Showing posts with label mojo. Show all posts

Sunday, 2 November 2014

Trying to Find My Mojo

A year ago I wrote a post about Losing My Mojo...I have spent the past year trying to find it again....

- I threw myself into gelli plate printing and even started the Gelatin Printing Enthusiasts facebook group which has nearly 1800 members...

- I joined some art journaling groups and tried that...

- I joined another group where we created and swapped our art...

- I spent hours browsing through Pinterest....

- I joined 29 Faces in February and created 24.....

- I grabbed some old non-varnished canvases and altered them - chucked some paint on them

- I found a theme - gum leaves - and made several different paintings...

- I found I liked to doodle funky flowers - so I painted some of them on the old canvases...

- I'm taking an online class - Studying the Masters - Portraits and Self Portraits

- I joined Cre8ive Klatch - where I have to provide a tutorial each month - my first tutorial will be out on the 7th Nov!!

- I joined Klatchapalooza Market - where I have to create a minimum of 12 new artworks to sell online over the last weekend in November...

- I hosted BlogtoberFest 2014...

- I joined in on blog hops and hosted one too...

- I got my Etsy store up and running....

- I forced myself to enter the local art festival and ended up creating two paintings as I didn't like the first one...

But...

But I still feel as though I haven't found my mojo...

But I still feel that I have lost that excitement I used to have for painting...

But I feel that I have lost a lot of confidence...I wasn't happy with my painting for the arts festival so I created another one and then I didn't go to the opening night because I couldn't face people...

And...

I ended up with too much on my plate and not enough time to participate in the things I wanted to do...

Which has helped me....

- Find my One Little Word for next year...you have to wait till Jan 1st to find out but read the sentence below for a clue...

- See the need to decide where I'm going and what I'm doing and to concentrate on one thing...

- see the need to cut a few things out of my life....

So....over the next two months I need to:

- finish up and send out all the swaps I joined and not join anymore....

- get the 12 artworks ready for Klatchapalooza Market...

- write some tutorials for Cr8ive Klatch....

- finish the online class - Studying the Masters - Portraits and Self Portraits

Here's a few links to help you find your muse/mojo/open your creative block...

http://cre8iveklatch.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/ideas-for-bringing-back-your-muse.html

http://www.willowing.org/2013/06/28/5-ways-to-get-through-creative-block/

http://rachaelrice.com/2013/09/16-things-to-do-when-your-creative-mojo-has-left-the-building/

29 Ways to stay creative

The Cold Easel Syndrome thanks Suzi Poland

Creatives, if you've lost your passion, don't be afraid of change

What Do We Do When We Lose Our Passion For Something We Once Loved

http://skinnyartist.com/5-ways-to-rediscover-your-art-and-reclaim-your-passion/

Tuesday, 8 October 2013

BF2013 Day 8 Losing My Mojo

Confession time - I've lost my passion for painting.

Sigh, I don't know where it went, it must be around here somewhere but it doesn't appear when I show up and paint...

Could it just be that the honeymoon phase is over and I just have to knuckle down and get on with it.

I ask myself all sorts of questions such as:

'Why do I paint?'

'What am I going to do with more canvases? How many more canvases can my house hold before my family say enough?'

'Why didn't I listen to my friend who warned me not to make my hobby my work?'

'Where do I want my art business to go from here?'

Whilst I was away on my vacation I did not miss painting at all, maybe just a little bit at the end. I took heaps of photos and have loads of inspiration so that's not a problem. When I got back from vacation some arty friends asked me to join them at the local art's festival and have a booth but I would have had to have my own booth, buy a marquee, buy a stallholder's permit. public liability insurance - it was going to cost about $500 and I felt it too much pressure to get it organised and to sell to cover my costs...so I said No even though it had been a dream of mine for a few years and a great opportunity I just felt unable to do it.

In 2009 I started drawing classes to get my mind focused away from myself and to help with depression - it was part of the healing process. But now I feel healed, I feel really happy (apart from the art), my relationship with my husband is great - better than ever and I've done a lot of forgiving of others and of myself and now I feel good. I feel healed.

I spoke to a close friend about this and she said 'Now you have healed it is time to grow.'

Found in the south west of Ireland!

And then there's my creative space - which I put up a pic in last weekend's Sunday's Snippets - it's my kitchen or an area outside. I just feel like I need an area where I can splash paint around and not be worried about the floors or the wind. And I can't get into my art/spare/junk room at the moment. Argh...

What am I doing about it? I'm still painting as you've seen photos on my blog and instagram, I'm drawing and doodling and dangling and colouring in. So I'm still being creative hoping that spark will come back. I'm watching art videos, doing an online course, even hosting BlogtoberFest 2013 hoping to get back into the swing of things.

Sorry if I sound so whingy or whiney.... I'm writing this post because I feel others may be able to relate to it, not for sympathy - I really hope none of my family reads it....and maybe you've been there and come through the situation and have some ideas for me....

I've done some reasearch on the internet and have found some interesting blogs about this:

http://rachaelrice.com/2013/09/16-things-to-do-when-your-creative-mojo-has-left-the-building/

29 Ways to stay creative

The Cold Easel Syndrome thanks Suzi Poland