#39 - The 100 Day Project: 25 Days In...

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The 100 Day Project started 25 days ago! Lindsay Jean Thomson [https://substack.com/profile/1533293-lindsay-jean-thomson] hosts the official party and you should see all the cool work other artists make! We’re a quarter of the way through! And I’ve actually done it every single day (ish). I have definitely shared a project on Notes every day. One of the pieces was an extra that I photographed just in case I didn’t have time to make something new over the weekend. So, I’m not perfect. You’re not perfect. And we can still feel good about this long-term project. Here are some suggestions: * If you missed a day, so what? * Be a day behind. * Skip the day entirely. * Make up for it and do two pieces the next day. * If you’re running out of ideas, me too lol. * Try a new brand of supplies and compare it to what you’ve been using. * Go acquire some new supplies. Go shopping, or swap with friends. * Just look up a new technique (that’s what I did this morning!) * If it’s feeling like a chore. * Unfortunately, I want you to push through here. * Pick a new time during the day to do it. * Clean up and organize your supplies. General thoughts and feelings for when you’re ready quit: * Make a little chart or just a piece of paper where you can see your progress and acknowledge how much you’ve done. I saw someone on Instagram who just had a piece of construction paper on the wall and put gold stars on it, wherever, every day she moved her body. * Listen to music when your start working. Something that you can associate with creative time. (I have a jpop playlist with amazing singers and anime OSTs that I’ve been listening to for literally 20 years and it always helps me focus). * Notice where you feel the ick in your body. A lot of my anxiety lives in my chest and I can feel the need to flee. Take deep breaths, allow yourself to feel it and remind yourself that you’re not being chased by a bear. You just don’t wanna do it. * Never forget that it’s ok to do the bare minimum. If you’re worried about it, you bare minimum is probably everyone else’s 80% lol. Thanks for listening to the podcast! If you don’t want to subscribe, but still want to support, consider a small, one-time trinket donation! I hope you’re having fun with your project! Let me know if you’ve been working on your own, or if you have any favorites you’ve seen going on! ♡ Becky Thanks for reading and listening to My Artist Friend with Becky Helms! This post is public so please feel free share it! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beckyhelms.substack.com/subscribe [https://beckyhelms.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

#40 - Small Habits for a Creative Life

Being creative every day is hard. Nay! Impossible! But, in my quest to live a slow, creative life after a magnificent burnout, I’ve found a few ways squeeze creativity into my days. Let’s get into it: * Journal. Full stop. * Listen to all the reasons I love journaling in this podcast episode [https://open.substack.com/pub/beckyhelms/p/15-8-reasons-i-love-journaling-with?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web]. You can even follow my friend Laura Woodmansee ✦ [https://substack.com/profile/103353290-laura-woodmansee] who writes all about journaling. * This is a great way to get your creative ideas out and on to paper. You can list projects you’d like to do even if you don’t have time right now. You can make holy grail supply lists to help you start gathering materials for an art piece. You can brainstorm terrible ideas and quick activities. You can even start writing a book and coming up with characters. Use that space as your creative sandbox. 5 minutes, half an hour, it doesn’t matter. Journalling is also creative time. * Fit it in whenever you can. First thing in the morning, right before bed, voice notes in the car, the notes app on your phone. Keep a physical journal in your bag to write on the go. Whatever is easiest and most accessible to you. * Set Boundaries & Stay True to You. * This is not revolutionary, but it’s serious! When I was postpartum I didn’t take my time seriously and it wore on me. When I wanted to go back to work I had to make a clear separation of work time and home time. Sometimes it was just during naps and I had to have my own back to get things done. Sometimes it was making sure that I didn’t check work emails after school was out because I had to hold my family boundary. Sometimes, things on both sides of that wall had to wait. * In practice now, I’m carving out time for the 100 Day Project (which I did a podcast about last week) and I’m asking my guys (and my friends in Pokopia) to wait till I get my project for the day done, photographed and posted. I’m also asking myself to stick to it, but you can hear more about that in the other podcast. * For you it might look like putting a note on your craft room door that you’re working and not to bug you (caretakers need to know the seriousness of the situation). How about a quiet time for everyone in the family before school (lol I know that’s happening) or right before bed (that’s a little more manageable, maybe). * Choose Uncomplicated Projects. * If you’re trying to add a little something creative to your days, which is the whole point of the episode, please pick something uncomplicated. Simple. Easy. Manageable. We’re not trying to break the bank or learn a whole new skill with materials we’ve never touched before. We’re just opening the door to an activity that will give you joy, satisfaction and hopefully help to relieve some stress in the process. That’s why my activities are journaling, making necklaces and drawing. There are different barriers to entry for all of those things, but they’re all accessible to me at the moment. * Think about what you have on hand, versus what you have to go buy. Think of what’s available to you in your area, versus what you’d need to get online. Choose something you know you can finish, or make good progress on in what time you have available during the day. * My favorite part of this bit is that it allows you to be a little messy. Keeping supplies out and at the ready (even if it looks rough) is so important! It removes the barrier of set up and right now, that’s more important than a magazine ready home. * Look for Creativity in Unexpected Places. * Picture this: You’ve been up all night because of a chronic flare up, there’s no gas in the tank, you slept through your journaling, you’re solo parenting and your kid has to get to school. There’s not a moment or spoon to be had. But you’ve got a cute necklace. * Clothing and accessories can be a great way to practice your creativity when you don’t have a lot of time or energy. If you do have a lot time and energy and just to mess around and let your wardrobe be your canvas. * Look at your clothes and mess with color palettes, textures, jewelry, you name it. I love the idea of a monochromatic outfit and a pop of color with a necklace. Dacy Gillespie [https://substack.com/profile/36350180-dacy-gillespie] is a great resource for working on your personal style. In Practice: So, in practice, in my life, this looks like getting up half an hour before everyone else to feed the cats, light a candle and journal. I know not everyone can do this and it does impact our evenings because my 8-9 hours of sleep is very important, but even just that small amount of time helps me clear my head and think about fun projects at the same time. It’s also shown up with the 100 Day Project. My family knows it’s important to me to work on it and share it, so that time is sacred. Using those necklaces I’ve made as a tiny dose creativity in my black hoodie + black leggings outfits I wear because nothing else fits anymore. Seeing them in the mirror makes me so happy! For my kid, I try to make sure we have sketchbooks or paper available because he’s drawing all the time. In your life, maybe it looks like: * Bringing a sketchbook to the school pick-up line. * Writing for half and hour before bed. * Choosing one day a week to work on a large painting. * Sewing a quilt block or crocheting a granny square every day for a big blanket. * Using chore time as a container for your creative endeavors - I’ll work on my watercolors while the laundry is going. * Sacrificing a little doom scroll each day for book character brainstorm session. * Keeping a sketchbook easily accessible in the house for quick drawings. Sometimes there truly isn’t enough time or energy to go around. In those moments I want to you know that it’s not your fault. The system is set up to keep us going, keep us earning, keep on the road to burnout. And the last thing I want to do is sound like some productivity guru because that stuff is mainly written by men who have wives at home with no creative time to themselves because their full time job is keeping the house and kids together so their husband can think of ways to guilt people into doing more. Not all of them, but lots of them. I’m here for the mom at home, encouraging her to take some time for herself. Thanks for listening to the podcast! If you don’t want to subscribe, but still want to support, consider a small, one-time trinket donation! You are worth it. And your creative endeavors are worth it. You can do it!! ♡ Becky Thanks for reading and listening to My Artist Friend with Becky Helms! This post is public so please feel free share it! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beckyhelms.substack.com/subscribe [https://beckyhelms.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

25 de mar de 202621 min

#39 - The 100 Day Project: 25 Days In...

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Empieza 7 días de prueba

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