painting Archives - Melissa Dinwiddie | Create the Impossible™

September 17, 2014

My ClutterBusting Mistake, and How to Avoid Future Disasters

A package arrived in the mail on Monday. I’d ordered it from Amazon, and I’d been waiting with baited breath for it to arrive.

Nothing hugely exotic or romantic; I’d ordered a simple brayer.

Two brayers, in fact: hard rubber and soft, the hard one with the black rubber being identical to the one I sold for pennies on the dollar (ahem) at a yard sale a couple of months back.

Oops…

Clutterbusting, it seems, can go a bit too far.

I divested myself of the (quite possibly never-used) brayer, a quart-sized bag full of erasers (for carving stamps with), and my (granted, very limited) collection of rubber stamps, including some letters I’d carved myself.

At the time, I couldn’t imagine I’d have a need for these things, and my goal was the rid myself of the weight of all the stuff I had but wasn’t using.

It seemed only logical to sell the brayer and stamp stuff. In fact, I was proud of myself for letting go.

Then I signed up for an online class with Kelly Rae Roberts, and guess what was listed on the supply list.

Yep, a brayer.

At first I figured I’d wait and watch the videos, and see whether I really, really needed one. Surely I could get by without, right?

Well, yeah, I could have, but it just looked way too much fun. A brayer seemed like a textural tool I’d want to use, like, forever onward.

So I bit the bullet, shelled out fifteen or twenty bucks, and bought myself two new brayers, which have been getting a lot of loving since then.

This is one of my favorite pieces that shows off some brayering (the white layers):

The Moral of the Story: SHED

It would be easy to conclude that the moral of this story is to hang on to everything, because you never know when you might use it, and in fact, that was pretty much my life philosophy for a long, long time.

Which is why I now have clutter issues…

Clearly holding on to everything, just in case, is not the optimal solution, so what is?

Well, for that I have to thank Jeannie. She recommended a book she was reading, SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life, by Julie Morgenstern, so I placed another order with good, old Amazon.

I’m about a third of the way into the book, and I have decided that Morgenstern is a genius. She has pinpointed one of the biggest problems when it comes to clutterbusting: once you’re ready to start letting go (which really requires relinquishing an old identity… which is why it’s so godforsakenly hard), it is all too easy to be so indiscriminate and ruthless about clearing stuff out that you get rid of stuff you regret letting go of later.

Morgenstern’s solution? To come up with a theme, or vision, for the future you’re walking into. “A broad goal or feeling,” she writes, “an overarching simple expression of the adventure you’d like to be on.”

In other words, if your life were a book, what would the title of this chapter be?

The 2 1/2 years when I went on 57 first dates, for example, might have been titled The Quest to Find My Life Partner.

When the relationship that started at the end of those 2 1/2 years broke up, it started a new chapter, which might have been titled The Quest to Find My Life.

My current chapter title might be Creative Expansion.

The Importance of a Theme

Why is it important to have a theme for the chapter you’re starting (or in the middle of) now? Well, it gives you a sense of clarity about what you want to clear out, and why, and what you want to keep, and why.

As Morgenstern writes, “your theme will be your beacon, focus, and filter, paving the way….”

Had I read SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life and come up with my theme of Creative Expansion before I first ran the Great ClutterBust, back in April, perhaps I would have held onto that brayer (and stamping supplies), and not be kicking myself now for spending money on something I’d just sold for pennies at a yard sale…

Ah, well. Correct forward, as they say, and I will soon have a great opportunity to do just that, because I’m running another Great ClutterBust in October!

In the last Great ClutterBust I totally overhauled my studio, but I have a lot more clutter still to bust — physical clutter, time clutter, habit clutter — all of which Morgenstern tackles in SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life, so I’m excited to go into the next Great ClutterBust (which starts on October 1st!) with a much clearer vision, now that I have a theme.

Here’s some of what I accomplished with the first Great ClutterBust:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Reading SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life is the ideal preparatory read as I get ready to do another deep dive into clutterbusting, starting October 1st. If you’ve got clutter to clear out, of any variety, you may want to check out Morgenstern’s book yourself, and I hope you’ll join me for the Great ClutterBust! Sign up on my mailing list to get notified when I open up registration.

Onward, ho!

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

October 1, 2011

Inspiring Subscriber Showcase

Moosh - acrylic painting by Maz — Moosh ©Maz

My subscribers are some of the most amazing, creative people I know, and as such the rest of the world should know about them. To that end, I’ve started an ongoing series, in which I periodically showcase a few of my new and longtime subscribers right here on the very pages of my blog.

So, with no further ado, I present for your viewing pleasure three more of my amazing and talented subscribers who are worth watching.

Happy weekend!

Joanie Springer – Artist

Feed Me! - painting by Joanie Springer — Feed Me! © Joanie Springer

Think you’re too old to try something new? Think again!

My mom had dreamed of playing the harp since she was a little girl, but it wasn’t until she was in her 50s that she finally started. (Now she and my dad, who picked up the flute a few months later, gig all over the Bay Area.)

Artist Joanie Springer held a paint brush for the first time on her 54th birthday. “A passion was born,” she says, and since that day in 2007 she has won awards and work is in private collections internationally.

Read more of her story, and see her gorgeous work, over on her blog, Art for the Soul of It.

(Note: Joanie’s portfolio pages are a great way to see her art, but unfortunately don’t seem to offer a way to buy. As far as I can tell, the only way to purchase online is via her blog posts on the home page. Too bad, because her work is wonderful, and she may be losing sales… Other artists take note!)

Alexandra Mosher – Bermudian Studio Jewellery

Reed Collection Ribbon Necklace by Alexandra Mosher — © Alexandra Mosher

Bermudian artist Alexandra Mosher creates to-die-for art jewellery designs inspired by the beautiful motifs found in Bermuda’s flora and fauna, the ocean, architecture, history and culture. Beware, because not only is her jewelry (or jewellery) lustworthy, but she showcases it on a stunning website that could distract you for hours!

Maz – Painter of Dogs, Trees and More

Brand-new subscriber Maz used to be a professional singer, working in hotels in various countries and on cruise ships. Now the canvas is her stage, and I’d say she’s made the transition beautifully! When I first clicked over to her website, I was utterly captivated by her use of color and texture. Check it out and enjoy!

That wraps up today’s dispatch. Enjoy, and go get creating!

xo, Melissa <3

PS – Want to be included here in a future subscriber showcase? All blog subscribers are welcome to apply. If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up using the form at the upper right, then send me a link to your cool, creative stuff.

September 5, 2011

Bubble Bath for the Spirit

When was the last time you played?

I mean Just-For-You-To-Make-A-Mess-With-Your-Creative-Thing play.

As recently as last summer, if you’d asked me that, I’d have said “Way too long ago..” Maybe you can relate.

But even if you’ve taken up my 15 Minutes a Day creative challenge and are making time every day for play, wouldn’t it be nice to have a longer chunk of time?

Sometimes that seems so hard to come by, doesn’t it?

For years, the only time I had any time to play at making art was at my annual calligraphy retreat in March. (Did you catch that? Annual. As in, once a year. My only time to play at all.) 5 days in a beautiful retreat center, a 90 minute drive away. Gourmet meals, no phones, no computers and nothing on the agenda except to make art at my very own ~~work~~ play station.

Bliss.

Every year I would come home determined to create a home retreat for myself, once a month.

Or maybe once a quarter.

Or even just once…

It never happened.

There’s something about signing up for something, committing to it publicly (with my pocketbook, no less!), setting aside time on the calendar to get completely away from all distractions.

You would not believe the amount of art I would come home with! And even better, the ideas! the inspiration!

I’m always so recharged and refreshed after the retreat that it feels like I’ve had a bubble bath for my spirit. “Calgon, take me away!”

Announcing…

Which is why I’m brewing up some retreats of my own, to offer YOU.

Sometime down the road, I’ll be hosting in-person retreats and workshops (I’ll let subscribers know about that first, so sign up in the form at the upper right if you’d like info when I’ve got it).

But first, I’m offering a teeny, tiny taster – a retreat that won’t require you to drive or fly hundreds of miles to attend.

A Playshop!

What if you could get a mini-retreat, a playshop to experiment with paper and paint in the community of other creative souls?

Right in your own home.

Well, now you can!

At 1:00 pm on Tuesday, September 27, I’m offering the very first of what I hope will be many playshops.

Play, Flow, Write, GO! A telephone playshop in improvisational art for the soul

We’ll spend 90 minutes letting go of perfection, focusing on the process, and just painting/drawing/writing our little hearts out.

PLUS: I’ll share the secret techniques I use to create the art for my not-quite-daily ArtSparks (like the pieces shown right here).

And to get the most fun and play out of our time on the phone together, I’m going to give you all the goods in exclusive videos in advance of the actual playshop. So you can get all my secret techniques on your own time and be ready to just PLAY when we gather together (virtually) on the 27th.

These purely optional videos will show you:

How to stretch watercolor paper so it won’t buckle and curl up when it gets wet with paint
My favorite materials and where to get them
The process I use to create my ArtSpark pieces, from start to finish
How I add words to my art

It may be an entirely different way of ~~working~~ playing for you, which, if you tend to be a product-oriented perfectionist (as I am), you might find incredibly liberating.

And that’s before the actual playshop!

When we’re on the phone together (or when you’re listening to the recording later, if you can’t make the actual call), I’ll create a bubble for us of safety and encouragement, and you’ll have time to try out the techniques in the video, or just play however you want.

We’ll also have a couple of times to check in with the group, and if you feel like sharing any of your creations, you’ll get to participate in an exclusive post-playshop show right here on the blog, just by emailing me pics of what you made.

The details again:

Tuesday, September 27
1:00-2:30 pm (Pacific Time)
(That’s 2-3:30 Mountain, 3-4:30 Central, 4-5:30 Eastern)

Oh, yeah, and the price: just $30, which includes unlimited access to the bonus video tutorials forever. AND the exclusive Playshop Participants Art Show here on Living A Creative Life.

Plus I’ll send a recording of the call to everyone who registers, so you’ll still be able to take the playshop, whether you can make the call live.

Sound fun? I’ll be opening the cart in a few days. Sign up here if you’d like first dibs:

I can’t wait to play with you!

PS – Don’t forget to register for the free calls I’m doing with Cory Huff of The Abundant Artist, starting TOMORROW. Cory’s going to interview me on the first call (did I mention it’s tomorrow?) and I’ll be revealing all kinds of secrets around how I make my money, how I discovered my bliss, and more. Click here to register.

February 23, 2011

15 Minutes for February Art Check-in! #3

Yes, it’s that time again – time for the #15minutesaday creative challenge art check-in!

Above (and the next two images below as well) we have a 4″ x 6″ x 1.5″ canvas, on which I painted Daniel Smith watercolor ground, then, not knowing what else to do, I resorted to ye olde calligrapher’s standby, the alphabet. In Neuland, my “signature” hand, inspired by the typeface designed by Rudolf Koch.

And in brush lettering ’round the edges.

Is it done? Not sure.. It feels a little naked to me, but I haven’t figured out what else it’s calling for.

Meanwhile, its brethren, in blue and yellow watercolor, also probably not finished:

And to finish up, a few random pieces in various stages of process. At the lower left, two 2″ x 2″ and a 2″ x 3″ canvas, painted with watercolor (on top of watercolor ground).

I’m intrigued by the 1″ x 1″ paper tiles, and am contemplating a larger “mosaic” out of these. We’ll see.

That’s it from my end. I’ve spent at least 15 minutes making art every day for the past 23 days.

And you? Are you doing the challenge? How’s it going?