Making Time for Creativity--Growing Gills work through

[ThisKateCreates]

@Sarah-LuAnn I'm probably overly critical..... Which might relate back to the topic of not being overly critical of your work and not doing anything.

[Annemieke]

Hi all, I've been on holiday reading most of the book but not really doing the excersizes. Which chapter are you guys on?

As for the list of important people, I have a real dillema here. My most important person is my partner. While he does support me in my art, he's not impressed with the turn I hope it's taking. I've been doing realistic pencil drawings for a few years, but I'm learning digital art now and a more illustrative/imaginary style (I hope....). It's basically the new style I'm trying to learn that he doesn't like, or at least he can't relate to it. So I'm finding it harder and harder to share things with him. Which is really weird.
It's not that he doesn't support me (he does!), but since I know this is not his style, or even a style he understands, I feel almost embarrased to show things to him. Especially since I'm really struggling to find my way in this new field.
So, if this is something I feel embarrassed to share with the most important person in my life, maybe this direction in my art is not where my heart lies?
Anyway, this has really made me doubt myself...

[demotlj]

@Annemieke I had this exact conversation with my sisters last fall. I sounded them out about this issue because I have a very good friend whose father was an oil painter and she herself was an art major for awhile, and I highly respect her abilities and her "eye" but she likes the traditional arts. When I paint landscapes in watercolors, she loves them but when I do illustrations, or digital work, her response is usually "meh." It made me seriously doubt my work because I so highly regard her opinion. I shared my frustrations with my sisters (whom I also respect) and they said, "She is a traditionalist and it's not surprising that she doesn't respond to your illustrations. Remember that her opinion is just her opinion; it's not a definitive judgement." One of my sisters is married to a professional musician who has moved from an indie style to a jazz style because it's more lucrative and she said, "I honestly don't like what he is playing as much now as I liked his earlier material but I understand his decision and I try to support the artist even if I'm not keen on the art."

It would be great if you can get your partner to learn how to better support you even if he doesn't personally respond to your art but if you can't, the second best thing is to find a group who does understand what you are trying to do and find affirmation there. (This forum is great for that.) I started posting my pieces to a select group of friends on Facebook who I know like my illustration style, and slowly developed a small following on Instagram because I realized that there wasn't anything wrong with me for admitting that I am buoyed by those likes! Likewise, you might find that gathering supporters or people who understand what you are attempting through this forum and other sources will not only help chase away your doubts but may show your partner that others do respond to what you are doing and cause him to look at your stuff with a fresh eye.... or not Either way, you will feel less alone.

Basically what I'm saying is that you can't give any one person -- even someone you love dearly -- too much power when it comes to judging your work. Their opinion is just that -- an opinion. You've got to be true to what you feel you need to be doing.

[ThisKateCreates]

@Annemieke My family is definitely on my list of people whose opinions I care about. And for the most part they rarely noticed, much less loved, my artwork. It's ok to make art for an audience that isn't your partner. I agree with @demotlj 100% and hope you can get past the doubt.

[Sarah LuAnn]

Just going to echo what has already been said... in the end, the very most important person on your list is YOU. Are you pleased with the work you are making? And even if the work itself doesn't resonate with your partner, does he support that you want to do the work, and recognize that it makes you happy? THAT is the important thing. My husband doesn't always "get" my concepts or the pieces I want to make, but he is 100% on board with me wanting to illustrate and make a career out of it, and that is the most important thing.

[burvantill]

@Sarah-LuAnn hi Sarah, I don’t want to be a pest, but are you getting my messages? I started a chat with you here in the forum and also DM’d you in IG.

[Annemieke]

@demotlj @ThisKateCreates @Sarah-LuAnn Thank you for your supporting words. Since I'm still learning and struggling, I find it very hard not to let his opinion matter so much. He is very supportive and never says anything negative, he's just much more enthusiastic about my traditional work.
I love what I see on this forum and as soon as I've got some work to show (in other words, after I've finished a few svs-courses ) I'll start posting here. Maybe for the next months challenge...
Meanwhile, I'll keep on with the growing gills homework as well.

[Julia]

Hello all,

Although I read all the comments from week to week, I haven't participated yet because I haven't started yet to read the book! I am trying to save all my spare moments to draw nowadays... unfortunately it comes over reading.

This question "who are the only people whose opinions REALLY matter to me?" does puzzle me. Yes, who are they indeed?

I usually don't share my drawings with my family (unless I specifically need support!) because they are too kind and lack of critical view.

I came to the forum to find a community and to get the help I needed to make progress. However, people here are really good! I felt I had to improve my work and learn from my obvious mistakes (ie the ones I can see) first before I could submit my work to such an experienced crew.

Then I started to share some small pieces on Instagram. Of course, there is a bias because people who follow me (or are kind enough to "like" my posts) find something in my work they respond to. But they are random people. It helped me that my family was maybe less partial than I thought and may actually like my drawings.

Hence I think the only opinions that really matter when it comes to art are... my own! In the end, it is all about how I perceive the opinions of the others. Realizing this has helped me to be less judgemental about my work and also less sensitive to people's opinions. Some may like my drawings, some may not, yes, I still need to make progress but it's ok as long as I am happy in my journey.

This is a bit of a long story as well as a recent findings. I hope it resonates with others and I hope it helps you Annemieke to take your own journey.

[Julia]

@Julia ps : please excuse me for my bad grammar and spelling mistakes. Hope it is readable. It has been a really long day

[Sarah LuAnn]

No problem, @Julia! Thank you for your comments. I feel the same about a lot of my family members--sometimes they're inclined to just like my art because I'm the one that made it, not because of the art itself. I try to find a balance between getting feedback from them, and from people who are more objective--like you're doing on Instagram, or by participating here in the forums. It helps to have another source of feedback. But in the end, you are absolutely right--the most important person to please is yourself.

As for the chapter this week, I kind of fell off the bus... my drawing class started up this week, so that captured a lot of my time and attention. Add to that the fact that the next chapter is kind of long, and, well... it didn't get read.

I'm giving myself (and anyone else who needs it) until next weekend to finish reading the next chapter and doing the exercise... unless you already read it and want to share your thoughts!

See you next week!

[Sarah LuAnn]

Well, chapter six did not have an official exercise at the end, but it did have a pretty clear action step: choose ONE creative project to focus on.

This is easy for me since my choice is already made: my One Project right now is to complete my dummy book. I do have other things going on, such as my drawing class and keeping two toddlers happy and healthy, but they are more in the category of routines rather than projects. Since I’ve been focusing on my dummy I’ve made great progress and I hope to have it ready in time to submit for the Don Freeman grant. Whether or not I make that deadline, when I have it finished within the next few weeks I will start querying agents... which is kind of the real goal, so the dummy is partly a means to an end.

What One Goal are you all focusing on?

[demotlj]

(I was wondering if you wanted us to respond to the chapter since there weren't any exercises.) Like you, I'm trying to focus on just one project this winter/spring. I'm doing "Story Prompt" illustrations for my five year old niece, sending her an illustration each month for her to use as a jumping off point for writing a story with her Mom. I tend to get distracted by wanting to constantly learn new things and try new techniques but I've managed to stay focused enough to turn out a completed illustration a month for the last four months. I'd like to produce a total of ten pictures but we'll see!

[Sarah LuAnn]

If anyone is curious, Jessica Abel (who wrote the book) was interviewed for this podcast which just released today:

http://www.chasingcreative.com

[Susan Marks]

@Sarah-LuAnn thanks for the tip-I've been listening to older interviews of her and I've become a bit of a fan-girl. I'm half-way through her "Out on a Wire" podcast series she did a few years ago. If folks are looking for tips on writing stories and narrative pacing, check it out.

[Sarah LuAnn]

I actually haven’t listened to the Out on the Wire podcast, but I did read the book. It was great! Lots of great suggestions on both storytelling and working through big scary projects. I haven’t read any of her others yet though. With two toddlers right now, my reading time is severely limited. Someday!

[Annemieke]

@demotlj @Sarah-LuAnn This chapter was a real eyeopener for me. I'm always working on too many different things. I always have a drawing in colored pencil or graphite on my drawing board that I'm working on (mind you, I always finish them before I start a new one, so I thought I was doing really wel...), I have several tutorials or online courses that I'm following (focused on different aspects of digital art), and unlike my traditional art, I have several unfinished digital projects waiting for completion.
So, I've decided I'm dropping all online courses and will only focus on my SVS-courses... and one at the time.

[Sarah LuAnn]

So this exercise was interesting... it was something that I had been kind of thinking about anyway, maybe partly because of what the book was saying up to this point, but also because of things that have been going on in my life and my family recently.

So I didn't assign a dollar value to my time, but I did know one thing in particular that I had been spending more time on than I wanted to. I volunteer helping organize a get-together for the women at my church once a month, and it doesn't take a ton of time, but it takes more than you might expect. There are several women who help me who have made clear they are willing and able to do more. I've decided that what I will do next time we meet his assign each of them a month, and have them be in charge of most of the organizing/delegation for the activity that month, and I'll just be there to support and do any needed tasks. So things still get organized, but without quite as much time from me.

I don't really do much other extra/volunteering stuff that I'm willing to give up because... toddlers. There are a few other things, most of them only once a month, but they're important and I don't want to give up that time. For example, this month my husband and I are (finally!) going to start a DnD campaign with some new friends (well, I hope they'll be friends) of ours, and that doubles as a date and social life, as well as story inspiration I guess. Book Group is important to me, because, well, BOOKS. I love #kidlitart chat, which is one hour a week (and I do miss some of it on weeks when they topic or conversation just isn't as interesting to me.)

So, while I'm keeping all these things, its nice to be able to say that it is deliberate, not default. They are all that important to me, my life, and my work.

What about you all?

[demotlj]

I found the chapter interesting because I'm coming at it from the other side -- I'm the one always trying to get people to volunteer their time for various church needs and am increasingly aware of how overcommitted people are and increasingly feeling guilty about having to ask for one more thing from them. I have not yet figured out how to balance respecting people's need for time to nurture their own interests and spend time with their family, and my church's need (and the need of communities in general) for volunteers. This chapter describes not only our personal struggles but our societal struggle right now as people's time is more and more fragmented, and demands on families' time is much greater than it used to be. There is no single cause for that (and I've read a lot about it lately) which also means there is no single solution. I think the book's advice on setting a dollar sign on your time is helpful not only personally but might be helpful for the organizations asking for people's time, making sure that the stuff we ask people to volunteer for is actually important to do and not something we are doing because "that's what we've always done."

[Sarah LuAnn]

Thats an interesting angle to come at it from. I can see how that would be useful from both ends.

I haven't made it through chapter 8 yet BECAUSE.... as stated above, I've already chosen my One Goal and I have been hard at work on it, and I am nearly done. So.... that counts for something, right? I do want to look a little deeper into each category outlined in the exercise as I finish this project and choose the next one, though.

[Sarah LuAnn]

So the next exercise is to choose your tool. I've chosen a Sketchbook/Bullet Journal. I've been keeping one since the beginning of the year and I like how it can be whatever I want it to be.

The only problem is... in the last few days, I lost mine. It was a crazy week, with the whole family being sick and needing to finish my dummy for the WIP awards for SCBWI and... it disappeared? So either within the next week I'm going to locate it OR start fresh in a new sketchbook--one a little smaller that will fit in my purse better, and therefore probably be less likely to get lost ;-).

In the meantime, I'll be using loose papers and a spreadsheet to make my plains for my next One Project which is sending my first batch of queries.