Your Weekly Wednesday Update
One of the truest - and kindest - lessons I've learned about life is that action, pretty much ANY action at all, leads to answers.
I don't always remember this. Sometimes I get stuck in my head, paralyzed by over-analysis.
But when I remember to take a step - even the smallest step in any direction at all - things always become clearer. The anxiety always reduces.
I'm not sure if you know this, but I didn't start painting with watercolors until I was a grown-up. And the reason I started was ... well, it was sad.
I ended my first marriage in September of 2017. And the 3-4 years before our divorce was spent in an unhappy marriage, of course.
I turned to art as a form of coping with the sadness and loneliness.
But I didn't start with watercolor.
Over several months, I accumulated a collection of creative supplies: I went through a jewelry making phase, I tried my hand at pastels, I picked up the crocheting needles I hadn't used since high school, I bought a super-size set of colored pencils.
But nothing quite stuck. I would fiddle and play for a couple of weeks or months - then lose interest. And try something else. Still feeling the desire to create in some way ... but I wasn't sure how.
Finally, one year at Christmas time, we bought a cheap set of watercolor supplies for my ex's cousin as a present - and, on a whim, I decided to buy a second set of paints for myself.
And that was it. For some reason - this type of creativity stuck. All my jewelry supplies and pastel sticks and charcoal branches were pushed aside, and watercolor became a part of me.
Did I know that watercolor would be my "thing"?
Of course not - I could've saved myself a lot of money on art supplies I never used again.
Could I somehow have just skipped straight to watercolor?
Nope - that's not how this stuff works.
The point I'm trying to make is that I found out by DOING. And the doing gave me feedback.
Jewelry? Nope. Crocheting? Nope. Colored pencils? Nope. Watercolor? YUP.
Don't get me wrong - this is a hard process. When I try or invest in a new thing, I want guarantees that this will work, that I will like it. I don't like fumbling around in the "nopes" trying to find the "yup". How wildly inefficient is that??
But - I know that stumbling through the nopes is INFINITELY better than sitting around, waiting for a 100%-safe guaranteed-likeable thing to be presented to me on a silver platter (you and I both know, that ain't happenin')
So I've been trying to DO more lately, to try out more things that'll probably end up in NOPE - because I know that, just by doing, even by taking one step in the wrong direction, I'll be getting close to the next HELL YEAH.
> > > what's inspiring me this week
Again, you already know that I'm 10 days in to my self-appointed "draw or paint something every day for 30 days" challenge.
To my delight, I've kept up with it - and I've been surprised at the amount of freedom I've found through such a simple exercise ... and the surprising creativity of the pieces I've made.
It reminded of a video I used to watch on repeat by a YouTube guy named struthless, provocatively titled "The drawing advice that changed my life"
He shares a story of a time when he worked for a full-time artist, and asked for advice on how to get there, too.
"Draw the same thing every single day for a year", the artist said.
The advice was easy to follow, he had nothing to lose, and so he followed through by drawing an ibex bird every day.
This simple advice had surprising results:
It took away the "fear of the blank page" because he already knew what he was going to draw, so he was more productive
It was an easy thing to post to Instagram, so he was easily consistent on social media
The more ibex birds he drew, the better he got at drawing, period
And, when the ibex bird finally became boring - but he still had to keep drawing it - he got creative with his ideas
You can watch this wonderful (and funny) video here
(And, if you have time for a YouTube rabbit hole, check out Struthless' other videos. He's funny, wise, and one of my favorite YT creators)
> > > what I'm learning right now
Like I said last week, right now I'm slowly learning about community and logistics here in Israel.
I spent 3 years building my art connections and community back in Columbus.
And, between Covid and the language barrier here, I'm just now starting to find artistic events and communities here in Israel.
It's a process that takes time - but I took a step forward last night:
My sister-in-law, Sharona, and I signed up for a palette knife painting class at a new little artistic community a few minutes away from her house and had a wonderful time!
Even though the (limited) instructions were in Hebrew, the good things about art is that it's visual 😅 so I didn't have any trouble figuring it out on my own and having a good time.
So, yes, I found an artistic community and class ... but we also had a sneaky ulterior motive when we signed up for this class 😎
Sharona and I have been talking for a while about creating our own class - a mix of my art teaching and her vegan cooking - and we wanted to see how this class did everything.
What was the teacher like? Involved, experienced, aloof?
What was included? Food, instruction, location?
What was the price? And how many students showed up?
What online tools did they use to schedule the class and take payments?
So not only did we have a great time painting together - we learned a lot more to help us with our own future plans, and got more excited.
Next step on the list? More logistics. We're gonna start scouting around for beautiful outdoor locations to host a nature-focused class and I cannot wait.
> > > what I'm working on this week
This has been an unusually busy week, with 1-2 appointments a day and even the Jewish holiday of Shavuot thrown in (To be honest, I'm still not exactly sure what we celebrate on Shavuot 😅 ... but I do know that we eat a LOT of cheese! So I'm a definite fan) Because of that, I've just been thrilled that I'm 10 for 10 on my 30 day art challenge. Again, I've kept the rules as stupid-proof as possible - if you can even call them rules:
Draw or paint ANYTHING
No time limit - could be a 2-minute scribble, or two hours spent on a larger piece
"Dubsado rules" apply (if I miss a day, I get a "streak freeze" and can make it up the next day)
And I've been delighted with the results so far:
Not only can I feel a habit solidifying (which was the point!) The freedom I've felt to explore and be curious has been so refreshing. Again, watercolor will always be my first and true love. But sometimes that turns into a pressure to ONLY work in watercolor, to hone that specific skill to higher and higher levels. But, over the past week, I've gotten to ... well, play. And it's been a treat.
Some days I picked up my tablet for a quick digital drawing on Procreate, learning a new technique or tool every time
Other days, I dig out a set of watercolor crayons I never thought I'd use, and experiment with their textures and colors
And at an art class this week, I painted on boards for the very first time, and even dabbled with a palette knife
I even explored a really expressive abstract/portrait piece, which is WAY outside of my norm
Art is full of different languages and dialects - subject, tools, medium, materials, and more, all of that affects the sound and breadth of the language. And I feel like I'm learning new words, stumbling across new ideas, bumping into new communication methods that will refresh and expand my watercolor work. Also ... I'm just happier in general when I'm making art every single day 💚
Nothing new in the shop at the moment :) But, until I do, you can always check out the existing originals and products in the shop (they're still available and waiting for you :) ) And I hope to add to it very soon.
And, as I increase in my email frequency again, I will also be trying to post a little more often to the social places
You can follow me there to see what I'm working on (or see the lovely old stuff I've just forgotten to post before and am just now sharing)
Until next Wednesday! ✌️
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