catch-up
last week’s goals: edit session tomorrow with writing group in big old manuscript, CHECK
hopefully finish this 4th draft in that session. start researching and writing queries during the rest of the week for that project. SEND IT OUT. RESETTING see below.
help son who is completely freaking out about his 1st choice college app deadline, get it together with him. convince him not to quit his grocery part time job. CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK and completed online filing of FAFSA.
paraprofessional duties continue for son #2 at wrestling practices and tournaments daily. CHECK
better and more time with toots. CHECK – while baking snickerdoodles – an activity she loves,, she said to me, “This is almost like playing!” was a good reminder for me to slow down even more
prioritize self-care for the rest of the year. say no, a lot. CHECK so far, so good.
also wrote a poem and took lots of photos.
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this week’s (and longer goals: clearer about next phase of manuscript: have a smidge more editing left, then it is query time: I am going to submit it to 5 imprints by the end of this month, that’s in the next two weeks, and if i get no feedback or rejections, i am going to start a Kickstarter page for self publishing in e and print formats. medium term goal: publishing process on way by June.
self-care: highlighting because am now run down and starting some earsnosethroat thing from toots’s preschool.
Good luck this week, Cathy!
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but in case you didn’t know, you have to fill out that freaking FAFSA for *every* year of college! It never ends!!!
i know. took the class. ugh. makes sense though. we have some self-employ going on here, so some years are more affected by that income than others.
For any kind of loan–need-based and non-need-based–you have to complete the FAFSA, so except for those who are rolling in dough, we all need to do it. At least you have plenty of company!
My intention for this week is quite simple: Ask a good friend of mine to print up about 50 color copies of my handout for Global Fitness. I will, of course, compensate said good friend accordingly…
Hey Miranda, I am lovin your blog…thank you!!
Thank you, Robin! xo
This week I want to post 2 blog entries and dedicate 3 days to studying. Saturday is for skiing, sewing (finding a pattern to make something for myself) and snuggling with my sweetheart. Sunday is football, cooking (my creative time!) and family time. Whew, got 2 days of studying done and 1 new post…kinda boring one, but I did it and it’s a start since I haven’t blogged for a couple of years! yay!!
Awesome, Laurie! The first post — getting back in — is the hardest part!