The chance to shine (plus, fox and whale art)

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong” (Joseph Chilton Pearce)

We must lose our fear of being wrong. 

I love the underlying flexibility here: the freedom is ours to take creative detours, to keep experimenting and finding the necessary inspiration to try again when a project doesn’t turn out how we thought.

There’s no wrong, honestly. There’s only exploration.

Are you ever so fearful about making a mistake that you can’t even begin? 

I’ve SO been there. One early memory always sticks with me from elementary school, where we were doing a creative group project in class. We had to do video interviews of our classmates as well as take footage of the campus.

Being that this was the 90’s, we had a big and bulky video camera that was passed around from student to student until we’d each had a turn.

I didn’t want my turn to come, as my fear of incorrectly managing the camera in front of other people outweighed any other emotion or rational thought. The fear stopped me from paying attention to the instructions on how to use the camera, stopped me from brainstorming how I could make my contribution special.

The result of my turn was a shaky, inaudible mess.

Print available in the shop

Get outside, breathe in the air (plus, new art and larger print sizes)

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one” John Lennon

Friends, I was on vacation all of last week. I haven’t had any extended time off since September 2014, so this vacation was needed and appreciated.

We spent time with Eric’s family in rural Maine. We had no internet / phone service, stayed in a cabin on a lake, and filled the days with reading, relaxing, hiking, eating. It became super clear to me after a few days how much I needed the time to unplug, and I spent a lot of time simply using my senses: feeling the sun, listening to the water, gazing out over the mountains. Here are some highlight pictures from the week (all photos by Eric Cross):

Why I love transitions (plus, new art in the shop!)

“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being” Hafiz

Eric and I got married on June 15, 2013, which makes this week super special.

We were married at my elementary school, under a graduation tent. During the reception the kids played in the creek and on the swings. We had our ceremony on what’s called the ‘play barn,’ or a wooden stage where I also performed so many plays and sang so many songs as a kid. In short, our wedding was relaxed, informal, and exactly what we wanted.

I’m really proud that we’ve kept up a good relationship while he’s in school and working and I’m building my business. It’s been quite the ride!

2 years into our marriage and I love the life that we’re building together. I truly do.

♥ ♥ ♥

Are you a creative person?

“Each star is a mirror reflecting the truth inside you” Aberjhani 

The more time I spend in this art world, the more stories I hear about creativity.

I was listening to another of Tiffany Han’s podcasts over the weekend, and this episode discussed how when we hear the word creativity, many of us apply the meaning solely to artists.

As in: if you’re not a dedicated artist, you’re not a creative person. As in: you aren’t creative if you can’t draw, paint, dance, sing, or play an instrument (among other things!)

I was glad to hear the podcast dispelling this myth, saying that there are so many different ways to be creative. I couldn’t agree more.

We are all creative people, whether that creativity is displayed through our hobbies or through our most personal thoughts. For some of us, being creative means writing thoughtful emails or letters. For others, creativity means cooking a new recipe for dinner or planting a garden.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a confident cook and that I don’t know the first thing about planting a garden (I want to learn!). Thankfully I have family and friends who are fabulous at cooking and gardening.

Thankfully I found my own outlet, after so many years of uncertainty.

We have to start with love

“The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts” Marcus Aurelius

I recently discovered the Raise your hand. Say yes podcast with Tiffany Han. She has a series of interviews with super inspiring and creative women, so if you’re like me and enjoy listening to podcasts while making dinner, cleaning, or creating something new, give these a try!

There are so many topics covered in these interviews – focus, fear, community, confidence, boundaries, etc.

I listened to a few episodes this past weekend when I was painting, and a common thread that emerged was how we can get in our way (often by accident!), and slow down our progress towards our goals.

This concept is really interesting to me, since I work really hard towards my goals but can also have a tendency towards negative self-talk. Some examples include:

• Not being able to appreciate how far I’ve come (with business or health or relationships), focusing instead on how far I still have to go.
• Scrutinizing myself in the mirror and looking for flaws instead of celebrating the incredible health journey I’ve been on for the past 4 years.
• Immediately saying “This might not work out” in regards to everything from a new project to a new brand of moisturizer.

Morning intentions (plus, my newest painting)

“You can only come to the morning through the shadows”  J. R. R. Tolkien 

I love the idea that there is a time of day when all of us feel most at home in our own bodies. That time will likely be different for each of us, but the concept remains: what time of day do you feel most alive?

My favorite time of the day is early morning, just as the sun streaks gorgeous lines of color across the horizon. I can see hints of the sunrise from my bed, which is just the best reminder to treat each new day as a possibility and a beginning.

I’ve never been a good sleeper, and I was always relieved as a kid when the night ended and I could get up. I was the 10 year old awake at 8am in the summer and reading a novel in bed before anyone else was up. I was the 25 year old doing grad school homework at 7am on a Saturday morning because I wanted to have the rest of the weekend free. I am now the 31 year old who loves the idea of morning routines and the impact they can have on the rest of the day.

I want to feel focused and excited when I start my day, a commitment that I make to myself daily. Now of course this isn’t always possible (hello, stress!). None of us are immune to having too much to do.

Even still, I like to remind myself that morning safely holds my intention to set the tone for the day, and that this intention refreshes every morning regardless of what happened the day before.

The fresh slate can be beautiful in all areas of life, yes?

I’ve also found that making time for a short meditation works wonders (seriously). I love the meditations by the wonderful Erin-Ashley Kerti.

Now on to this week’s painting, Dawn.

Let’s celebrate the journey

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh” Maya Angelou 

Sometimes I like to take a step back from the busy schedule and focus on the journey itself.

The journey is what we have, after all.

We have the daily ideas and tears and laughter and new directions that surprise us day after day.

We have the hard work that builds over time, leading us towards a dream.

We have the skills we struggle every day to learn until they finally click.

We have each other, and of course we have ourselves.

With my husband Eric, Easter 2015