2:54 am. Glazing the evil one

Glazing, gold firing, immersed in the story ….   I LOVE this project!  Soon to be revealed.  It began with a  story “The Demise of Noshud Hafta” I wrote in 1994.   Although I didn’t realize it’s power at the time, this story was the beginning of getting to where I am now.  It’s a story of an artistic little ‘leprechaun of sorts’, and the evil Noshud Hafta.   The current project?  Each page of the story is being created in clay. .. then photographed and published as a book.   Yup, each page is a sculpture.

Back at it.  or gee, maybe I ought to go to bed. But I LOVE this project!

{Book, title, artwork copyright Janet L. Whitehead 1994, 2008, 2009.}

Deadlines cause creation

There is a cure for all of the barriers we, the creatively inclined, have.  It ends procrastination, percolation, self sabotage, and avoidance.  Excuses will stop. You know the ones:  “I have to clean the house’, “I have to feed the baby” (okay, that’s a pretty legit one), “I have to do my taxes”, “I have to just check these emails”, “oh, Grey’s Anatomy is on.”  It’s amazing what a creative can do to not create.  

The cure?  Book yourself an exhibition.  Book an art show and sale.  Book a book signing.  You may still procrastinate.  And you will rightfully percolate the thoughts, ideas, techniques, concepts for quite some time. But eventually, you will look at the date and say, “Oh shoot, I have to do it now.”   Yup, deadlines stop all the self talk, tests, and general meanderings.  If you leave it too long before you start, you’ll even miss Grey’s Anatomy willingly.   Because once you give yourself permission to just get it done, you immerse yourself in the process of creation that you love, and you wonder, once again, why did I leave it so long?

Sure, there are other ways to get creating or doing whatever it is your heart truly desires.  Coaching helps to find your best way to be creating or moving forward in any area of your life with less stress, more gentleness, less self sabotage, more joy…  But, if coaching is not an option right now –  a surefire cure is to book the event where your work will be shown.

Be audacious.. book a show.    Trust me, I know all about this. Have you noticed I haven’t sent out a newsletter this month?  Yup, working on a deadline!

“The higher the salary, the messier the person”

From Life Learning Magazine, March/April 2007 –  Thank you, Coreena, for sharing!

    “When my office gets particularly messy, I just quote the cliche that a messy desk is the sign of a creative mind.  Fortunately for me, there is increasing evidence that disorder is, indeed, “the detritus of a creative mind” as columnist Penelope Green wrote in the New York Times late last year.  In their book ‘A Perfect Mess:  The Hidden Benefits of Disorder,” Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman show that moderately disorganized people and institutions are frequently “more efficient, more resilient, more creative and in general more effective than highly organized ones.”  And probably more successful too.  They cite a survey that found that the higher the salary, the messier the person:  “Sixty-six percent of Americans making $35,000 or less are self-described ‘neat freaks,” whereas only 11 percent of those earning above $75,000 claim the same.”

    Abrahamson and Freedman are at the forefront of what one might call the “anti anti-clutter movement.”  They are encouraging people to invite confusion into their lives in order to be more creative and productive both personally and at work. In an article in Inc. magazine, they advise us to “be inconsistent, pile up, blur categories, make noise, bounce around, get distracted.”  Sound like any kid you know?”

Doesn’t this scream out at you:  “Be more creative, make more money, hire a housekeeper”? It does me.

Right Brain / Left Brain Creativity Test

From The Arts Institute of Vancouver, an online test that determines your left/right brain dominance   http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

Simple to do, instant results, good commentary that helps understand what ‘left brain/ right brain’ is all about.  And you don’t have to sell your soul to get the results, or your cell phone number… you don’t even have to leave an email address!  Whoooaa. Nice of them.