The Open Window – Perseverance Pays Off!

If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me in the last 5 months since loosing my job that ‘when one door closes, another opens’ I’d be a very rich person! There have been many times when I might have given up in total frustration. If I could have talked my husband into ‘falling off the grid’ I might have done it. Except for one thing…I had made a commitment to my family, my art and writing.

I started my first blog, http://WendyFallonBlog.wordpress.com, to give me something constructive to do and to practice my art and writing. I was surprised to find that being unemployed was causing me to feel guilty, a definite lack of self-worth, and all-around depressed! Unemployment began to lower my self-esteem, even though I knew I was a uniquely creative individual (as is everyone!)

But with encouragement from my husband, I was able push myself into submitting resumes daily, and continued to post my drawings and writing. I began to take some pride in what I was and still am, creating and my efforts have led to a second blog, http://makeartbehappy.worpress.com , website, e-books and articles.

All of this, done consistently, has created an online presence and ‘platform’ for my writing and art skills. I firmly believe these activities have also kept me positive enough to recognize unexpected opportunities. When a writer friend and previous co-worker emailed and told me someone we’d both worked with (over 7 years ago) needed a technical writer, I told her I was interested. That was three months ago.

Today I received a phone call offering me work as an Information Developer for a software company, working from my home office and at a very nice wage. Needless to say, I’ve accepted! YIPPEE!!!!!

Staying in the game, networking, showcasing my skills and NOT GIVING UP has paid off more than I ever expected – and if I can do it, you can too!

Making Money From Art – Taboo?

Part I of The Business of Selling Your Art

In some circles, you aren’t an ‘authentic’ artist unless your motivation springs from your passion for making art, not because you must also make money to survive. If ‘making art’ also applies to any activity that you love and do well, and are passionate about, the money should magically come to you as a natural result, right?

This has always been a source of confusion and discomfort among artists. Making your art is a right-brain activity while making money requires left-brain business skills. This makes it difficult for most artists to also have great business sense.

So how do you make a living by making art? Here are a few suggestions, all requiring some left-brain education. You can hire someone to handle your business and promotional activities, or if you are like me and don’t have the money, you can learn to do it yourself.

• Market your art online (website, online portfolio)
• Teach classes (paid classes, tutorials)
• Distribute your art through brick & mortar (galleries, museums, shops, or any business who will provide exhibit space)
• Partner with a group for exhibition and promotion (art associations)
• Entering competitions (challenges, awards)
• Free publicity (news releases, written articles)

 Whether you sell, teach or exhibit your art, you must learn about marketing. And it turns out marketing may take more time and effort than the creation of your art.

The good news is you can make money from your art. The newest technology trends like online art communities and expanded online merchant services are making it easier than ever. And don’t ever forget, all of these methods contribute to the best marketing strategy of all:

• Word of mouth!

Part II: Marketing Your Art Online

Persevere! Don’t let a lack of knowledge discourage you. You CAN learn to sell your art!

Shameless Self Promotion – A Lesson in Self-Confidence

In this age of overwhelming competition for jobs, money and attention it is indeed the ‘squeaky wheel that gets the grease!’

In my ongoing pursuit to support myself with what I love and do well – art and writing – I’ve come up against something I know nothing about, that is totally outside my comfort zone and that I have had to thoroughly educate myself about: marketing!

I have often written that in order to get the job, the income or the attention or to sell a product or service you must first ‘sell’ yourself. In other words you need to have the self-confidence to believe that what you produce and offer for sale is of the utmost value to society. And not only do you have to convince your potential buyers that the product is something they want and/or need, you also have to convince them that you know what you’re talking about.

That being said, I have discovered you must be absolutely confident (or appear to be) of your product in order to write marketing content. It is truly amazing how much more work it takes to market and sell a product than to design and produce it! This leads me to my own Shameless Self Promotion.

I have written and published three e-publications:

Make Art, Be Happy – How to Live Well by Increasing Creativity & Improving Your Life, a 120-page e-book about finding what you love and do well, creative step-by-step exercises to help you think outside the box, along with suggestions for inspiration and motivation.

Beginning Drawing for Adults Who Think They Can’t, a 20-page e-tutorial that includes all the basics for learning to hand-draw, and why it might be the perfect exercise for accessing your source of intuition and imagination.

25 Ways to Build Creative Self-Confidence, an inspirational e-book designed to spark your creative thinking.

My marketing efforts to date include:

• Designing and launching my website where these publications can be found, http://www.FromCubicleToStudio.com,
• Starting an email list
• Placing 50 or so free classified ads online
• Writing and submitting a series of 4 informative articles to online e-zines

But I fear this is just the first step, a drop in the bucket, and certainly not a ‘squeak’ to be heard above all the other online noise clamoring to be heard. There are so many additional marketing methods I haven’t tried!

Hence, you have just read my own Shameless Self Promotion.

 Don’t be afraid to believe in yourself, in what you love to do and do well!

Comical Error Abounds!

Well, as you all know, I ‘are’ a writer….and can’t spell! I’ve just launched my new website, www.fromcubicletostudio.com, but purchased the incorrectly spelled domain name of fromcubicaltostudio.com! This has been corrected, but may take 24 hours or so to show up online. I’ll let you all know when it tests successfully! At this point, I have to laugh at myself. WF

Five Ways to Use Crayons to Spark Your Creativity

With school starting again recently I am reminded of the beginning of my own children’s school year when they were young. I have always associated the beginning of school with new shoes, backpacks, pens and pencils, but most of all brand new boxes of Crayola® Crayons.

I love new boxes of crayons with the tip of each crayon smooth and used, but most of all I love the colors. Like Life Savers® or clothing, you could choose your favorite color which somehow further defined you as a person.

Here are some ways crayons can become a part of your creative explorations:

1. The following project was one I enjoyed while studying art in high school. You will need one sheet of watercolor paper, an inexpensive set of school-age watercolors, brush, water, and at least 3 colors of crayons. Cover the entire sheet of watercolor paper with a wash of watercolor. It can be a single color or a mix of colors. Allow it to dry. Take one crayon color and gently apply a light layer over the dry watercolor. Repeat with the remaining colors, layering the next color over the last. Build up the layers of crayon until the surface of your sheet is shiny. Take a toothpick and scratch a design through the layers of crayons. Your scratching can be through to the watercolor underneath or partially through the wax layers to expose the different crayon colors. 

2. Reverse the use of materials by taking a clean sheet of watercolor paper, and complete a pencil drawing on it. Outline your drawing with solid lines of crayon. Add washes of watercolor over the crayons for a stained glass effect. The wax in the crayons will repel the watercolor and remain bright and solid. 

3. Take old crayons and sort by color. Melt a collection of broken pieces of a single color (or shades of the same color) in a double boiler (or in an empty veggie can in a pot of a couple of inches of boiling water). Pour each color into the bottom of its own small wax carton (milk) for custom squares of new crayons. Mix colors into the same container to achieve a rainbow effect when coloring. 

4. Buy a package of colorful letter envelopes and a pad of medium-weigh card stock. Create your own thank you cards or notes of inspiration by writing your messages in different crayon colors.

5. Try using crayons on a variety of textured papers for a pebbly effect, or use crayons to capture rubbings from grave stones, or dried leaves.

So many colors! Simply going to the store and pausing in the stationary aisle to look at a new box of crayons makes me want to be in Kindergarten again!

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Looking for inspiration and motivation to spark creative thinking, a creative life or even career? You can now purchase or receive free E-Books, E-Tutorials, and Inspirational E-Booklets at www.FromCubicletoStudio.com. I have authored and published 3 publications with plans for additional offerings: 

• Make Art, Be Happy – How to Live Well by Increasing Creativity & Improving Your Life
• Beginning Drawing for Adults Who Think They Can’t
• 25 Ways to Build Creative Self-Confidence (FREE with registration, and/or the purchase of one of the above publications)

Staying Focused, One Day at a Time

Invest in your mental and physical health and nurture your creative thought through meditation and/or prayer.

I spend several early mornings a week sitting outside seeking inspiration for my writing and drawing. Sometimes I find it, but sometimes I don’t.

Often my thoughts are jumpy and unfocused, swirling in a mish-mash of incomplete sentences, single words, images, and emotions. Thoughts pass into and out of my mind too fast to pin down or make real sense of; certainly too fast and unformed to capture in ink on paper – especially if I’ve had more than 1 or 2 cups of coffee!

These days my ideas seem to appear out of a swirl of random thoughts. Once I’ve isolated a thought it grows organically; aging like wine or cheese or soft leather into something I can build a complete sentence or paragraph around.

On the days my mind won’t settle or focus, I meditate. Others I know practice prayer and listening.

There are as many meditation techniques as there are people willing to teach them. All successful techniques have the same results; physical and emotional well-being and a clear mind. Ten minutes of deep, slow breathing, muscle-by-muscle relaxation, and imaging or prayer empties my mind of distractions and random thoughts, while exercising my right-brain. It’s also been shown to possibly increase serotonin production, which may help alleviate depression, insomnia and migraines. What comes into focus is usually what I’m seeking.

In our hectic society of mind-numbing media and frenetic multi-tasking we all can benefit regular intervals of peace and quiet!

Living Well Creatively With Less

I’m attempting to live well with less money.

In this pursuit, I’ve discovered two subjects so far that I personally need to explore and thought others might need as well:

•         Creating Change for the better in my life.

•         Leveraging what I already know and have into more.

More what…money, time, health, love or (fill in the blank)? How do we think more creatively to come up with our personal solutions?

My belief, as an artist, is to exercise my creative source, the creative tool we are all given in this life – my right-brain. By adding activities into my daily routine that consistently require I use right- or whole brain resources, I find it easier to come up with seemingly unprecedented ideas for living creatively and providing solutions to our dilemmas.

My Current life situation has many of the same challenges others are facing:

•         Loss of income – I recently lost my job, and my husband and I are living frugally on his paycheck alone.

•         Loss of our home – We lost our house to foreclosure last year.

•         Loss of retirement – We’ve been living on it.

•         Loss of or an increase in the cost of, healthcare benefits – ever-increasing.

We’ve slowly been able to find ways to live well emotionally and financially in spite of these personal crises by living and thinking creatively:

•         Re-considering our life experience, education and goals.

•         Figuring out what is most important for our happiness and peace of mind.

•         Finding creative ways to save money without depriving ourselves of necessary or favorite items.

•         Considering options outside our previous comfort zone.

•         Learning new things to increase options and self-confidence.

I will be writing more in the future about accomplishing change and living well.

Don’t ever lose hope!

I Love to Draw

When I was a child, drawing was my magic. During high school, it was my refuge. While in college I was discouraged by a drawing instructor who thought it came too easily.

When I married and had babies, it ebbed away; too much to do, not enough time, I told myself. As my children grew, drawing began to appear in crayon and markers; I looked for it in my children’s drawings.

During 20 years of love, marriage, and motherhood, drawing took a back seat to life. Then came divorce and the death of a loved one, and suddenly I wanted to be a child again. Drawing became my prayer and again my refuge. Now that I’ve healed and learned, drawing is once more my magic.

Don’t ever let anyone discourage you from doing what you love! It might just save you one day.

Ten Minute Choice

What shall I do with an extra 10 minutes? I could unload the dish washer, move the wet laundry into the drier, or plan a meal…or I could watch the hummers, listen to the birds, or meditate. In this age of relentless multitasking, does this question even matter? Why do I care?

A year and a half ago I spent 10 minutes in rush hour traffic experiencing the worst chest pain I’d ever known. I thought I was having a heart attack. What I did have were two blood clots in my lungs. I was lucky, and survived. I was also stupid and had ignored the pain for two days.

That was a hard lesson. If I hadn’t sought help in those 10 minutes, I might not be here today with the luxury of contemplating what to do in my next 10 minutes. What a gift these minutes are!

Frankly, I now usually choose to hug my puppy, meditate or sit quietly outside listening to the birds. As my mother used to say – ‘the housework will wait.’

This wasn’t at all what I’d planned to write today. I was going to write about the benefits of using an extra 10 minutes to meditate. Looks like I’ll have to save that thought for the next post!

Cherish and live every minute of your life!

How Writing Has Improved My Life

The simple act of writing, either with paper and pen or laptop, has become a tool I use to shape my life.

Take lists for example. I’ve always used lists for practical, everyday things like groceries or things I need to do.

But lately I’ve started making different kinds of lists. These have become a way to organize my thoughts and ideas. I’ve written lists of simple actions, definitions, suggestions concerning creativity, and notes about how to incorporate them into my life. I’ve found out that by building on these lists I can also define my goals for the future.

These new lists have been providing me with ideas about things I can do to get out of my everyday routine or broaden or change my point of view. Each item seems to provide options, alternatives, and otherwise help me experience a richer, in-the-moment, life. Sometimes they help me learn something new about myself or about the world around me.

By writing things down, I’m also helping my memory. This may sound ridiculously obvious, but I’m talking about how my brain actually processes and retains information. During college I conducted an experiment about how humans remember things. Apart from learning that we all have different ways of absorbing information, I learned that I am able to remember and assimilate information much easier by writing it down…longhand.

So the physical act of writing with pen and paper (and possibly by typing it into my laptop), combined with my drawing has become not only a source of great satisfaction, but also a way for me to build a road map through my life; past, present and future.

Making lists is one of many ways to start writing. What would you list? Here are a few suggestions for exercises from my own lists:

Learn to ride a bicycle, or take a bike ride. Write down 5 things you saw on your ride that you had not noticed before. Write down how riding a bike makes you feel. This will strengthen your ability to observe, experience and enjoy the world around you.

Write down 5 things you are afraid to do (ride a bike, give a speech, go anywhere by yourself, take a balloon ride, [fill in the blank.]) Pick one and do it. This will strengthen your self-confidence.

Fly a kite, build a sandcastle, sing in the shower, bake cupcakes, eat an ice cream cone – preferably with a child. Make a list of simple activities that you’ve enjoyed or make you feel good. This will remind you to treat yourself lovingly, and remind you to be joyful.