Archive for Techniques & Strategies
Doing Vs. Trying: What’s the Difference & Why Does it Matter?
Posted by: | CommentsMay was a tough month for me.
It was tough for what felt like A LOT of reasons–personal, financial, business–but I recently realized it was mostly because of one reason.
Too much trying.
I had had to do a lot of hard things for the past several months, and all that trying was wearing me down until I finally felt miserable.
Why couldn’t I just do instead?
What the Heck is the Difference?
I’m a do-er. I do things. I make things. I like taking action. I like to execute, and I like to finish.
Doing suits me.
Doing has no agenda really, other than the task at hand. Doing has no heaviness.
I’m also a try-er.
Sometimes this is healthy, like the way I’m very willing to try new things I don’t know how to do. I’ll give it a try–what the heck.
Sometimes it’s less healthy, like when I try hard to do things right. When I try to succeed. When I try to make something happen. No “what the heck” attached.
This kind of trying has lots of emotional heaviness associated with it. Lots of striving. The effort, the doing, is all wrapped up in the outcome.
Trying = Doing + Drama
As I was trying to figure out how to make myself feel better, I assessed my to-do list. There wasn’t much I could leave out, except the way I felt about what I needed/wanted to get done.
I realized if I could just do them without all the emotional heaviness of trying to get them all right/perfect/successful, I’d be a lot happier.
I’m good at doing, but I was so busy trying that I poisoned the integrity of the tasks at hand. I was ruining my doing with all my trying.
So now I’m focused on the “doing” without the drama of the “trying”.
And since I also have other unhelpful beliefs attached to trying such as “trying=being virtuous” and “trying=being-serious-about-what-I’m-doing”, it’s good at quietly slipping in the back door unnoticed when I’m busy working on something.
But that’s okay. It’s a process.
Your Creativity
How about you? Are you also trying instead of doing?
Is it hard to weave creativity back into your life because what you want to make would be hard and you’d really have to try?
Is it hard to go deeper or get bolder with your art because you don’t have the energy for that kind of trying right now?
What if you didn’t have to try? What if you allowed yourself the endless opportunity of doing instead?
To “do instead of try” combines honoring the present with being committed to the long haul of your life. What a generous, loving, forgiving way to be allowed to move through time.
What the heck–why not give it a try? 
5 Creative Things to do in Front of the TV
Posted by: | CommentsFor many readers, even if you don’t watch TV yourself, there’s a TV in your house that’s being watched.
And maybe it can feel weird or hard or anti-social to sequester yourself away from everyone else to do your 20 Minute Technique. So you don’t.
Especially if you were at work all day and the evening is the only time you see everyone–and they’re watching TV.
And honestly, TV can be an easy respite at the end of a long, hard day. And jeepers, you could use a laugh or two.
So don’t get me wrong, I’m not against TV. I’m just against too much TV.
And because it’s so easy, watching too much TV can be a habit that’s hard to break. I know it is for me sometimes.
Therefore, I thought it might be useful to talk about ways to be creative in front of the TV rather than just talk about how it would be better not to watch it.
Because the point is to be creating more–however we can get that to work.
Below are 5 creative activities that don’t take up space, aren’t that messy, and can be done while watching TV or hanging out with loved ones who do.
**I’d also like you to consider trying one of these suggestions for your TV watching time even if you normally define yourself as a particular “something else” artistically–a painter or felter or a mosaic-maker–or anything else that might require lots of room or water or mess and therefore doesn’t work so well on couches or in nice looking living rooms.
Like the stock market, it’s good to be a little diversified–it might fuel your “primary” creative endeavors in surprising ways.
5 Creative Things to Do in Front of the TV
- Bead. Beading is small and portable and you can do it anywhere. It’s also a little contagious so the people around you might start to join in, and then you’re connecting with the people you love on a whole new level. In addition, the options are endless and skill level doesn’t matter–you can enjoy yourself right away with beading.
|
Read my 5 Great Reasons to Start Beading Today if you’re not convinced yet. I’ve also got lots of great info on where to buy tools and findings along with practical bead buying tips so you get the most bang for your buck.
| - Needle Arts. This could be knitting or embroidery or hand sewing. If you’re thinking as you read this, “I’m not patient enough for that.” you might be surprised. It can be incredibly soothing–you just need to figure out which one suits you best. (It’s also helpful to not expect to be an expert in 5-10 minutes. Good things come to those who enjoy the process, or something like that.)
|
Knittinghelp.com has fabulous videos for beginner knitters.
| - Blind drawing. If you’d like to work on your drawing skills, this is a great activity for the 20 Minute Technique and for hanging out in front of the TV. All you need is a sketch pad, a pencil and something in front of you to stare at.
|
Set the timer and, without looking at your drawing, draw what you see in front of you as if your pencil is touching it–feeling all the planes and surfaces. Try not to pick your pencil up or look down at what you’re doing.If you finish quickly, just start over or turn your attention to something else in the room and draw that.
|
Don’t try to make your drawing “good” by “fixing” it–this is a observational exercise and a chance to improve your line quality by getting your judging brain out of the way.
|
(You’ll also find that listening to your show is mostly enough. The commercials will annoy you more though, so be ready to hit the mute button.))
|| - Card Making. Everyone loves getting a card and a handmade one is a wonderful surprise. The small format makes it doable on the couch with a tray or sitting in front of the coffee table (I always end up on the floor). You can do the rubber stamp thing or use it as a way to scrapbook and preserve memories. If you need a few ideas to get jump-started, pick up a Take Ten magazine which is dedicated to making cards.
| - Polymer Clay. Small and portable, soft polymer clays are easy for beginners and it’s soothing to work the clay in your hands. You can make beads, cover pens, or construct small boxes and frames. There are so many books out there on how to get started, find something that excites you.
|
It’s another category like beading that provides satisfaction at every skill level–so can start enjoying yourself right away.
What have I left out? Do you have any suggestions for creating in front of the TV? Do you create in front of the TV? Please share in the comments, I’d love to hear.
If you liked that post, then try these...
20 Minute Club Minutes-A Collage Party
Posted by: | Comments
This week I finally ran the first beta-test of my Creative Breakthroughs tele-seminar workshop! Yay!
Setting up the test class, picking a date, and actually having it was a creative breakthrough in and of itself.
Because we all have resistance to doing the new and the hard.
But once I realized I was stalling because I was scared, it made it easier to just move forward and ask some friends to help me test it.
And telling them I was nervous was also helpful, because then I just owned it. This takes much less energy than pretending I’m fine or have it all under control–I recommend it.
And I wasn’t nervous because I thought it might not be a good idea. I’m ridiculously excited about this workshop idea because I think it will be a great way for lots of stuck artists to get unstuck and for a lot of active artists to challenge themselves in different ways and help them take themselves further.
I was nervous because I knew I had some obstacles to overcome to make it work, and I was a little afraid to face them.
Lingering in the idea phase of a project is safer than making that awkward transition from idea to reality.
Safer, but unsatisfying. It was time to take the plunge.
It Worked!
The test class went GREAT. Much more smoothly than I thought possible for the first time. Because even though it’s very similar to the class I teach in person from my studio, this one is over the phone.
Because I can’t see the participants working when we’re on a conference call, I thought it would take me several test classes to figure out the pacing, but I got pretty close my first try.
That felt great.
And my testers were fabulous and gave me wonderful ideas and thoughtful feedback.
And everyone made something great and–my favorite part–each collage was so different from all the others. (Photos to follow in another blog post…)
It was a bona-fide Conference Call Collage Party. Woo-hoo!
And even though some people wanted to see me working, no one needed to see me in order to make something great and get their creative juices flowing.
And frankly, I think there’s a real benefit to not being able to see the teacher sometimes. I gave a lot of support and suggestions and everyone successfully relied on their own creative voice.
Of course, I did practice before the call.
And I used my timer to get a feel for how long each segment would take. (Ah, my trusty steed!).
The 20 Minute Club Minutes
I also used the 20 Minute Technique to help myself fight off my fear-of-facing-obstacles-to-my-great-idea inertia and practice my pacing so I was ready for the call. It didn’t let me down.
As a consequence, the 20 Minute Technique also helped me create several collages this week. The one at the top of the page is one I did during the call itself–I’m not sure it’s quite done, but I like what it’s doing.
And now I know my teleclass is going to work. Thank you beta-testers!
And now I’m ready for another beta-test–because it’s good to practice and get feedback.
I’m going to ask for volunteers from the R & D Squad.
Appreciations
As usual, I’m sharing 5 self-appreciations as part of the 20 Minute Club Minutes because I want you to do it too.
Because taking the time to honor yourself helps your art-making. It also helps you find those 20 Minutes here and there throughout your week for yourself and your creative desires.
Here Goes:
- I appreciate that I found time to prepare for my beta-test even though I felt completely burnt out from my non-stop week before.
- I appreciate that I did a good job running my tele-class and that it’s developing nicely.
- I appreciate that I reached out for help this week and the help I got was fantastic.
- I appreciate that I’m working on finding a better balance between work and play. (Because I definitely need to play more soon.)
- I appreciate that I’m working a new angle with a challenging corner of my garden.
Your Turn
- How ’bout you? Did you use the 20 Minute Technique? Try a self-appreciation or two? Or maybe it was a tough week and too hard to find 20 Minutes? Let me know how it went–I’d love to hear.
The Tricky Art of Finishing What You Start
Posted by: | CommentsSeveral comments in last week’s blog post Ernest Hemingway’s Productivity Techniques alluded to the problem of finishing projects.
This was in response to my suggestion of working on a few projects at once as you always have something else to respond to if you get stuck with the first thing you’re working on.
Well, it turns out that for some of us, getting started is a real challenge. But for others, it’s finishing.
Do you have a million projects in the works, but most of the time they don’t get done?
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
In my blog post Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, I talk about the fine art of finishing, and the typical problems that happen midway through almost any art or craft project, the most common of which is that it looks, uh, kind of terrible.
Or at least not the way you imagined when you started.
This is, however, TOTALLY NORMAL and the way of all long term relationships.
After the initial honeymoon is over and you’ve worked on your project for a while, you turn around to find it snoring on the couch with its mouth half open and a bag of chips slowly sliding off its belly.
Not quite what you imagined when you initially fell in love with your idea.
But hey, in sickness and in health right? For better and for worse.
You’ve got to stick with your idea even when it’s got bad breath and hasn’t showered in three days. This takes commitment and a certain leap of faith.
If you have a tendency to move on to the next romantic, good-looking idea in your brain when the going gets tough, just know that it, too, will soon will be snoring on the couch, slack-jawed and gassy.
But of course, you also have the opportunity to turn your frog back into the prince (or princess) of your dreams–and/or to open up to its own particular gorgeousness just the way it is. Even if it wasn’t what you first thought you wanted.
But the way you get there is by finishing.
You can read about it here.
Resistance in Disguise
But if you think you don’t finish things because you get bored or restless and just like to move on, I’d like you to consider that this really might be Resistance in Disguise.
Resistance is how we protect ourselves from taking risks.
So if you never finish anything, you don’t have to risk determining that it’s “bad” or that you’re “not talented” because it’s not done. Who knows how it might turn out. By not finishing, you protect yourself from your own mean rule.
But we have to trick ourselves to do that.
We conjure up clever reasons for stopping and we convince ourselves that they’re true.
We do it to protect ourselves from the mean pronouncements of our inner critic, or from feeling the “ick” of struggling or working past our comfort zone.
But the real, more helpful work might be to examine the rules you’re protecting yourself from. Is it true that if you make something “bad”, it means you’re not a real artist? Or aren’t talented?
I hope not, because I’ve made more bad art that I can shake a stick at. Which helped me make a lot of other work I love.
If you wouldn’t hold me to such an unforgiving, harsh standard, why are you so willing to do that to yourself?
Let me know what you think in the comments. 
Not Starting from Scratch
Posted by: | CommentsThis Week’s 20 Minute Club Minutes:
A Mix of Sun & Clouds
Last week, I talked about doing automatic drawings as a good 20 Minute activity, and this week, I used one of those drawings as a starter for a new drawing in my weather series.
Because, as I mentioned in Ernest Hemingway’s Productivity Technique, it’s so much easier to respond to something than to start from scratch with a blank sheet.
So I set the timer and started a new weather drawing on top of one of last week’s automatic drawings, and basically kept going until it was done.
It’s about 37″ x 42″ and I call it “A Mix of Sun and Clouds.” I like how last week’s automatic drawing peeks through and adds some depth and warmth to the image on top.
I also realized how my most recent weather drawing, that I didn’t quite resolve, really helped this one just kind of flow. That’s the benefit of returning to your work and being present with it even when it seems to go nowhere.
(Or, in my case, it went somewhere, and I learned a lot, but it wasn’t exactly a success on its own.)
It was worth the discomfort.
And of course, our successful pieces are really a result of all the work that came before, good or bad. I know this intellectually, but it’s nice to be reminded by actual experience. It’ll help me the next time I’m slogging through a difficult impasse with a project I care about.
Appreciation
And now, as promised, I will share 5 Self-Appreciations as part of the weekly 20 Minute Club Minutes because taking the time to appreciate yourself is a key component to keeping your creativity going, getting on your own side, and honoring your process.
And while it may make you feel self-conscious or uncomfortably aware of how hard it is to come up with 5 self-appreciations, that’s all the more reason to practice doing it.
To set a good example, I’m sharing mine here. But I want you to know that it’s not that easy for me either–and I’m doing it publicly!
Seriously though, I hope you try this too because it really does help turn your head around.
(And you brave ones who can share your self-appreciations in the comments too will be doing a great service for shyer readers who need more help believing in themselves and their creativity possibilities. Please join me!)
So with eyes closed and hand on my heart, this is what I came up with this morning for my weekly self-appreciation:
- I appreciate my perseverance.
- I appreciate how willing I am to be out of my comfort zone.
- I appreciate how much progress I’ve made problem-solving my latest digital collage project (which is figuring out how to make them bigger.)
- I appreciate that I did #3 with minimal freaking out.
- I appreciate how I’m peeling off the thin, translucent multitudinous layers of my self-doubt as they reveal themselves to me. (Picture a red onion.) And while it’s frustrating to see how layered and nuanced these layers are, I appreciate that I’m actually making progress on letting them go.
Mwah!
Your Turn!
How did your creative week go? Did you use the 20 Minute Technique? Did you come up with some self-appreciations? Please share! I love to hear from you.
20 Minute Club-The Lotsa Minutes
Posted by: | CommentsThe 20 Minute Club definitely saved me a few times this week. I’m not sure I’d have done any experimentation without it. And since experimentation is what pulls creative endeavors forward, I was happy my timer was there to help me out.
I only worked on my waves drawing one more time–and frankly, I’m not sure this baby is gonna work out. But I learned a lot and I think I’ll end up using one or two of the “solutions” I figured out for future drawings in that series.
Permission
In my last Creative Breakthroughs Collage Workshop, one of my collages struck me as a useful study for a larger piece as I liked its color and graphic simplicity.
What I usually like about using small collages as studies for bigger work is that it’s a great way to stretch yourself because you can never just replicate what you did. Something always has to change.
But this week, the best part about making a bigger version was that I decided I needed to start over.
After a couple of 20 minute sessions, I realized that I wanted other marks and images receding in the background–marks I should have put down first, before I glued down my big yellow lines.
And since it was a basically still a big simple collage, the smartest way to do that was just to start over.
The best part was that decision freed me up to do anything I wanted to this first one. I had now given myself permission to do whatever I wanted to it.
I immediately drew a bunch of outlines in pencil, didn’t like them and upped the ante with black charcoal instead. That felt great. Then I erased my first lines and liked it even more. It felt fun and free.
Here it is in its current “work in progress” testing self state.
It was a great reminder for me about why giving yourself permission is so much more gratifying than getting investing in a particular outcome. I also realize that I need those reminders regularly.
Appreciation
As promised in my last blog post, I’m also going to add weekly self appreciations to the minutes because I really believe this exercise is a great partner to the 20 Minute Technique and I am urging you to start doing it too, if you don’t already.
I know it will benefit you tremendously because
- it helps you get on your own side
- it helps you notice your negative thought patterns about yourself
- it interrupts those thought patterns and starts introducing new ones
All of which will increase your creativity, allow you to give yourself permission when you need it, and keep the focus on the process.
Now, I’m not saying it’s always easy.
This morning I was much more inclined to focus on what I thought I was doing wrong rather than good things about myself and it actually took me a while to come up with five things to appreciate. Which just reinforces why I need to do this regularly.
Here’s my five:
- I appreciate that I made work yesterday even though I was anxious and moody.
- I appreciate that by doing that, I also got to experience feeling better and that reminded me how creating is my connection back to myself.
- I appreciate that I went to the gym even when I didn’t want to and I gave myself permission to do less cardio.
- I appreciate that I’m keeping my worrying to a minimum about a few things happening in my life right now that I have no control over.
- I appreciate how I’m getting more comfortable feeling exposed sharing my half done work publicly here on the blog.
Your Turn
How about you? How did the 20 Minute Technique work for you this week? Did you try the self-appreciation exercise? I can’t wait to hear from you!
Appreciation
Posted by: | Comments
After mentioning my art show so many times in the last couple weeks, I forgot to tell you how it went!
It was a huge success. I’m not much of a party thrower, and I basically panicked on the way over, so I was really touched by how many old and new friends showed up even on a busy holiday weekend.
The music was great, the conversations were lively, aaannndddd, I sold two pieces! Yay! Here I am with the happy owners and the work they chose.
It’s very satisfying when people connect with your art enough to buy it. I felt honored.
I just uploaded photos of a couple-three new pieces (including the pink one shown above) at http://sarahbushartworks.com if you want to take a look.
R & D Squad
Speaking of honored, I’m also blown away by the great response I got from everyone about joining my R & D Squad.
I’m now in the next stage of setting up the discussion group–testing it, running into snags, and testing again. Feeling a little nervous about having it work smoothly.
I don’t need it to be perfect, but I don’t want it to be annoying for people either. So if you’ve signed up–a GIANT thank you for doing so, and please know that you’ll be hearing from me soon with details about where and how to connect to the discussion forum.
And if you didn’t sign up, no worries–I know that people have busy lives!
And rest assured that your fellow readers will help me hone my future online workshops, projects and kits to make them as good as they can be. So if/when you partake of a few when I launch them, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth!
Bags of Gratitude
These events got me thinking again about appreciation.
I wrote a blog post a couple of months ago called Bags of Gratitude, and I realized this morning that appreciation is a great additional element to the 20 Minute Club as well.
I love how appreciation helps me turn around my thinking on lots of things, and I’m sad that I’ve been forgetting to do it.
Today I started back with appreciating 5 things in my life at the end of my morning meditation. I’m going to try do this every day regularly. It feels good and gets my head on straight.
In addition, I also appreciated 5 things about myself and realized it would help me tremendously to do that every day regularly as well.
I want you to do this too.
It can feel hard or awkward to appreciate yourself and I’m sure you don’t do it enough.
It’s also an important piece of getting on your own side and nurturing your creative dreams and goals. It helps you become gentler with yourself as you try to get unstuck or work on going deeper with your art.
And gentler is a huge thing. Because appreciating yourself isn’t about making your head big, it’s about honoring yourself and your process.
All reasons why I created The 20 Minute Club in the first place!
Appreciating Yourself
So this doesn’t have to be hard and no one has to hear you. You don’t have to meditate or anything. It would probably be nice to write it down, but if that stops you, then don’t do it. I like to close my eyes put my hand on my heart, but again, whatever works.
To get you started, I’m going to share the 5 things I appreciated about myself this morning:
- I appreciate that I followed through on creating a new piece totally on spec (even though I was crazy-busy) and got it to the art consultant just as she was needing something. (She even called me on the phone and said “Are you psychic? I was just looking for your info!”)
- I appreciate that I don’t feel heavy about this project (alluded to above in #1) even though it would be very exciting and mean a lot to me if it worked out.
- I appreciate that I didn’t feel defensive or scared when I sent her the image and was comfortable with how it turned out.
- I appreciate that I’m juggling a lot of different things at once and not beating myself up about not “getting enough done”.
- I appreciate that I’m allowing myself to continue to listen to my most recent piece and work on it even though I’m secretly worried it’s too “derivative”.
How About You? What 5 things do you appreciate about yourself today or this week?
(BTW, these appreciations don’t have to be directly art or craft-related or anything. You could appreciate the fact that you walked the dog 3 times this week. It all helps change your attitude toward yourself which in turn helps your creativity.)
The 20 Minute Club–A Mini Update
I realized last week that I need to be clearer about when I’m going to post the 20 Minute Club minutes each week. People were wondering.
I’ve decided to do the minutes each Friday, mostly because I need the whole week to get my 20 minute experiences in.
And now I’m going to add 5 appreciations to the minutes as well, and I would love to hear your appreciations too!
So I LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from you on all my posts, but if you’re looking for a sure-fire time to share your 20 Minute Club experiences each week in the comments, just know that I’ll be sharing mine on Fridays from now on.
And I hope you do too, because I think we can all really help each other, as I mentioned in this post last Tuesday: A Little Help From Your Friends.
In the meantime, keep finding 20 minutes here and there in your week and try a little self-appreciation while you’re at it.
I look forward to hearing how it goes.
