Archive for August, 2010

Play! Quote of the Month

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

“Serious play is not an oxymoron; it is the essence of innovation.”
Michael Schrage

Play is essential to creativity and innovation but we often see it as a either a luxury or waste of time.

Experimentation and play allow creativity to flourish.

When you let yourself play, it is usually without expecting a certain outcome.

That alone allows freedom to try new things or ask what if kinds of questions.

Some of my best jewelry designs have come from that state of playing around and seeing what would happen.

You also tend to be in a more relaxed state when you play.

Play also implies fun. Who doesn’t want more of that? I know I do!

How can you add more play to your life?

P.S. This is one of my whimsical animal prints called Talking Llama

Change These 3 Things for a Happier, Creative Life

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Do you ever feel like you are on a roller coaster ride? One minute you feel like you have things figured out and are excited to start. And the next minute you lose focus or momentum and feel frustrated and unsure about what you want.

I notice that with myself, clients, and friends, that you usually do know what would make you happy.

The answers to what would make you happy and why are usually consistent with your values and the things that matter to you, which typically don’t change too much.

Most of the problems and challenges are in the HOW and THE WAY you go about getting what you want.

3 Blocks to Your Creativity, Success, and Happiness

I Don’t Know How, So There.
You may know what you want to accomplish but you don’t know how and it stops you in your tracks. End of story.

Another variation of this is to say, “I can’t because….” without exploring the possibilities.

Everyone has a learning process in figuring out how to do something and there is plenty of help out there.

Here are just a few ideas of where to start:

  • Read a How to Book
  • Research the Internet
  • Take a Class
  • Join a Group
  • Get a Coach
  • Find a Mentor

Find someone who is doing something similar and study what they do.
There is never only one way to do things. You may come up with a creative solution if you give yourself a chance.

All or Nothing Thinking
Do you ever get caught up in feeling like there is only one way to be happy?

For example, some may feel like they will ONLY be happy if they make their living doing what they love.

It usually takes time and patience to make a full time living at what you love so you may want to start on the side until you get things going.

The way achieve your goal doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Do the things that you love in your life in various ways. You might do them for a living full time or part time, you might volunteer your expertise, you might do something just for fun.

Figure out ways to add more of what you love into your every day life.

The Only Thing that Matters is the End
Have you ever worked on something with such tunnel vision that when it was over, you only had a brief moment of happiness that you achieved your goal but realized you put the rest of your life on hold while you did it?

Your quality of life depends on how you spend your moments and days. It is important to have time for play, exploration, and fun. And who says you can’t do that and focus at the same time?

How can you make things easier? How can you make things more fun or enjoyable? Ask these questions over and over.

Take time to enjoy the journey along the way and be open to possibilities.

P.S. If you need help with figuring out a better way or what to do next, email me for an idea session. I’d love to help you!

Cool Art and Craft Videos

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010



If you love to make things like I do, you will really enjoy this wonderful resource for art and craft instruction DVDs and videos from Creative Catalyst Productions with some of the best instructors around!

Whether you like to make jewelry, collages, fiber art, portraits, watercolors, polymer clay items, or draw, you’ll find wonderful teachers and how-to videos.

The videos are high quality and they do a great job in showing you close ups
so you can really see what the instructor is doing.

If you wish you could go on a retreat or want to learn more about a particular technique, you can do it without even leaving home. It is the next best thing to taking a class in person.

As a matter of fact, I got the Anne Bagby video on Collage, Paper, Patterns
and Glazing, because I took a class in person but wanted to see some of the
techniques again. And I’ve just bought the Water Media Collage video with
Carrie Burns Brown.

They have free previews of several videos.

I’ve been lucky enough to take classes in person from some of these instructors so I know you are in for a treat:

Ann Bagby, an incredible mixed media artist
Claudine Helmuth, known for her whimsical paintings ad collages
Robert Dancik who works in PMC and is the creator of Faux Bone
Sharilyn Miller who creates wonderful jewelry with wire and beads
Sheril Kahn, a mixed media artist who uses simple and fun techniques.

There are so many other great artists to choose from like:

Mary Todd Beam
Leslie Riley
Virginia Cobb
Dayle Doroshow

Check out the videos and free previews of all kinds of cool artists and
techniques.

Learn from the best and create something wonderful!

P.S. This is an affiliate link and I only suggest resources I would buy or use myself and I do!