Inspiration and Where To Find It

Yesterday, for the first time in what feels like such a long time, the sun shone and the sky was blue.  There was a cold wind and the birds were singing and flitting about, that delicious feeling of Spring arriving washed over me in a happy, joyous wave - how I look forward to this day when suddenly it is a given - despite all the foul weather and the cold - things are happening and growing, the light and the warmth is returning!

I spent a good hour or so tidying the garden feeling rather blissful about it all, I don't do winter very well, although I try my best to appreciate all the seasons.  I'm a person who craves light and heat, and in the darker months I feel myself retreating and lying low.  Perhaps this is necessary, a modern hibernation to regenerate the spirit and develop new ideas.  Spending time in the garden always relaxes me and lifts my mood though - it's such a tonic to work with plants and earth - and it was a pleasure to have that time where I didn't have to really think about anything else other than the tasks I was working on. 

After my gardening spree I headed off to the shops to pick up some groceries and stumbled upon these gorgeously scented tiny daffodils, and sprigs of pussy willow - does it remind anyone else of soft rabbit tails?

I brought them home, and instantly knew that I would want to paint them.  I spent some time faffing with them, rearranging them and enjoying their fresh perfume.  I could picture the painting in my mind, and it seems like a good one to start as I carry on with my large commission job (I love commissions, but I also like to have something of my own to potter along with too).

When the idea to paint these flowers arrived, I felt instantly excited about it.  Inspiration doesn't always strike so vividly but this as I've discovered before, is the best way to let it happen.  The trouble is, you can't force it, or manipulate it.  This kind of vision comes out of the blue, somewhat randomly and very unexpectedly.  You need to seize it when it does because the energy of it doesn't linger.  Get the idea on paper, photograph it, write about it...keep it alive in your journal or your camera if you cannot get on with it straight away.  It's essential to capture the magic of the new idea, and by doing these things it means you can come back to it and refresh your memory with the feelings it initially provoked.

You see, you can spend hours on social media or Pinterest and so on, admiring what other people are doing or purposefully seeking out something to emulate or do.  This is fine, we learn as we go from what others have done before us but there is nothing as original as a bolt of inspiration that you create with your own imagination and feelings.

The trick to receiving these is to be mindfully aware of what's going on around you.  Start to take notice of the ordinary things happening in your life, take time out to breathe in and out, to notice what sounds you can hear, scents you can smell, what the weather might be doing...how does the sun feel on your skin? How does the birdsong make you feel? 

Taking a walk is usually a catalyst to firing up the inspiration channels, it works every time for me in some way - problems are solved, ideas magically appear.  It's about switching off from our routines and letting our bodies soak up each moment. 

You'll know when the magic is happening because you'll feel a firework of excitement go off in your belly, your whole being will light up in anticipation - it feels right and good, and you know you're on the right track.  Start taking a few moments in your day to tune in to what's going on around you, immerse yourself in your tasks really paying attention to the smaller details and see what magic comes up for you.

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Happiness

I have a new range of prints and cards coming to my shop very soon, titled Happiness, it is such a bright and joyful picture!

I'll keep you posted as to when these are available; to keep up to date with new painting releases and news you are welcome to subscribe to my mailing list, you can find out more details here.

How to grow the confidence to do what you want to do in life

My Mum used to tell me to go into the Catering business when I was a teenager thinking about options.  She said, everyone will always need to eat and drink, you'll always make a living with that as an occupation.  She had a point, and for a while I even considered it - I applied to the local University to do Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management (I had wild dreams of running a B&B in Newquay, Cornwall, a place where we spent holidays as children and for a time I truly thought this was my path in life to follow, I aimed to please).  Sadly, my grades didn't quite meet the requirements of securing a place on this course and like most things in life, everything happens for a reason and as I grew older, I understood why.

I was never going to work with food and drink, at the very core of my being was a creative streak so deep and strong it eventually couldn't be ignored. 

Upon realising I wasn't going to lark about at University for the next few years,  I got a job working in the wages department of the NHS in Sheffield.  This ticked the 'get a sensible and well paid job' box, I successfully ignored my true calling and spent the next six and a half years being a receptionist and a wages clerk, entering nurses hours into a big computer and filing things before deciding enough was enough.

What cracked?  What made me decide to leave and go to the University of Plymouth to study Interior Design? 

It got to the point whereby I couldn't stand going into that office.  I felt stifled and miserable, my entire body told me on each weekday that I was doing the wrong thing, I lived for the weekend and suddenly I realised that was no way to live a life.  I had a calling to be a designer, I wanted to live by the sea, and for the first time in my life I broke away from the Expectations of Others and chose to follow my dreams.

Why do we ignore our callings?

Because I did, for many years.  I was in awe of authority figures and what my parents told me held a lot of weight.  I believed the whole caboodle of studying hard at school and college, getting a sensible job (see above), finding a chap and settling down....I know (insert eye rolling)...but that's how things were back then.

Today, younger people seem so much  more switched on than I was, they seem to be more sure and certain of what they want to achieve and do.  Perhaps it's just me that sees it that way?  Or perhaps we were casualties of being kids in the 70s (although I'm sure our folks just had our best interests at heart when they guided us to follow those old fashioned, traditional goals).  I've learned that doing what you love involves confidence to make changes and challenge old belief systems, and I didn't have much in the way of confidence to be honest.  It took me quite a few years before I even dared use the phrase Artist to describe what I did for a living!

Self belief is like a magic key, if you believe in your abilities and you can visualise where you want to be and what you want to be doing, life seems to send you the right sort of opportunities to make it happen.  Sounds like woo-woo magic right?  Well, maybe it is, who knows?  The only thing is, I've learnt that when I'm thinking with this mindset, things happen, and when I feel waves of doubt and despair coming over me, it goes a bit...well...wrong.

It takes practice to grow confidence.  Maybe you are already a superbly confident sort, and I must say I'm a little envious of you!  I still have days where I struggle with what I believe I'm capable of but I'm learning that if I challenge those fears and get back on track by deciding how I want to feel, I can move more swiftly into a better feeling place instead of languishing about in fear and despair for days, feeling awful and depressed.  We have to live like we already are that super confident person, even if we aren't!  By doing this regularly, we eventually rewire the neural pathways in our brain, we start to believe what we were pretending to be and in essence, our lives change to reflect that.

What my Intentions are for 2018 (and the planners I love to use)

With a new year firmly underway I am at last back at work after a very long absence.  Beginning in November I was laid low with a nasty cold virus, and despite a few days here and there where I thought I was finally feeling a bit better I kept on lapsing into this awful state of being unwell - aches, pains, cough, fevers...only now, as the days of January begin to slowly lengthen I feel more like myself (with a lingering cough, a souvenir of my epic 8 weeks of feeling vile).  I hasten to tell you that this is not like me at all, I do NOT do sickness, I will occasionally pick up a cold and then after a few rubbish days it has gone - I've never endured anything like this at all and went through tests and even an x-ray at the hospital to find out what was going on.  It seems I'm a healthy enough person, who just happens to have succumbed to a virus that lowered the immune system, which in turn meant it was easier to catch other bugs and things.

It being winter here until about April, I decided to persevere with raw honey and apple cider vinegar drinks, doses of astragalus root to boost the immune system, and take care to eat foods that are health inducing instead of the Christmas stodge we endured for what seemed like an eternity.  I think it's working.

So, I'm not too sorry to see the back of the Christmas period, and I'm embracing January as a fresh new beginning with lots of plans bubbling away for the coming months. 

Saying that, I'm not a person who makes resolutions as I don't think life needs resolving - it's not broken, just needs a bit of guidance in the right direction to get back on track, and personally for me the sheer expectation that comes with creating new year goals just lays so heavily on me that I tend to give everything up within a week anyway.

So, I choose intentions.  Which are lighter, easier, and more forgiving than tough resolutions.  To make sure I stay on track with my intentions and dreams, I like to use planners and journals.

I am currently using two planners to help me map my journey through this year.  The one on the left is by Danielle Laporte - a motivational speaker and author.  Based on her book, The Desire Map, she invites you to choose your core desired feelings each day as a basis for making choices in life.  The idea of working with how you want to feel and then choosing what you need to do to manifest those feelings is a really cool way of living with intention and creating a life you enjoy.  It has certainly made me consider the choices I make each day, and become more aware of what I do with my time.

The planner on the right is the epic marketing guide by Claire Mitchell, owner of The Girls Mean Business.  I worked with the 2017 version last year and despite not using it consistently, I increased my earnings, realised dreams and grew my audience.  I can highly recommend Claire and her illuminating teachings which she offers within this planner, online in a private Facebook group, and through a private marketing portal with monthly challenges on to grow your biz - it's all completely awesome.

I also chose a word for 2018 - this year it's all about EASE.  Moving through life without struggle, taking time to be mindful, to make the right choices, keeping it simple and good. 

So with all of this in mind, I feel like I have a great tool kit to get me through!

Here are some of my intentions for 2018:

• Go to the coast as often as possible (we have already braved the wintery Yorkshire coast for a couple of days, it was glorious!)
• Create an online art course
• Create a new art workshop
• Write more
• Go to Italy
• See friends who live far away
• Lose a stone in weight by eating mindfully, committing to my yoga practice and walking more
• Get my bike out and go for rides with my family
• Practice meditation
• Declutter my house 
• Read lots of books
• Swim in the sea
• Have my artwork published by new companies
• Practice gratitude
• Say no to things that don't feel good
• Grow my business
• Think about a new tattoo
• Learn Italian (I've downloaded the course on Babbel but need to spend some time doing it)

Have you set aside some time to think about what you would like to do this year? 

Back in the studio, I'm busy working on some new commissions for Whistlefish (here's a little peek above), it's great to have a lovely job like this to kick things off - I'm feeling really positive about this new range of artwork and very excited about all the possibilities in store! 

My First Art Workshop - How it Went and What I Learnt

Last Saturday I hosted my first Art Workshop in the cosy village hall in Hoylandswaine, Yorkshire.  I thought I'd pop in and write about how it went and what I learnt.

Before that though, you might have noticed an absence.  I haven't blogged since mid October and that wasn't planned.  I actually had big plans in place to blog every week, and intentions, as well as a desire, to write a lot.  I felt as if I had a lot to say and then I got ill.  I don't mean for you to worry because it isn't a serious illness, only a virus of sorts but it has hung on and in fact hasn't properly gone yet - it is one which fills the body with aches, a nasty cough which makes the lungs sore, awful congestion, headaches and an overwhelming fatigue.  And this tricky virus hung on for a good three weeks, leaving me feeling very run down
I had lots to do in preparation for my workshop, and lots of Christmas goodies to create and so I stepped back from Blogging, and I felt a bit sad because I truly love writing, but I felt as if I didn't have much to say, and it all felt like rather too much.

But here we are, the first day of December, cruising in a somewhat chaotic manner (in that I'm terribly unprepared) towards Christmas.  And this leads me nicely back to the topic of conversation with you today, my Christmas Workshop and all about what happened.  And today, I do feel like writing, so here we go.

My mini pop up shop

I arrived a couple of hours before the event to set everything up.  I was a little shocked actually at the huge amounts of stuff I was taking to set up!   I somehow managed to bundle it all in my car and set off across country, looking at the snow topped Pennines in the distance and hoping that my two ladies who were travelling over would make it across safely (they did).

At just before 1pm, the first of my students arrived, I must say, it truly was the nicest group of women to be blessed with, ranging in age from just 13 and up.  They were a friendly and good natured bunch who made my first class such a good one - thank you all for that.

The afternoon went so well, some of the women hadn't picked up a paintbrush since school, and acrylics were a new medium for some.  They all did so, so well - I really was so proud of what they achieved in those three hours.  

Along with some delicious cakes and bakes, and a selection of drinks to help things along the afternoon was a nice, relaxed affair with plenty of chat and laughter.  I remember showing them how to flick snow from the flat end of a wide brush, using watery white paint and proceeded to cover my heart with the biggest blobs that all but anihilated the design.  Things like that aren't planned of course, but it made everyone laugh! 

So what did I learn from hosting a workshop?

Planning is the absolute key!  I did pretty well at organising myself, and in planning the way I wanted the afternoon to unfold, but I think next time I would make a few tweaks to make it easier in places.  For example, it would have been a good idea for me to take a drying tool along, as some of the paint took a while to dry and people were waiting around which I felt bad about.  Signs on the doors to guide people into the workshop room (which is at the far end of the hall) would also have been helpful.  

I think I would spend time creating a nice, clear welcome speech too.  I had an idea of what to say but was caught in such a rush of nerves as I suddenly realised I had a room full of ten students that I think I forgot most of what I wanted to say, and rambled on a bit about other things instead!  Talk about tongue tied! 

I remember Louise Hay once saying that when we do something new, it's easy to come away and beat ourselves up about all the stuff that went wrong, or that we felt wasn't good enough.  She encourages us to be kind, to say 'well done, you did your best' and then think about how you can do it even better next time.  With that in mind, I am proud of what I achieved that Saturday, and will strive to make my next event even better.

I think I would love to do more things like this, despite the nerves (which I think are a natural part of stepping out of our comfort zones and into new territory).  I'm wondering about a full day painting course, or perhaps in time, a weekend retreat!  I think the best bit for me was being able to actually work with people, and to teach them what I know, to pass on skills and share that.  Watching their designs come to life after the different layers and processes was astonishing, they were brilliant!

Now it's back to work, but I'm going at a much more gentle pace so that I can finally shake off this virus and feel better again.

I'm putting the last few bits and pieces into my online shop now, so if you fancy supporting and buying Hand Made this Christmas, why not take a peep?  There are some lovely hand painted decorations (the last few, I won't be making anymore this year), as well as original art, prints, cards and mugs.  You're welcome to browse by clicking here.

I wish you a lovely day.

Julia x

A Prescription for Happiness (when life gets tough)

Evening Light

I'm sitting in the coffee shop, and through the window I can see a blue sky streaked with long, grey clouds, it feels calm and yet although I committed to write a blog post each week I am sitting here struggling with what to write.

Sometimes it flows, other times it stalls.  Like today.  Maybe the best thing for me to do is to write about this, about what happens when our commitment to something wavers, or feels blocked.  What do we do?  How do we move forward from this almost crippling feeling of not being able to create something?  Why does it happen?

A couple of weeks ago I was firing on all cylinders.  I felt insanely happy, I had a positive mindset, everything was going well and I had ideas for new paintings that were literally coming out my ears.  I love it when I'm flowing in the momentum like this.  Crazy good stuff kept on happening, all the traffic lights were on green for me, I got great parking spots at the mall, life just seemed to feel easy and good the whole time.  I've cracked it, I thought - this is it!  

And yet, it wasn't.  Because a few days later I felt myself sinking, I felt a familiar panic rise in my chest, invisible fingers grasping to keep hold of that happiness which seemed to be dissolving...wait, I thought....don't go - I like feeling this way...but the feeling slipped away, and I was left in a soup of fatigue, feeling deflated and without motivation again.  In that moment I didn't know how to hold onto that positive vibe.  I didn't want to feel rubbish, I wanted to feel good the whole damn time!

So what caused it?  

I sat and gave it some thought.  A couple of situations within our family got a little tough over the last week.  We are coping with a recent bereavement (my partner's Dad passed away) and since the funeral, quite naturally so, my partner is really struggling to come to terms with what has happened.  My daughter also suffers with anxiety which leads to late nights where she cannot sleep...these things are going to take time to heal, but sometimes it feels harder to deal with them than at others.  All you can do is go on-wards and through, you cannot circumnavigate grief or an anxious child.

I have also noticed that my mood levels naturally wax and wane each month, and at certain times I am more alive and focused, when at others I succumb to nasty headaches, crave naps and feel sluggish.  I finished the painting that you can see at the top of this post, and despite having lots of ideas for the next, I found myself empty and staring at the blank canvas with no idea of what to put on it.

I found myself talking with my partner about that, about the feeling of panic that my positivity and motivation had gone for good.  He wisely reminded me that it was just a few days each month where I needed to be kinder to myself, to retreat and do what I needed to replenish and feel good again.  To listen to my body, to allow myself to nap, go a bit more slowly and so on. 

The ideas do come back, the positive feelings come back.  But we have to listen to our bodies and take time out now and then.  It's OK to do this - in our fast paced world where the focus is on achievement and perfection, give yourself permission to check out, take the nap, eat soup, go for a walk in the forest.  We seem to naturally give this advice to those we love, who need a bit of extra care, so why do we hesitate to prescribe ourselves the same healing medicine? 

Living a life committed to making your dreams real, creative or otherwise, takes stamina and patience.  It's not going to happen overnight.  You will hit peaks and you will descend into the troughs.  It's all part of the journey.  Accepting this and allowing yourself time to navigate the hurdles that life throws at you will make it so much more easier.  As I write all this I'm smiling to myself, because I knew this all along but I'd forgotten, in the midst of my low mood and panic, I'd simply forgotten.

So today, I'm finishing this post then I'm going present shopping for a birthday gift.  This afternoon I will cosy up with some good reading and a sketch book and see what happens.  I'll do some yoga before bed, and a meditation with Ravi Shankar to help me sleep better.  I can feel the fog is slowly lifting and I'm coming through - such a good feeling.  And I know that in a day or so I will be back in the studio, painting my soul out onto canvas, writing with perhaps more vigour than today.

Remember the light is always there, even in the darkest bits when it feels impossible, it's still there, shining and waiting.