Archive for 20 Minute Club
It Really DOES work!
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Friday I write the 20 Minute Club Minutes–because using a timer for what I call the 20 Minute Technique can keep your creative momentum going in your busy, time-crunched life–20 minutes at a pop.
Please join in and share your 20 Minute Experiences in the Comments–good/bad, it’s all fair game, because sharing your experiences about the process is a great way to figure things out and increase your creativity.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Stuck has a lot of nuance and can really sneak up on you.
There are the familiar stucks such as, “I’m stuck in a rut and need to try something new” or the “I’m stuck and can’t bring myself to make anything anymore.”
But there are lots of variations of stuck even when you’re productive.
Because each new curve along the winding path of a project is usually also a new challenge. And sometimes you just want to pull over and let the other cars pass.
I realized yesterday that this had happened to me. That a very large collage drawing I am supposedly “working on” had actually been started oh, several months ago now, and I hadn’t touched it since.
And even though I have it hanging up in my studio, it was starting to blend into the scenery and I wasn’t really benefiting from having it up anymore because I’d stopped “seeing” it.
The reason I had come to ignore it is because I was stuck on what to do next.
AND, I was kind of invested in getting it right. It feels important to me as a “piece” because it’s exploring an emotional/important topic for me and I care a lot about the end result.
So.
I cared about it A LOT, I didn’t know where I wanted to go with it, AND I was afraid of messing it up.
I looked at my timer and knew what I had to do.
20 Minutes
I set the timer, turned on some music, pulled up a chair and just sat and looked.
Looked with all my not-knowing. Not knowing what it needed. Not knowing what I wanted it to do. Not knowing if I could “resolve” it.
Not-knowing. Not-knowing.
And then suddenly the top corner of the piece called to me and I stood up, looked for my charcoal and then grabbed a grey pastel instead and added some new marks. And then some more after that.
Gradually, my slow, relaxed “adding”gave me more information and I suddenly could see a little more clearly what I was trying to say/explore.
Interesting, I think, in response to these new glimpses. Who knew?
And I find that thought funny too because, it is my artwork after all, but still, I’m not always the driver.
“Who knew?”
I’m smiling at this point because the process always delivers if I’m willing to show up.
And then the timer went off. I worked a tiny bit longer and let myself stop.
Now my drawing/collage is in a new place. There’s still a lot of not-knowing, but it’s new not-knowing and that feels good.
Because I’m engaged with my piece again and seeing the process of trying to create it to completion as a gift to myself rather than as a test I need to pass.
Ahh. Always such a relief to make that shift.
The 20 Minute Technique really does help you get through the hard.
Appreciation
Appreciating yourself is an important part of the 20 Minute Club because it helps you keep your creative momentum going.
Carving out the time to create is important of course, but it’s not enough. Getting (and eventually staying) on your own side is a critical factor for helping you take bigger risks with your work, get yourself out of a creative rut, or just enjoy the process more.
Taking the time to remember to appreciate yourself and all your efforts (big or small, creative or not) is a powerful way to make this happen.
—————————————————————————————————
Here are my five self-appreciations for this week:
1. I appreciate that I finally got my video and free trial offer out into the world. Yay! I’m so excited.
2. I appreciate how much I’m learning by attending local networking events–even when I’m kind of uncomfortable or a little shy.
3. I appreciate that I took a badly needed break when I needed one, instead of waiting and making things worse.
4. I appreciate that I had a conversation that I thought would be hard, and it was easy.
5. I appreciate that I sneaked in exercise several times this week even when it felt like there was just “no time.”
Your Turn
How was your creative week? Good? Hard? Do you have a timer yet? Are you remembering to appreciate yourself–the little things as well as the big? Please leave a comment, I love hearing from you!
I’ve Been Framed
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Friday I write the 20 Minute Club Minutes–because using a timer for what I call the 20 Minute Technique can keep your creative momentum going in your busy, time-crunched life–20 minutes at a pop.
Please join in and share your 20 Minute Experiences in the Comments–good/bad, it’s all fair game, because sharing your experiences about the process is a great way to figure things out and increase your creativity.
———————————————————————————————————————-
Okay, so not a lot of artmaking got done this week for me, but important finishing steps were taken in several projects–most of which involved framing a few favorite collages from the Creative Breakthroughs Tele-class.
I’m bad about taking that last step of framing something, but it’s so important.
It not only honors your process and creates a sense of completion, but it gives your work room to breathe without having to compete with everything around it.
It can also be very validating because (on one level) it’s about respecting your work.
If you’ve never framed anything, you should, just to experience that process.
Because deciding yourself that a piece you made is good enough to be framed is honoring yourself as an artist or crafter and it changes how you perceive yourself.
This is important.
And you can keep it simple and cheap if you need to–I used a coupon for a local big box store that made my frame half price, and I used a gallery mat that I had bought online.
It made me happy to frame and hang work in my home that I made while teaching The Creative Breakthroughs Collage Tele-class instead of leaving it sitting in a pile in my studio.
How about you–do you have something to frame?
If you’re not sure, just buy yourself a mat or two and lay them on top of your work–I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised.
Appreciation
Appreciating yourself is an important part of the 20 Minute Club because it helps you keep your creative momentum going.
Carving out the time to create is important of course, but it’s not enough. Getting (and eventually staying) on your own side is a critical factor for helping you take bigger risks with your work, get yourself out of a creative rut, or just enjoy the process more.
Taking the time to remember to appreciate yourself and all your efforts (big or small, creative or not) is a powerful way to make this happen.
—————————————————————————————————
Here are my five self-appreciations for this week:
1. I appreciate that I framed several pieces for all the reasons I mentioned above in the 20 minute club minutes.
2. I appreciate that I’m getting more comfortable seeing myself on video and that I kept practicing through the discomfort and weirdness of it all so that I could create more value for my website (coming soon!).
3. I appreciate that I plowed through my usual doubt and knack for complicating decisions and plunked down my money for the next step in my making my digital collages larger, much larger. I should get my latest sample next week!
4. I appreciate that I am THIS close to having my next big project live on my site.
5. I appreciate every time I feel present-in-the-now instead of lost in all my thoughts and stories about my life. It may be milli-seconds, but it’s more than it used to be.
Your Turn
How was your creative week? Do you frame your work or do you want to? Do you wish you had work to frame? (Sign up for a Creative Breakthroughs Collage Tele-class and soon you will!). Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.
The Collaboration Conversation
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Friday I write the 20 Minute Club Minutes–because using a timer for what I call the 20 Minute Technique can keep your creative momentum going in your busy, time-crunched life–20 minutes at a pop.
Please join in and share your 20 Minute Experiences in the Comments–good/bad, it’s all fair game, because sharing your experiences about the process is a great way to figure things out and increase your creativity.
————————————————————————————————————————-
My 20 Minute Club experiences this week have been all about collaboration.
I’m collaborating on a series of pieces with a fantastically talented close friend, and it’s so fulfilling and exciting.
We began our collaboration with a broad….direction, I guess, and a love for the same kind of materials.
And now we’re slowly developing that direction as we make our initial work. One of us starts something and then we hand it off to the other.
She gave me her latest “start” almost 2 weeks ago.
I brought it home and then walked by it, stared at it, rearranged it, remembered it, and pondered for about 10 days until I suddenly got what I call my flash–this is when I’m thinking about a piece and an image suddenly pops into my head in a particular way that tells me–start here.
(All of the above was invisible work, by the way. To an outsider, it looked like a pile of fabric was awkwardly sitting on top of my printer while I ignored it.)
Once I got my flash, I had something to do. I spent the weekend immersed in a conversation with our project and can’t wait to pass it back to her.
The Conversation
What I love about collaborating is that it’s an even richer conversation than when you listen and respond to your own work by yourself.
As I’m creating, I’m not only responding to the work in front of me, but I’m conversing with my friend in my head as I work, with what I’m adding to what she gave me, as well as with our shared ideas about our project–our vision, if you will, even though that’s pretty broad at this point.
The cooperating feels fantastic. The direction that the work takes when it comes from 2 people instead of just yourself, and the feeling of connection while making art–so often a solitary pursuit–gives the aesthetic experience itself such depth.
But working with someone else also gives you another fantastic personal benefit–it helps you build and maintain that all-important creative momentum because it’s a powerful way to have support and accountability built into the creative experience.
Because it’s hard to always have to come up with that kind of energy on your own.
And in order to live your life as an artist these days, when you’re probably making your living doing something else, it’s really helpful to find different ways to have a supported creative experience.
(That’s what the Creative Breakthroughs Collage Tele-classes are all about–SUPPORT!!)
And when you find the right person to work with, it all falls into place.
Neither of us needs to have a lot of control (well, over this particular project 
), both of us care about intention and details, and we’re both approaching the process with curiosity rather than expectations.
And maybe my favorite part is that even though we think really differently and make things differently, we both trust and respect the other person’s aesthetic AND we want to build on what the other one does, rather than fight it.
I haven’t had this much art fun in a long time.
Is there someone you could collaborate with?
Appreciation
Appreciating yourself is an important part of the 20 Minute Club because it helps you keep your creative momentum going.
Carving out the time to create is important of course, but it’s not enough. Getting (and eventually staying) on your own side is a critical factor for helping you take bigger risks with your work, get yourself out of a creative rut, or just enjoy the process more.
Taking the time to remember to appreciate yourself and all your efforts (big or small, creative or not) is a powerful way to make this happen.
—————————————————————————————————
Here are my five self-appreciations for this week:
1. I appreciate everything I brought to my collaboration project as I added to it and grew it this last weekend.
2. I appreciate how I much more awareness I’m bringing to certain defeatist thinking patterns and trying to both accept them as they are, and not indulge them at the same time.
3. I appreciate how much I’m learning about the difference between acceptance and succumbing.
4. I appreciate how simply continuing to work on a big project is providing me answers when I feel like I don’t know what to do next.
5. I appreciate my lifelong desire to grow and let go and be free and how that desire helps me face hard things and move forward.
Your Turn
How about you? How was your creative week? Do you ever collaborate with friends on art or craft work? Would you like to…or maybe not? Please share your thoughts in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!
Infinity
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Friday I write the 20 Minute Club Minutes–because using a timer for what I call the 20 Minute Technique can keep your creative momentum going in your busy, time-crunched life–20 minutes at a pop.
Please join in and share your 20 Minute Experiences in the Comments–good/bad, it’s all fair game, because sharing your experiences about the process is a great way to figure things out and increase your creativity.
—————————————————————————————-
My creative momentum has once again been saved in an otherwise overwhelming week by long and short visits with my collages (in their various states of “almost-done”) from The Creative Breakthroughs Collage Tele-class.
With a an interesting “aha” thrown in here and there.
Because at the beginning of every tele-class, I lead us through a short, guided meditation to transition into our artist selves and to create the opportunity to ground our collages in this particular moment in our lives.
Which we do by revisiting our day as color, shape, image and word.
My word this week was Infinity.
I’m almost always surprised by the word I receive in the meditation and this week was no exception.
I couldn’t really imagine how that giant word was going to find its way into my collage, but as I continued to work on this one yesterday after class, I realized “Oh, this piece is really about death.” And fear of death.
Ah yes, the Big Infinity.
Surprise.
These meditations at the beginning of class always open a door like this for me. Even when my conscious mind has no idea what’s going on.
It’s such a simple but powerful way to connect my creative activities with my personal life and experiences more consciously and directly–I love it.
And it brings forward potential themes to further explore artistically–for some people on the calls, it’s really opened up exciting new directions in their work.
I think that’s because the meditations help re-assert one of the important roles of creativity itself–making sense of your life and connecting yourself to the universal human experience.
Now, you might not think you have big themes or rich ideas to express and explore this way.
But that’s not true. Those ideas and experiences are there, they’re just un-named and untapped.
And your medium doesn’t matter either–you can explore ideas, feelings and experiences by knitting a sweater just as powerfully as creating a painting or collage.
And relating to this depth and richness is always available to us to whatever degree we’re ready for it. So it never has to be overwhelming or too much.
And the more you connect, the more you realize the endless richness of it all.
That’s what’s so exciting about it.
Appreciation
Appreciating yourself is an important part of the 20 Minute Club because it helps you keep your creative momentum going.
Carving out the time to create is important of course, but it’s not enough. Getting (and eventually staying) on your own side is a critical factor for helping you take bigger risks with your work, get yourself out of a creative rut, or just enjoy the process more.
Taking the time to remember to appreciate yourself and all your efforts (big or small, creative or not) is a powerful way to make this happen.
Here are my five self-appreciations for this week:
1. I appreciate that I finally finished my video for my Byzantine Baubles Ornament kit–yay! That was a HUGE effort to get done Huge.
2. I appreciate that I did almost all the other work involved in getting that kit out to the world, where it belongs.
3. I appreciate that I gave myself a break afterward–a mini reprieve where I managed to not expect myself to keep working working working when I wasn’t going to anyway because that’s what happens when you finish a big project.
4. I appreciate how much cooking I’ve been doing this week (not my favorite activity) because I’m trying to rearrange my relationship to said activity…not sure if it’s working, but I’ll keep you posted.
5. I appreciate that I also prepped dough to make my own bread! I did spill a little yeast, and I haven’t baked it yet, but I’m very excited.
Your Turn
How was your creative week? Are you using your timer? Still thinking about getting one? Have you ever used meditation in connection with your creating? Would you like to? Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
The Goldilocks Technique
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Friday I write the 20 Minute Club Minutes–because using a timer for what I call the 20 Minute Technique can keep your creative momentum going in your busy, time-crunched life–20 minutes at a pop.
Please join in and share your 20 Minute Experiences in the Comments–good/bad, it’s all fair game, because sharing your experiences about the process is a great way to figure things out and increase your creativity.
—————————————————————————————-
Just Right
Earlier this summer, I realized I wasn’t taking the time to look at art–I kept thinking I had too much to do.
So I vowed to take the time to look at art every week–and really, I can’t believe how much it benefits me.
Because it’s sooooooo……nourishing.
Every week I feel too busy, but I make myself go. And every time I go, I feel great afterward.
One thing that really helps make it possible each week is that I don’t turn it into a giant…thing.
I don’t go to a museum and stay all day. I go for an hour, sometimes two.
I Gold-i-locks it.
You know, I don’t sit in Papa Bear’s chair make it such a big thing that I feel like I can’t do it and I don’t sit in baby bear’s chair and go aesthetically hungry because I skip it altogether at all.
Instead, I let myself go the “just-right” amount and feel satiated but not overwhelmed.
It’s really been making me happy.
Filling the Well
Every time I go, I muse all over again about how much simply looking at art can fill your artistic well. How helpful it is for maintaining that all important creative momentum.
This week, burdened with guilt once again about leaving my long to-do list, I went to the Cloisters anyway to meet some friends for an arty lunch date we planned weeks ago.
As soon as I got out of the car and looked around, I suddenly felt great. Once again surprised by how beauty and art nourished my creativity and made me feel balanced.
Of course, I do realize that because I live right outside NYC, I have lots of options for looking at art. And depending on where you live, it might be challenging to find art to look at in person.
But don’t discount the value of taking the time for pouring over a fabulous art magazine or a great coffee table book from the library with luscious photos of work from your favorite artist. Or getting excited by someone new you’ve never heard of.
Just plunk yourself down on the floor in the art section and browse a bit til you find something that fills your well.
It’s a great way to use the 20 Minute Technique.
Appreciation
Appreciating yourself is an important part of the 20 Minute Club because it helps you keep your creative momentum going.
Carving out the time to create is important of course, but it’s not enough. Getting (and eventually staying) on your own side is a critical factor for helping you take bigger risks with your work, get yourself out of a creative rut, or just enjoy the process more.
Taking the time to remember to appreciate yourself and all your efforts (big or small, creative or not) is a powerful way to make this happen.
Here are my five self-appreciations for this week:
1. I appreciate how hard I’m working on getting from 90% to 100% on some big projects I’ve got cooking.
2. I appreciate that I’m okay with re-remembering each step in creating my how-to videos.
3. I appreciate that I let myself not go to the gym this week.
4. I appreciate that I re-grouped and sought new solutions (with virtually zero drama) for printing my digital collages after finding out my current large format print company wasn’t going to be able to print what I needed for months.
5. I appreciate that it’s finally dawning on me that when my projects take longer than I expect, that this is because they have their own pace for being born, and that by accepting–even embracing–this pace (that is different from my plan), the perceived delays stop being problems.
Your Turn
How was your creative week? Did you use the 20 Minute Technique? Would you like to make more time to view art? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear.
90% Ville
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Friday I write the 20 Minute Club Minutes–because using a timer for what I call the 20 Minute Technique can keep your creative momentum going in your busy, time-crunched life–20 minutes at a pop.
Please join in and share your 20 Minute Experiences in the Comments–good/bad, it’s all fair game, because sharing your experiences about the process is a great way to figure things out and increase your creativity.
——————————————————————————————–
While I often wax on about how great the 20 Minute Technique is for getting yourself jump-started, it’s also great for helping you truly finish something.
Because I’m always amazed at how long the walk is from being 90% done to being 100% done.
And this week has been all about that last 10%.
From setting the timer for an hour each day to help myself over a difficult hump with my how-to video for the (newly named) Byzantine Baubles Ornament Kit to enjoying several 20 minutes sessions here and there in order to really finish my collage triptych from last week’s Creative Breakthroughs Collage Tele-class.
With plenty more to go. On all project fronts.
Because everything in this last 10% area moves more slowly.
Why is that? I’ve been thinking about it all week. And it’s complicated.
Soooooo, I’m going to write about this issue next week, because in a few minutes, my hubby and I are heading out the door to Quebec City!
Appreciation
Appreciating yourself is an important part of the 20 Minute Club because it helps you keep your creative momentum going.
Carving out the time to create is important of course, but it’s not enough. Getting (and eventually staying) on your own side is a critical factor for helping you take bigger risks with your work, get yourself out of a creative rut, or just enjoy the process more.
Taking the time to remember to appreciate yourself and all your efforts (big or small, creative or not) is a powerful way to make this happen.
Here are my five self-appreciations for this week:
1. I appreciate my continued commitment to look at art in person every week–even when I feel too busy, even when I feel like I can’t justify that kind of enjoyment.
2. I appreciate my courageous travels in 90%-ville this week on pretty much every front in my itty biz.
3. I appreciate that I bit the money bullet and made reservations a month ago for us stay in a cute B&B in Quebec City. Because I needed a break. And now–we’re actually on our way! It’s handy how that works.
4. I’m still appreciating my new business structures and how they’re helping me be productive.
5. I appreciate how I’m getting more comfortable calling upon my strengths, even when I feel weak.
Your Turn
How was your creative week? What are you working on? What are you appreciating about yourself? Is September putting you in the mood to create?
Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.
Letting Things Come
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Friday I write the 20 Minute Club Minutes–because using a timer for what I call the 20 Minute Technique can keep your creative momentum going in your busy, time-crunched life–20 minutes at a pop.
Please join in and share your 20 Minute Experiences in the Comments–good/bad, it’s all fair game, because sharing your experiences about the process is a great way to figure things out and increase your creativity.
——————————————————————————————–
Going with the Flow
“And that’s the whole poem,” he said. “Do you like it, Piglet?”
“All except the shillings,” said Piglet. “I don’t think they ought to be there.”
“They wanted to come in after the pounds,” explained Pooh, “so I let them. It is the best way to write poetry, letting things come.”
“Oh, I didn’t know,” said Piglet.
It’s not easy to “let things come” but the more you do it, the better–especially with your artwork.
We talked about this a lot during this week’s Creative Breakthroughs Collage Tele-class.
Because at the beginning of each class we always do a short meditation–to transition, to get grounded, and to provide the opportunity to enrich our collaging for the 75 minutes or so that follow.
It’s nice. And it’s about experiencing your day as color and shape, image and word.
And I’m always amazed that when I let it, the information from the meditation manages to find its way into my collages in the most interesting and satisfying ways.
And my conscious mind has very little to do with it.
But if you try to make your collage reflect your meditation, it’s harder because your conscious mind likes to force things. Because it always thinks it knows best.
The Mystery
Of course, it can also be hard to not try.
To let go of control. To have faith…in the creative process, in your meditation, in yourself.
And it’s so easy to say “let things come” or “let go of control” but of course, it’s much harder to do.
Which is why it’s interesting. And fun.
And such a rich challenge to immerse yourself in for..oh….the rest of your life.
Because understanding and delving into the creative process is a nuanced, evolving, endlessly unfolding experience that can fill a lifetime.
It’s the backbone to mastering a technique, developing your voice, or creating a body of work.
Which makes the journey part of doing any of those things worth it, so that the work you’re doing isn’t just about the goal–the goal of being good, or making something fabulous, or achieving technical mastery in this or that.
It’s about experiencing the mystery and your place in it.
This week during class, I worked on 3 small collages at once (I always recommend working on more than one), but decided to treat them as a unit this time.
And I didn’t know how the word that came to me during the meditation would integrate into my little triptych, but it did, perfectly. Right at the end.
It just…came to me.
–Thanks Pooh Bear.
Appreciation
Appreciating yourself is an important part of the 20 Minute Club because it helps you keep your creative momentum going.
Carving out the time to create is important of course, but it’s not enough. Getting (and eventually staying) on your own side is a critical factor for helping you take bigger risks with your work, get yourself out of a creative rut, or just enjoy the process more.
Taking the time to remember to appreciate yourself and all your efforts (big or small, creative or not) is a powerful way to make this happen.
Here are my five self-appreciations for this week:
1. I appreciate the pleasure and simple satisfaction I feel whenever I let things come in my artwork.
2. I appreciate that I decided to have a Naming Contest for my latest ornament kit (click here to see the winner) and get help with my problem of figuring out a name. Yay, for getting help. And yay, that getting help also made solving the problem more fun. Good for me to remember.
3. I appreciate how much novel reading I’m doing lately because it nourishes me to read work that is literary and wonderful.
4. I appreciate the progress I’ve made on an exciting big project I’m working on.
5. I appreciate the increased structure I’m providing myself–and that it’s helping me be more productive but not making me feel hemmed in.
Your Turn
How was your creative week? Did you let things come? Are you working on getting a timer and slipping a 20 minute creative session or two sometime soon? Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.
