Art Every Day Month 2011: Day 12

 

I had a long Saturday with not much going on, so I took the opportunity that I was presented with to create some art. I haven't dabbled with photomanipulation for a long while, and I thought I would give it another go. Altogether, I'm pretty pleased with it considering I haven't done anything like this for a while. 

The idea for the scene came to me on my way home from work. I was driving one of the long stretches of road and there were these huge, dark thunderclouds rolling in toward me as I drove closer to home. It felt like a challenge, almost. 

Here's to being a wild, warrior woman. 

Credits for stock go to the following: 

Model: night-fate-stock @ DA 
Beach: eastop @ stock.xchng
Clouds: dimitri_c @ stock.xchng 
Grass: faestock @ DA
Lightning brushes: redheadstock @ DA

The Nifty List: November 11, 2011.

 

Welcome to my nifty list. I like lists. I like nifty things. Thus, the nifty lists were born.

 

• Eeeee! Lace boot socks over at Oops I Craft My Pants! (We’re not going to talk about how stereotypical I am that my name is Lacey and I’m in love with lace. We're also not going to talk about how awesome this blog name is.) I will make them.
• If you’re on the internet at all, you probably know about TED talks. One of my favorites that’s been on the website for a while now - and I always seem to come back to - is a talk by Elizabeth Gilbert (You know. That awesome gal that wrote Eat, Pray, Love?) on Nurturing Creativity.
• Steven Pressfield talks about the 10,000 hour rule and about reaching the end of our ability to mimic others when it comes to our creativity.

• I love this virtual collection of matte paintings. Breathtaking and gorgeous.
• I recently discovered Cynosure. Sui is raw and real and transparent in her writing. I could eat every paragraph she writes with a spoon. She also has this fan-flippin’-tastic Letter that she sends out everyday. 

• I discovered Help Portrait via a post by Jasmine Star Photography. It’s an amazing way to use photography skills to give to others who are in need.

• This themed engagement shoot by Three Nails Photography I found via Green Wedding Shoes goes with the concept of Red Riding Hood. Beautiful. I keep coming back to look at these photographs. Just UNGH.

Being an Imagination Warrior in a Cubicle.

 

I suppose that when one thinks about the concept of an imagination warrior, sitting in a cubicle or behind a plastic desk isn’t exactly what we have in mind. In all honesty, I don’t think I ever once said to myself in the midst of my creative childhood, Yes. I think one day I would like to grow up to sit behind a desk with no windows in sight and stare at a computer monitor all day.

Not that I’m complaining, of course. I know that there are quite a few individuals out there who most likely wish that they had my cubicle job. Something somewhat reliable and concrete. A position that isn’t focused on frying hamburgers or selling fashion accessories based on sales commisions. I can appreciate that my current job position doesn’t require either of those things from me. Not only appreciate, but I am thankful. So very thankful for my blessings.

But I can’t escape the fact that...Well, it’s boring. Not entirely, of course. Not all the time. But there are periods of time which I spend staring at my computer monitor, wishing the time would go more quickly than it is.

And really, there’s nothing imaginative required in my position. I answer customer emails that all begin to look and feel similar to each other. Eventually, I find myself repeatedly typing the same phrases day in and day out. For the creative mind, I can imagine that you understand that this lack of a need for my imaginative skills would be vexing.

Therefore, there are three ways that I’ve found that I can spice up my job simply by being an Imagination Warrior in the dark dungeon formed by three walls and my plastic desk.

1: Pretend the customers are in mortal peril.

This solves a great deal of the boredom. As a majority of my work involves solving customer problems, it’s much more exciting to imagine that they are in the clutches of a foul dragon who will toast them like a marshmallow and eat them alive if they do not find  the dragon this specific sweatshirt immediately.

Not only does this set my customer service pulse to pounding, but it also makes me feel like a hero when I’ve located the sweatshirt. If they are the fantastic sort of customer that I adore, of course they’ll heap many praises on my character - or at least muster a thank you. And if they’re not...Well, I still feel a little self-righteous anyway. Sort of like a caped avenger who isn’t appreciated enough because how could ordinary citizens possibly know or understand?

Never mind the moments when I can’t find the sweatshirt or we don’t have it. I try not to think about the dragon in that case. It gets to be very unpleasant from there.

2: Imagine that my lunch break is a vacation.

It’s lunch time! The world is my damn oyster, and I can go anywhere and do anything - in thirty minutes or less. If I feel like visiting China or Thailand, it’s only a few minutes’ drive to the nearest Asian food restaurant. If I feel like lounging on a beach instead, it’s off to buy a smoothie. A whole world of opportunities is open in just the cuisine that I choose to indulge in.

And thanks to the helpful hints of my coworkers, I’m starting to learn that there’s a lot more available near my workplace than I had originally thought. I also like to be an explorer and chart my own maps with the time that I have. Each day there’s a new direction I can drive or walk in - new places and things to discover. Nothing makes life more exciting and adventurous than the idea that you are exploring it for the first time.

3: Daydream.

Yeah. I said it. I like to space out every once in a while. Some people need to take breaks from their work and do a quick turn around the office. I need to sit at my desk and go inward just for a few moments. I need to let myself daydream - let my mind wander without being pulled back and made to focus.

I think as adults, sometimes we put so much emphasis on focusing and being productive that we forget how nice it is just to daydream and imagine. I’m not necessarily saying that we should waste all of our time by not being in the present. But I think daydreams can be helpful. Even encouraging. It’s a way to take myself out of the present, if only for a moment. A way to remind myself that there is more - and that I’m allowed to hope for more.

I find that a good, one-minute daydream every hour keeps me relatively focused and productive for the rest of my work day. My coworkers may have to snap their fingers a couple of times if they need my attention in that same minute. But I’m much more pleasant coming out of a daydream than I am coming out of a to-do list that I’m not ever allowed to take a break from.

Being an imagination warrior doesn't mean you have to be impractical or unfocused.

 It just means letting yourself dream every once in a while - even if other people might laugh at the concept. That's the beauty of the imagination. It's all in your head. No one else has access to it. 

So let yourself be free to imagine, even in your cubicle or at your plastic desk. No one else has to know why your days are so exciting. 

Life is too short to force words from my fingers.

I’m doing it again.

It’s silly. So very silly.

I stare at the blank Microsoft Word document. Tension in my shoulders. Ache. Ouch. My eyes are itchy and watery. It’s getting to be that time of year again. There’s too much dust at my desk. I should wipe it off. That would help. That would help me -

Focus. Squeeze my eyes shut. Suck in a long, deep breath that stretches to my toes. Release the exhale on a shuddering quiver. It seems only two seconds and then the tension is back in my shoulders again. I clench my fists in frustration and resist the urge to just scream.

I can’t relax. I can’t enjoy this. What is wrong with me?

Writing used to come so easy. I remember when that was all I could seem to do - even when I wasn’t supposed to. I was a good multi-tasker. I could listen to my eighth-grade history class lectures, answer questions, and record the stories in my own head all at the same time. And when I wasn’t writing, I was dreaming about writing. I was thinking about what story I would scrawl into my newest, fresh notebook as soon as I could pick up a pen again.

Now I still dream. I still hoard empty, new notebooks like I’m some sort of troll or dragon who lusts after fresh paper instead of gold. But when it comes time to sit down and write, I get that tension in my shoulders. That little, nasty voice in my head.

What’s wrong with you? Where did it go? Why can’t you write anymore? Don’t you have anything to say? C’mon, c’mon, c’mon. Time’s a-wastin’. We don’t have all day!

Now even more so. I don’t need that NaNoWriMo word count total in front of me to know that I am failing dreadfully. The panic rises up, because I’ve always been so very good at demanding more from myself. What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me?

But then that quiet voice speaks. That soft whisper in my chest that cuts through all the frenzy and the inner critic. My mind’s dialogue quiets instantly, and I feel relief in my shoulders and my back.

Life is too short to fill your free time with unnecessary obligations. This is supposed to be fun. If it’s not fun, you’re doing it wrong.

I am reminded of a podcast interview I listened to recently with the fabulous Danielle LaPorte. It’s a hell yes, she said in her usual blunt manner, or it’s a no thank you.

In this moment, writing isn’t a hell yeah! It’s something I drag my feet to do. I want the idea of writing. But when it comes to it, the word counts - the requirement - makes me sick to my stomach with pre-conceived disappointment. I don’t want more stress. I don’t want the deadlines. 

No. What I really want is the opportunity to be more creative. An excuse to fill my free time with creative endeavors.

And just like that, the stress is gone. This NaNoWriMo challenge is whatever I want it to be. And right now, I want it to be a daily practice. I don’t care that I might not reach the word counts each day. I care that I sit down each evening to write something - anything. A paragraph or a novel. I don’t care.

Life is too short to stress myself out over something that should be gloriously and fantastically fun. I won’t fall into that trap.

It’s only then - with my own permission - that the words finally begin to fall from my heart.

The Nifty List: November 4, 2011.

Welcome to my nifty list. I like lists. I like nifty things. Thus, the nifty lists were born.

• I always like finding new ways of using the artistic mediums available to us. I used motion in my senior thesis when graduating from the photography program because I wanted something different. I love the concept and execution of these cinemagraphs. So pretty and interesting!

• If you’re the type to drool over amazing wedding photography like I am, then you’ll probably adore Green Wedding Shoes. I’m particularly in love with this Tim Burton inspired engagement photoshoot, shot by Jani B Photography.

• Are you reading Danielle LaPorte’s blog? Have you visited WhiteHotTruth.com? You should. You should also read this article that she wrote recently on how  giving up hope is a good thing.

• Sustainably Creative is the artistic home of Michael Nobbs. He is awesome and thoughtful and profound and oh-so-soothing. His downloadable book Start to Draw Your Life is also pretty rad.

• Maureen Johnson is a YA author who writes really awesome books. She’s also a twitter celeb and her tweets make me snort out loud at my cubicle job. DO IT. I particularly like this tweet and this tweet. 

 

• This week was Halloween - also known as one of the best holidays all year long! I can’t let a holiday pass by without showing you these amazing, Halloween-themed wedding  (Shot by Kristen Marie Photography) and engagement (Shot by Paige Newton Photography) photoshoots.

• Have you heard of Art Every Day Month? It's like NaNoWriMo, but for artists - or any creative individual! It's hosted by Leah Piken Kolidas at her blog. And it's never too late to join!

• I am a twitter-aholic. I use it on my cellphone. I use it on my personal laptop. I use it at work. My new favorite twitter app? TweetDeck for Chrome! I can tweet from multiple accounts at the same time if I want to! And there’s no software download necessary. Heart, heart, heart.

• I want to make this scarf - found via Kevin & Amanda because it looks warm and fun and a delightful use of part of an afternoon (and some old t-shirts!).

• I would also love to be able to create this authentic chai tea recipe some weekend. It looks and sounds delicious!