Perfectly Imperfect Inspiration Art Everyday Month Day 28

Saturday mornings always start off with so much hope and anticipation. Yesterday was one of those that not only started off that way, it stayed inspiring throughout the day. What a good feeling that is. I worked early in the morning editing pictures and creating this promo for an upcoming class at Swank (January 22nd...it will be a two part class that you can either take one or both sessions) where we will be experimenting in two different journals,  and playing with a variety of techniques and tools in a journey to self discovery. GREAT way to start of the New Year with a dash and splash of creativity.   I might tweak the above promo a bit but I like how it came out so far :)  Creativity started electronically but the moved on to a bit of live action in the afternoon.

 My friends at Swank invited me in to do a demo during the downtown Southern Pines Holiday Open House yesterday.  I have only done a few Live Paints so at first I had butterflies in my stomach. I'm a nervous kind of person anyway but then I had to tell myself that this is what I want to do and this is what I love to do so it WILL be alright!  And it was, it was more than alright.  I had a blast and enjoyed talking with a variety of people from the littlest of wee ones to a grandma type customer who showed me some lovely art work of her own on porcelain. (it was BEAUTIFUL..so tiny but amazing detail). 

 I even had a couple who stopped in from just outside of Raleigh who stayed and talked with me awhile, watching as I painted and inquired about my thought process and vision as I developed the backgrounds using a variety of tools, brushes, and mark making doo dads.   The husband said that he wanted to paint and started awhile ago, bought all the supplies and set up his area then tried to recreate his vision. He tried and tried and it just didn't come out like he saw it in his mind.  So, he put the supplies away and  hasn't touched them for a very long time...but he still has that desire to create...but I think fear is holding him back.  Fear of not being perfect.   Fear is our enemy.   I gave him what words of advice I could, the best analogy I could come up with is that of a runner running a marathon. That's something I can tell you right now, I can't do and may never be able to do.   One does not walk out of there house with their new sneakers on and start running and stay running for 26 miles if you have never done it before.   Okay so there may be a few that have the genetics to go perhaps a few miles and even less out there that can go the whole distance without practice.  The vast majority of us would have to practice, run a  few blocks, then build up to a mile, then run and run for a few more and do it several times a week if not daily so we build up our endurance and our speed and elegence with one foot in front of the other.   After doing it for a long time and condtioning ourselves to practice, we then and only then, may be able to reach the end of the finish line.  

Painting and creating is really no different. The process like running can be so relaxing and meditative that that alone is worth just trying.  But it's with practice daily or as often as possible that we start to stretch our wings and we can finally take that vision and recreate it more easily then if we just tried for the first time. Anytime you try something new, it's not going to be perfect--be okay with that!  It's okay for it not to be perfect or even great.  It will be someday with practice.   There's a lot of not so perfect things in the world (and people for that matter) that people love anyway.  Imagine how uninteresting the world would be if nothing else existed but masterpieces and perfect people.  We'd miss a lot of joy and beauty in the 99% of the world which would not be there because of imperfection.

Go ahead today and allow yourself the permission to just do something you enjoy, whether you are any good at it or not.  The feeling you will have for engaging in a moment of happiness will be so worth it. 

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Thank you Swank Girls for allowing me to stop by yesterday and have the opportunity to connect with so many wonderful people :) I enjoyed experimenting, sharing and allowing others to see you don't have to be perfect to enjoy the process and create art that make others happy.

OH...one more thing...looky here!  I'll be in the next issue of Somerset Studio!!  Stay tuned for the Jan/Feb issue where I will be writing and showing some cool pieces for their department article, "With One Palette"!! Whooohooo!!