For anyone in the future (because I have zero readers currently) who digs through the archives, you will see a sharp shift in content moving forward.
Previously, I wrote about specific projects and then wrote monthly goal updates using this Substack blog/newsletter. That is changing from here on out. Mostly because I find it immensely boring. I am pretty good at holding myself accountable and shifting with the seasons so that I always have creative energy so documenting that felt really dull since it didn’t challenge me in any way and I am someone who likes to be constantly challenged.
Starting this month, I will start writing about the things that interest me related to creativity. Ultimately , I am writing this blog for myself. If anyone reads it, fine, but I really want to use words to challenge myself into thinking more deeply about the creative processes, projects and other things that I do and how I do them.
I really enjoy reading about how other people approach their creative desires so I feel like I will enjoy writing about mine.
In The BeforeTimes (AKA Pre-Pandemic), I headed up an online creative group called The Wolfpack. I got the idea after listening to Abby Wambach’s book Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game. We were a small group of women that talked about our creative processes and shared the things we were working on. It was so helpful to hear how each person approached things in their own way. Once the pandemic hit, we ended the group because we all had to take on so much more responsibility in this new world. And I, simply, could not think coherently for at least six months after the waves started coming.
If I were still on social media, I might do another rally call to get a group together but I am not. I am flying very solo in the creative realm these days. Sometimes it can be a little lonely but most of the time I find myself brimming with more ideas than time, even without the drain of social media dead scrolling.
In the weeks and months ahead I have some ideas that I would like to explore with words including:
Talk about how organization in my sewing and art studios helps me organize my brain with specific posts on each
Share the English Paper Pieced Quilts I’ve made and how I find the process of making them very therapeutic
How I use journaling as a creative outlet and a way to slow my racing mind
I will talk about how creative process differs for everyone and how it impacts what I make
Dig into how the earth’s phenology impacts my creative life, creating distinct creative seasons
Share a haiku/watercolor journal series
I will talk about creativity and how it is both helped and hindered by my mental illness and how mental illness is unique to each and every individual dispelling any myths about “mad genius” tropes
Nature’s inspiration and its heavy influence on the projects I undertake
Using different hobbies/interests to build imagination
I will talk about the grant I received from the Minnesota Start Arts Board and how it impacted my creativity and what I did with the funds
Social media and the soul crushing, creativity draining marketing trap
And those were only the ideas I came up with this morning. I hope to write at least twice a month, which may be less in the summer and more in the winter just because that’s how my time often shakes out.
Just testing out the comment section so I can see what happens when someone comments.