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| The Windsor Butterfly Project to help out: click here |
My #100DayProject
Perform one simple task a day to assist me in becoming more creatively productive and consistent in my studio. All tasks can be followed with a reward to encourage consistency.
Getting back on track to teach myself to stay consistently focused on creative projects by participating in the #100DayProject has taught me one thing. I never recognized how, when and why I got unfocused. I just did. I had a set back, the project got shelved, and that was that. I stuck with the easier work to produce, work without a struggle. This held me back. A vague sense of dread permeated my thoughts when I saw my WIP (Work in Progress) file grow. At first starting a file made me feel organized, tucking it all away in one safe place meant I'll get to it. Then a year past, another year and so on. Sometimes I did finish a product and get it up, but the snail pace is unacceptable for someone who wants to share her ideas in art-product form to the world as well as sell the work.
By adhering to one simple task, my esteem lifts up, solutions seem more forthcoming and suddenly a variety of To-Do's don't seem so overwhelming disparate and unattainable. I'm waking up with a plan in my head, a plan that unfolds more easily and stuff gets done.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT=Getting A Project Off the Ground
Not only does stuff get done, but new ideas spring forth. One idea, I wanted to raise Monarchs after reading about a man who repopulated his city of San Francisco with the rare Blue Pipeline Swallowtail. I thought, I'd like to try that, raising butterflies isn't as all consuming as raising bees, I'm an avid gardener and greenie and Monarchs are about to be added to our endangered list. I enlisted some local gardening friends to join me in this venture, next thing I know my neighbor mentions it would be great to have a Butterfly habitat along our local Riverwalk (conserved land with trails that runs along the Farmington River here in Windsor, CT). Well, BJ isn't one to let a good idea sit idle. She approached the town, we met with the Chamber of Commerce and Wetlands department and now we're in the process of seeking sponsors for our project. People are joining us, and one thing I've noticed, Synchronicity is happening; butterflies including a monarch flapping in the breeze in our backyard two weeks ago, keep manifesting before us in some way.
THE TIPPING POINT:
So now my idea of raising monarchs in my garden, to BJ's idea to expand to a public place has met what Malcolm Gladwell calls the Tipping Point, when an idea catches fire and spreads to the point the object becomes a commonplace product, idea, or event.
What makes the Tipping Point happen is community, but it must be an engaged, aware community. This distracted artist needs feedback from a community in order to create, most artists do, even if we work in a vacuum, sequestered in our studios. Without receiving energy back, we go nowhere.
Seeking a pro-active community is hard. Some groups are lackluster, some self-involved and inclusive, some demand a lot out of you with out giving back. I've had my share in joining the wrong kinds of groups. But when you least expect it, you meet someone who will turn you on to a team, or group or club or person, and the right kind of community surfaces, and good things spread, like wildfire.
So my one simple task today? I'm prepping my studio to re-paint the walls, maybe not so small, but I'm motivated and ready to go.
My name is Suzanne Urban I sell my funny stuff here: SmirkingGoddess and my art here:
SuzanneUrbanArt
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