Let’s Talk Winter

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. ” -Albert Camus

I found my love for winter when I became a writer. I like snow days. I like being in a cozy space with a movie or my writing. I like naps when the weather is really bad. And soup in the slow cooker just simmering away all day. That is what I love about the cool months.

It could be a good sign. Anton Chekhov says,

“People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.”

What’s your favorite thing about winter?


Seers, Your Vision is Valuable

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” -Jonathan Swift

Some of us are gifted with the ability to see what is invisible to others, and it doesn’t always feel like a good thing. I want to take this moment to remind you that your vision is more valuable than gold and that gift can’t be taken from you. Your ideas can be stolen, but your ability to see cannot. The good news is that since you have the ability to see, there are always more ideas to come. You are an idea machine!

On another note, the trick to bringing your vision into reality is making it an adventure. To make it to the starting line and beyond, you must first value your vision. That can take people a lifetime. But it doesn’t have to take you a lifetime, does it?

What do you see?

You Don’t Have to Suffer to Create

“We must—yes, must—make a daily and even hourly choice to focus on the good, the true, and the beautiful.” -from The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr

Like most other humans, I have seen my life from both perspectives: an optimistic state and a depressed state. Art lives in all states, even the apathetic ones. I think it was important for me to learn that we don’t need to be depressed and sad to make great art. We can create stunning art even while we’re happy. We need the entire journey of ups and downs to make art that has universal resonance.

That’s not all though.

I have to leave you with the cliché secret to great works of art.

I hate to say it. But it’s pressure. Pressure makes diamonds, and it doesn’t stop there. However, it’s important to note that pressure applied to an undisciplined artist means that there’s a good possibility art won’t come from it. Pressure applied to a dedicated and disciplined artist will almost always guarantee art to come from it. So the only real difference isn’t what state you’re in; it’s your level of discipline and dedication.

Do you write in all moods?

Writers, Don’t Forget to Play

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” -Carl Jung

Play is the keyword there. That’s where I find my ability to keep going regardless of all the hurdles I face. I like when things feel like they are fun and light. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I lose sight of the fun, but my tank returns to full when I find the fun again. The hard stuff is so much easier when you make a game out of it! The same goes with writing.

How do you find fun on your writing journeys? I find fun through my characters!

Latest Movie

So I totally watched the A-Team movie tonight and loved it!

I used to watch the A-Team TV show with my parents as a kid. It was so fun to watch something with that similar vibe. It wasn’t so serious. I feel like all the movies that come out lately are so serious, even the satirical ones. This one was fun, action-packed, and it was actually PG-13, which seems like we never get with action movies anymore. I got myself skinny popcorn and my husband. We had a few laughs together and enjoyed the whole thing.

Have you seen any good action movies lately?

What should we watch next?

Divine Inspiration

“Leonardo da Vinci wrote in his Notebooks: “It should not be hard for you to stop sometimes and look into the stains of walls, or ashes of a fire, or clouds, or mud or like places in which … you may find really marvelous ideas.” ― C.G. Jung, Man and His Symbols

Inspiration is out there. I’m saying this in my best Pixar’s Up voice. We can approach life as artists even in the ordinary. Even more so, I think art lies in the present—those monotonous things we often let slide out of our awareness. Don’t get me wrong; I like a little excitement here and there to change things up, and I think going to new places is inspiring too. The point is that we don’t need to go far and wide to gain inspiration. We can use our own backyard to find the symbols of the universe that’s what I would call divine inspiration.

What has been your latest inspiration? My latest inspo has been the art books at my school and then Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.

The Writer’s Job

“Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed.” -Khalil Gibran

My immediate reaction to this quote is that this isn’t easy. It almost hurts my brain to think about writing in this way. Francis Bacon says something similar.

“The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.”

This one doesn’t hurt my brain as much. This reminds me of great art from the past and present. I think every artist has their own job when it comes to why they create. For Bacon, it was to deepen mystery, and Gibran something similar. That’s what works for them. Then there’s art for the sake of art: art that liberates, records, and entertains. And we, as artists, get to dabble in it all.

What is your job as an artist?

Change

“There is nothing permanent except change.” -Heraclitus

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that things change. Some things need to be manually evolved and adapted. Some things, like nature, evolve and adapt on their own. We get the gift of learning to see the beauty in all the ways things change. I tend to appreciate change. Not last-minute abrupt changes, but even those sometimes bring me joy, like a surprise trip to get ice cream. One change I have learned to appreciate is the changing seasons, seeing the leaves turn and new blooms after a long, cold winter. I also love to see how people change over time. People are art. That’s why I like to write about them and the ways change.

How is change for you? Do you love it or hate it?

Goodness and Hope

“Hope is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.” –Václav Havel

Hope can be a dangerous thing, but this quote I can relate to. It reminds me of the Baby-Sitters Club. They often did things for their community out of the goodness of their hearts. It feels so hard to do those things today. Everything feels less safe, and people are less trustworthy. This quote gives me better perspective when it comes to all of my work because it allows me to focus on the goodness factor. I think life is better when you focus on the good.

Creatives Have Toys, You Can Too

“Artists are just children who refuse to put down their crayons.” -Al Hirschfeld

I stopped caring about being judged for having toys in my space. Many creatives have little fidgets and toys in their workspace. Now that all those mini collectibles are everywhere, it’s easy to gather all the toys you need to keep the wheels turning.

It adds to creativity when we take time to see the world through a child’s eyes, and when we let our inner child have the little things it desires. Julia Cameron talks a lot about artist dates to help coax out that inner child that many adults learn to neglect. One idea of hers that I really took to heart was going to the dollar store and getting art supplies to make something. And that’s what I did with my little one over the weekend. It wasn’t an official artist date, but my inner child wanted to create, so we went. We had a blast and got glitter everywhere.

Not going to lie, it took me a long time to learn to hear and listen to my inner child.

What do you refuse to put down?