Tag Archives: do what you love

art, commitment, creator, excuses, showing up

How to be more productive

How to be more productive in a society that asks so much of us every day is a challenge. After nine-to-five it’s hard to get motivated when all your energy is gone, BUT if you take the step to do something you love, you’ll find that you perk right up. It beats sitting on the couch eating popcorn.

The first step

Identify what you can do NOW to move your dreams forward. I’m coming from an artist’s point of view, but all areas of life can use the same approach. As an artist, I have so many art supplies that I have collected over the years, so I have no excuses.

Making art is a journey. There is a beginning but no end. The journey is traveling through many facets of creativity, and when one style doesn’t support your enthusiasm it’s important to trust the progress forward.

The second step

Can you commit to something you love to do? When you sign up for an exercise program you commit to following through, but how many do? It gets boring but you gain stamina and mobility. So, what change can you make to be more excited about it? Try a different style? It takes creativity to get out of a rut. Commitment is invaluable! Follow through until it gets to be second nature. That is probably the most valuable lesson I have had in my years as an artist.

I have made many clay figures in the past, and the above picture is a new variant of the same theme. I wanted to make a toadstool hat, which I knew would be a challenge. This is how I did it (lots of gnashing of teeth.): I took a Styrofoam ball and cut the top off. I already had the sculpture’s head done. I carved out the foam to fit the head. That was the easy part. Then I needed pleated fabric on the underside. I used A LOT of glue to press down every fold of white muslin. (You should’ve seen my gluey hands!) I made sure the folds were attached well, and then I went back to press them down as the glue was drying. Then I trimmed the excess of fabric at the edge, and there it was. I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I painted the red area first so that I wouldn’t get paint on the white pleats, and I added the clay hair afterward.

Step three: Keep experimenting!

You don’t learn what works unless you experiment with the materials. Many times a material won’t work, but you get a better idea of what will.

Set small goals

Climbing Mt. Everest takes MANY small steps. Say you can commit to half an hour of art-ing every day, plan ahead. If you’re a visual artist, bring a sketchbook in your purse and some pens and pencils. If you paint abstracts, make a wild background on a blank canvas. If you work with clay, make an armature for the sculpture you want to create. One small step will get you going.

How to be more productive happens in small steps!

The Universe helps those who help themselves. Brilliant ideas come from nowhere, and you can be the vessel for those ideas.

Show up, and magic will start happening 🙂

It’s true.

If you have no clue what excites you, think of what you liked in school, or what you were good at. Talent often shows itself early, a suggestion of a future to come. Doing what you love makes you HAPPY! If clueless, try different things; the smallest effort will eventually show you the path.

Lots of love,

Maria

My etsy shop EarthandFaery is filled with magic!

art, crafts, creativity, procrastination

Creativity in these dark times

Creativity comes in many forms as in art, crafts, inspired thinking, problem solving, seeing the big picture and implementing the vision. There’s more, but I’m focusing on art / crafts as you know.

In these times it’s easy to get into bad habits, over-eating for comfort, watching too much television, lacking exercise, you name it. It’s like comfort food. It makes you feel comforted for a while, but your stomach might not like the addition. We seldom question these things, and we ignore our feelings and insights.

It’s human nature, of course, but to create something sustainable in whatever field, you have to apply yourself. If you don’t do what you know you want to do, you’re going to feel bad. We’ve all be there, but we don’t want to stay there.

When I was young, I procrastinated like crazy, but over time, I have developed much better habits. We want to perform well, be it at a job, or in front of the easel. My dad used to say, “if there’s something you have to do that you hate, do it immediately.” I so get what he meant. When I procrastinate, I have to THINK about the problem all the time. If I tackle it, the pain will be over quickly!

To do that, we have to set up some kind of framework. I have goal setting of sorts. I have to list things in my Etsy shop all the time to keep things fresh, so four days out of seven, I have to create something and list it.

For the most part, it works, and I have made a pact with myself to stick to the plan. Another commitment is to make something for the PFATT marketplace every month, and it can’t be a small insignificant thing. So I have to make at least two quality items, preferably four. Between Etsy and that, and two blog posts, and a newsletter, my hands are full!

But I love it!

Here’s a fun challenge

What do you love the most right now in your art practice (or other?)

List a few things you’d love to try, and then rank them. Concentrate on the top two and make a plan on how to manifest them. It could involve getting some art supplies, take a class, clean your art room.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with bullet lists. I use one loosely. Each week I make a list of everything I want to accomplish and then cross them off as I go. No hard and fast rules, but I do refer to that piece of paper to keep myself accountable.

If we have bad habits we’re not honoring ourselves.

You might not be able to break a bad habit easily, but ADD some good habits and set some artistic goals. One week is a good time frame, and as you get better at it, make a schedule for a month. I promise, you will feel so accomplished and uplifted, and more self-confident.

If we all were good self-motivators, we would be doing the things we love all the time. 🙂 I would love to hear from you how you’re using creativity to keep yourself upbeat in these times. You can write to me at maria@mariagreene.org.

I get a lot of questions about procrastination. I have written many posts in the past that deal with that and fear.

Procrastination is an ugly beast.

Fear is not your friend.

The point is to take small steps in the right direction and stick to it. Anything worth doing, like art, takes time and dedication, and the rewards are great!

I have been a bit busy, but not as busy as I’d like, haha.

I made a Halloween owl for the PFATT marketplace, and a monster doll that I might offer there or on Etsy.

On my work table
Mr. Halloween owl.

I don’t have a name for the owl yet. Any suggestions?

Monster doll eyes in the making.
Creativity and experimentation.

I have always loved the monster dolls on Pinterest, so I decided to try one of my own. So much fun! Sewing is not my favorite thing, but I like to mix things up. Pinterest is a great place to get ideas!

I painted and made another clay figure, and the month isn’t over yet, so who knows what comes next?

Whimsy is the name of the game in my studio.

It seems I used blue a lot in my latest creations… These six items are now available in my Etsy shop, Earth and Faery.

Keep your vibe high! 🙂 Do what you love, at least fit it in between chores and work. It’s really important.

Lots of love,

Maria

P.S. TIP: keep a small journal and a pouch of pens in your purse and doodle when you’re waiting at appointments, school pick ups, and having a coffee at Starbuck’s! Where there’s a will there’s a way.

art, creativity, life, motivational, self help, transformation

You are your own worst enemy.

6 Comments

 

100_2467

I know I’m my own worst enemy… It baffles me that I can’t seem to  get where I want to get with my life. Not that my life is bad in any way, but I’ve been working on making art my main career, something that truly comes from my heart.  I know I can help people to find an added dimension to their lives with art. Non-artists might poo-poo the idea, but once you start playing with art supplies a whole new world opens up, guaranteed, whether you ever considered yourself art talented or not.  Children don’t question their ability to create, not for one second.  Not until they are told by others that they have to focus on serious things to get good jobs.  Art is something we dabble in when the mood strikes. It’s a frivolous thing…. not!

I grew up with the concept you can’t make money from art, and you have to get a decent job to make your way in this world.  True, in some ways, but you sell your soul along the way, unless you’re doing something you love.  Most people hate what they do, and I don’t want to fall into that trap again.

I have decided (something I have to re-decide every day) is to fully follow my heart.  My heart has held steady over the years even if I have meandered from this to that over two continents, mostly hating my jobs–except my writing career, but that’s another story.

This decision is not a New Year’s resolution; it’s a decision that sits in my bones now.  It’s kind of a life or death situation… my choice.

heartpix

When I got really firm about pursuing this goal all the way, all hell broke lose financially.  Out of the blue I lost one income, and then I had to have a big rotting tree removed from the yard. It ain’t cheap! Then my computer croaked, my main artery to uploading my art tutorials and such.  Learning Windows 10 now…  Anyway, those expenses pulled up the old patterns like clockwork.  To pay for this, you have to get a job right away. I’m a responsible person, but fearful thinking sucks.

BUT, if I stand my ground and make this goal a “MUST” the universe will yield and my pattern will break. Believe me, I have been working on breaking that pattern for years.  Fear is a wondrous, useless thing, and it’s bone deep too, but I have a streak of stubbornness.

Through this somewhat painful journey (at times) I have felt totally alone.  However, that has helped shift my focus to wholly rely on my inner self and not seek (or gotten)  support from others. It’s a lonely path, but wasn’t the Hero’s journey a lonely one as well?

To accomplish something worthwhile it’s sometimes necessary to strip away all the fluff and the distractions, all the excuses, and all the opinions of others (who aren’t REALLY there.) They can’t be. Everyone lives in their own bubble.

I’ve been creating some art tutorials and art e-courses and I love every minute of it!  Full commitment is the only thing that will gain any kind of solid result. It might not be monetary, but it will certainly be fulfilling.  So, even if January kicked my butt, I brushed the dust off and by gum, I will never give up living my life doing what I love!

heartwithwings

What do you love doing the most? Leave a comment if you feel so inspired.

xo

Maria

P.S. I have a four week e-course going right now. We’re in week 1 so far. It’s called Art As Oracle and it combines art making and doing an intuitive reading for yourself via the art.  Art As Oracle. $49