Last November I was fortunate to be invited to my friend Sarah's house for an evening of (wine and) creating vision boards. I'm so glad I did this. Basically we all talked and had some wine and flipped through old magazines, tearing out words or images that spoke to us. Then we put them all together to create a personal vision board. I love mine - maybe I'll add a photo of it.
The timing was just perfect - right before the holidays got so crazy - and it really helped me focus my thoughts as we closed out the year on where I want things to go in my life.
I came away from this evening knowing that I want to:
- Take more pleasure in my life. Enjoy things more. Do more things that are worth enjoying. Have the glass of champagne. Put on the lipstick when I'm just staying at home. Find and create beauty and savor it.
- Adopt a more French attitude toward pleasurable things - they are good for you and you shouldn't feel guilty about them. Vacations, good food, date night, "me time" - simply enjoy them. It's sort of the whole point.
- Tune in to the things I would really like to change but may have just gotten used to.
- Enjoy my children.
- Paint more.
- Play with fabrics and colors that I love.
- Get better in the garden. Creating food out of sunshine is an everyday miracle.
- More glamour. Hold myself to a higher standard of beauty. Take the time. Be worth it.
Around the same time, I ran out of business cards. I used to have three different ones - one for my role designing and creating handmade clothing, one for my role painting wedding dresses, and one for my other role as a web content specialist. I am proud to wear many hats - most creative people I know do more than one thing, and do it well. But still, this made me uneasy - I was feeling a little boxed in. (How's that for irony - feeling boxed in by three different roles?) But the truth is that none of these highly focused hats really fit me completely, because there is always something else I'm interested in. That was the day I started this blog, and my new cards simply read "Artist, Designer, Writer". I knew that one thing I want to do this year is simply create more work - paint more, write more, create more.
My youngest child is two, and can do a lot more by himself than when he was a baby. I'm feeling like there is just a little more breathing room in my life. Room to do a bit more.
I have a friend who is a very talented artist. I was so rooting for him when he quit the day job and tried to make a living making art. And I was dismayed this fall when he had to try to find another day job. It is so tough out there - you really need a patron. I have this, in a sense, and I am so fortunate.
I am energized and this is an opportunity I must not squander. Not many get it. The kind of flexibility I have in my life right now must be put to good use.
I've played around with some specific goal ideas (love the idea of this poem-a-day challenge), but at the same time not sure that a daily/weekly deadline is the right approach. But then again, maybe it is. I'd love to hear ideas on how people set their creative goals. Measure output : X number of ___ every ___? Or just force yourself to sit down and work for X amount of time every ___?
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