I was out in the blogosphere the other day and found this post from kirin notebook which was totally validating for me. I have spent the last few years at home with my kids and somehow feel suddenly that I have no idea what I'm doing. Despite art school and life experience I fall easily into the trap of sweatpants wearing, low-self worth harbouring housewife and totally forget that I am as capable as I ever was of producing valid work and feeling, if not pride, then at least satisfaction in my work both as a mother and an artist. Postmodern hausfrau and I have discussed this probably once a week on the phone for the last three or four years and now (probably because our kids are finally sleeping more and we have regained our powers of concentration) I am ready to be somewhat more accountable for my own output into the world. This does for my part include a bit of hippy-ish planet saving homemade soap and homemade granola --try not to hold that too much against me and I will do my best to stay off my soapbox--but also means that I have to take myself as seriously as a creative person as I would advocate any of my friends to. So I resolve to be nicer to myself, to save the sweatpants for housework, and take kirin notebook's suggestions because they are good ones.
1) Start somewhere, anywhere. Create and output as much as possible. Creativity is a
skill that requires
practice and more
practice. That guy you know who's a fantastic drawer - he's been drawing and doodling since the age of three. Same with that girl who's a fantastic pianist. Practice.
2) Start a blog. This is fantastic for feedback and support, and also helps to motivate you to make/draw/design stuff to appear on it.
3) Do a short course to build up basic technical skills. Eg for my medium: Illustrator is always handy, or Photoshop. So long as you have the basics you can build your skills on the go. And/or google something if you don't know how to do it :)
4) Do lots of research. Keep a folder of inspiring things. Try imitating the things you like - it's not copying because you'll change it with your own unique style (however if it does end up too similar make sure you credit the original and don't try to make money off it!)
5) Talk to other creative folk. Don't interpret 'thinky' or shy as standoffish. Some creative folk can seem hard to approach because they seem all 'too cool for school'. More likely they're just off wandering in their minds somewhere and are actually really nice people. Although there are some not-so-nice peeps out there, they're probably insecure and wont want to share anything with you anyway.
6) Drink lots of water! (well, not too much). It's good for the brain. I freak out if I leave the house without my water bottle as much as when I forget my lip balm ;)
7) Don't eat crap. Eat a balanced diet that includes protein and good fats - these are just as important as eating your veggies! There's nothing worse than sugar highs and lows to ruin your productivity and put you in a grumpy mood.
8) Take small, measured risks to get where you want to go. If you can find a way to make small batch units of something, that's always good. Then you can build up from there.
9) Surround yourself with supportive people. Don't go showing your early artwork to that person you're desperate to impress but you know doesn't appreciate creative things. It'll only discourage you and grow those seeds of doubt like "oh but I'm just NOT a creative person!". You are!
10) Don't undersell yourself (or your peers!) when it comes to pricing! A good rule is to always make sure your product is wholesaleable. You must be able to divide your retail price in half and still make a profit! Here's a good simple formula:
(Labour + Materials) + 100% markup = Wholesale Price*
Wholesale Price + 100% markup = Retail Price.**
* - because you still need to make some profit even if you outsource your 'making'.
** - because retailers almost always want to mark things up by 100%
It's therefore good to retail for a similar price to your (potential) wholesale customers, so you're not undercutting them.
Check out Eden sending out her best 'blue steel' in her new (so new she isn't even getting it until Christmas) purple housecoat. My husband, who incidentally wishes to be forever here refered to as 'boss hog'? (um, we may need marital counselling but that's another post) is gripped with the desire to present her with a licqorice pipe in her stocking an start calling her 'heff'. I adapted a pattern I had for a quilted coat/jacket by staring at both the pattern and my own housecoat until they had fused into this and I think it might be one of my most satisfying sewing projects ever. I made one for Eden and a smaller one for Arlo and they both fit perfectly and had to be worn all day and then hidden away for Christmas under cover of darkness. It's a rare occasion when I sing the praises of toddlers short attention spans but it does come in handy from time to time.
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