New Year's Resolutions: One Word

I try to keep my goals for the year as simple as possible. Last year I wanted to begin each day with a prayer of gratitude and practice discipline. I did OK but not great on the first goal but not well at all on the second.

ah well.

First the success. My mantra has been "it's ALL good!" Even when I'm crazy I remind myself that the things making me crazy are all GOOD things. I'm very blessed to have a wonderful family, stable finances, and to have art in my life!

I still procrastinate then get completely stressed out over every deadline. I still fritter away my art-making time - usually by getting sidetracked on the computer. I'm doing important things - but not the MOST important things.

When I analyze my shortcoming (notice I didn't say "when I beat myself up about failures") I think the "practice discipline" thing is too big, too nebulous. 

This year I'm going to keep the same simple goals but I'm going to rephrase it into something that will help me with the practical application - both of being grateful and of learning to practice discipline.

It boils down to one word.

Wake up each morning and do what is most important FIRST!

For me that means:

1. getting the kids off to school.
2. spiritual practice (reading, prayer, meditation)
3. exercise (gym or running 3 days minimum)
4. MAKE ART (1 hour minimum)

Before I answer email. Before I write blog posts or articles. Before I ship stuff out. One hour to make art. If I put the most important things first the rest will certainly take care of itself. 

I played around on http://www.wordle.net/ to make a pretty word-cloud of my priorities. 

I'm going to print one of these and post it on my bathroom mirror to remind myself. I'll probably need to post other reminders all over the whole house. New habits can be difficult to implement for me so I need all the help I can get.

What are your goals?

What is your word?

Reverse Resolutions 2011

Sometimes as you look forward to a new year and think about the mountain you want to climb,

it's very nice to look backwards and feel good about how far you've already come.

Snowbird Utah: photo by Marcel Kinard

Reverse resolutions are wonderful because you know you accomplished them 100%!

So here are mine for 2011

1 - Make some art.

Dream by Lyric Kinard

2 - Learn something new.

watercolor by Lyric Kinard

3 - Teach some amazing people and make new friends.

Eastern Iowa Quilters Art+Quilt group - OPA!!!!

4 - Venture into the world of self-publishing.

Bead It Like You Mean It by Lyric Kinard

5 - Gain confidence in my sketching skills.

Faces by Lyric Kinard

6- See some amazing parts of this country.

Montana: photo by Lyric Kinard

9 - Love my family.

They are the best thing in my life.

8 - Focus on making the world a better place.

Thank you so much for joining this adventure with me.

December was a very happy month

in large part due to the kindness that you shared with the world, and then with me.

There. That felt good.

What did YOU accomplish last year?

Faces on Friday - back on the bandwagon

I'll bet it's happened to you before.

faces sketched during a graduation ceremony

You make a goal, do really well for a while, then things get crazy and you can't keep up?

faces drawn from one of James Christensen's books

It happens to the best of us. And it's OK.

from imagination - but modeled after James Christensen's work

It does NOT mean you are a failure.

both from a James Christensen book

It means it might take a little longer than planned.

doodles by Lyric Montgomery Kinard

In the larger scheme of things what does that matter? 

doodled during a meeting by Lyric Montgomery Kinard

Doesn't.

(matter, that is.)

more from James Christensen's books

Just get back to it when you can.

Pick up your determination and continue to progress.

playing with profiles, J.C. style

It's all about progress.

from Jame's Christensen's books

Any step towards your goal puts you closer to attaining it.

doodles by Lyric Mongtomery Kinard

How do you motivate yourself to pick back up where you left off?

The Passion to Create

#3 by Michael Cunningham

I'm dreadfully late in getting back to a question posed several weeks ago.... ah life. It can get in the way of the best intentions. I ruminated and pontificated on fitting art into your life in this post. It was in response to a very thoughtful and heart felt question from Michael Cuningham. Here is the long overdue answer to the second part of his question - "with all of the "life" that gets in the way of creating, how do you keep the passion going?"

As I ponder this question I think it has to do with your long term goals. Life ebbs and flows and there are seasons and times for focusing on different things. But if you have long term goals you can see past a current ebb and over the long run, life will flow in the direction of those goals.

Keep your goals realistic. I only think about one or two goals regarding my art each year. This year, they didn't even include any sort of concrete production goals. I wanted to improve my attitude (by being grateful) and develop some studio discipline. That's it. My youngest goes off to school next year and I want to be better about utilizing the uninterrupted studio time I'll gain. Right now I know I have bad habits. I waste far too much time on my computer. I need to go re-read Twyla Tharp's "The Creative Habit". It's a favorite.

Family Ties: Knit Together

So - if something fits and helps me achieve that goal then I need to work on it. If it doesn't it's OK to let it go. I let several application deadlines slide by me last week - they weren't high on my list of priorities getting towards this goal. Next year - they are part of my goal set.

Now, if you've lost the desire to finish a project or goal - is it a goal you truly want to keep working at or should you give it up? That's the first question to answer. Then ask why. Then ask why again. If you choose to keep that goal on your priority list - remember to figure out the underlying reason you have that goal. Where will it get you and is that the place you want to end up?

If yes is the answer and you still have creative ennui... first check your health. Are you taking your vitamins and getting enough sleep? Do so.

Family Ties: Knit Together

Is the task too overwhelming that you have set for yourself? Just choose to do a little chunk of it. I end up being amazingly productive if I force myself to set a timer and do actual creating of work for ten minutes BEFORE I check my email. Those ten minutes always turn into the full time I have. If I turn to the computer first whatever time I had is frittered away. 

Sometimes limitations result in greater freedom to create. Sounds a little backwards? How many times have you looked at a blank piece of cloth or canvas or sketchbook page and been frozen with fear. Or indecision. Or just plain nothing comes to mind?

What if instead, you give yourself a subject to start with. Or a color. Or a size limitation. My Family Ties series started out as a color study. Red. Using vintage and recycled cloth and lace. Funny that the first three in the series barely had any red in them at all - but I had in my minds eye an idea - a direction - a heading. Nothing says you must stick strictly to your limitations. They are simply a starting point.

I'm getting long winded again - and could go on for ages and never actually get this posted. So I'll stop for now and solicit your ideas. 

Family Ties

How do you keep the passion to create alive when LIFE gets in the way?

(Remember - I think LIFE can be more important at times - and that's OK)

Finding Purpose: Joy

I'm still taking time, among the busy doing, doing, doing, of my life - to ruminate on the things that are important to me and the reasons behind them. 

I'd like to share with you a few excerpts from a talk that had great impact on me by Dieter F. Uchdtdorf, a man I greatly admire. He was speaking to the women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 2008 about finding happiness. His words resonated deeply with my own sense of purpose and I'd like to share some of them with you. Bear with me as this does delve into the religious part of my life - my faith is deeply central to everything I do. I share them because I think these truths are universal.

To All Who Are Weary

"Today I would like to speak to those who have ever felt inadequate, discouraged, or weary—in short, I would like to speak to all of us. We know that sometimes it can be difficult to keep our heads above water. In fact, in our world of change, challenges, and checklists, sometimes it can seem nearly impossible to avoid feeling overwhelmed by emotions of suffering and sorrow.

I am not suggesting that we can simply flip a switch and stop the negative feelings that distress us. I am not suggesting that we can simply flip a switch and stop the negative feelings that distress us. This isn’t a pep talk or an attempt to encourage those sinking in quicksand to imagine instead they are relaxing on a beach. I recognize that in all of our lives there are real concerns. I know there are hearts here today that harbor deep sorrows. Others wrestle with fears that trouble the soul. For some, loneliness is their secret trial. These things are not insignificant.

However, I would like to speak about two principles that may help you find a path to peace, hope, and joy—even during times of trial and distress."

Elder Uchdtdorf then goes on to talk about how the greatest kind of happiness is God's happiness, and that although we cannot fully understand God during this mortal existence, that we do know he is a God of "creation and compassion." I love this next part. 

The Work of Creation

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop." If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy.  Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. ⁵ The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."

He goes on to talk about how compassion can also bring us joy - but I'll stop there. He's voicing what I already deeply believe to be true. Each of us has gifts. It will bring us joy if we find them, develop them and use them well, especially with compassion and in the service of others. We each have the potential and responsibility to make this world a better place in any way we can.

You can listen to or read the full talk here.

Finding Purpose

I've been thinking about the purpose behind both my business and personal goals ...

...trying to distill thoughts and feelings into just a few words.

What is it that I want for myself? What do I wish to give to YOU?

My answer is simply this:

Find Joy

Be Inspired

Create Beauty

I've revamped my Artists Statement to better reflect these ideas.

In a world where too often, the images we feed ourselves are full of violence and fear, my goal as an artist is to create beauty, to uplift, and to remind us of the strength we all possess.  In a many layered process I gather intriguing materials both old and new. I marvel as plain cloth absorbs dye and changes appearance. I cut, piece and stitch, print, paint and embellish. Slowly order emerges from disarray, beauty from chaos.

The tactile nature of cloth, its texture, richness and malleability are what have drawn me to this medium. Fabric has a history almost as old as humankind; we cover ourselves in cloth every morning and wrap ourselves with it at night. Quilts hold a particular fascination for me. During a time when creative women were not allowed to be artists, they were able to stitch together beautiful works of art imbedded in objects of utility. My quilts are freed from utility and allowed full freedom of expression as fine art.

Thanks to Alyson Stanfield's book, I'd Rather Be In The Studio, this was easier than it might have been. She has a great list of questions to ask yourself.

She's coming to Durham on May 20th and 21st for a fantastic No-Excuses Art Marketing workshop. It's part of the Professional Art Quilter's Alliance - South spring conference but is open to the public. I'd love to see you there! You can look here for the workshop description and to sign up.

http://www.artbizcoach.com/durham/index.html

Have you thought about the reasons you do what you do?

What are your gifts? Why do you create? What is your purpose?

If you have any thoughts or critiques on my statement I'd truly appreciate hearing those as well.

The Big Goal

I only made one big goal for 2009

!!! MAKE ART !!! 

It seems the past year and a half was spent rushing around meeting one deadline after another. All good things for my career. All things that will support the artmaking but no actual making of the artwork itself.

This week has been bliss. My first week in months and months with no deadline to meet. I actually wake up and get to choose what to do. At least in the two hours a day that I have to myself. Usually I work frantically trying to get something I have to get finished done while everything else falls apart around me. (Especially the house.)

I weeded a favorite garden, unburying a stone path that has been hidden the past year. And then I pulled out a piece that was started several YEARS ago. It's the perfect thing to help me get acquainted with my new HQ16. The poor neglected machine has waited patiently since last fall for me to pay attention. It's going to take a little learning but we're getting there. So here's a sneak peak. The machine quilting is done but I think the work itself is only beginning on this piece.

Here's a sneak peak at the work in progress.