Slow Progress

My artsy progress is coming along slowly but surely. (Ok, more slowly than surely.....in fact, I don't quite know if I could even call it "surely" yet).

It's tough.

I know I want to create art.

I think about it ALL day long.

Every day.

It's usually the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep.

I'm totally obsessed.

The problem is, I just can't seem to make enough time to progress as quickly as I want.

I fantasize all the time about how I'm going to be a "successful" artist some day.

And by "successful," I mean big money.  : )

Yes, I do love the idea of having a lot of money.  Sorry.  I don't know if I should admit that so publicly.  But, seriously, being financially independent?  Ahhhhh, freedom!  Yes!!!  Oh, the possibilities!

I would totally do worthwhile, helpful, positive, uplifting, wholesome things with my wealthiness.

I promise.

Ok, ok - I'm totally getting side-tracked.

My point is that I really really really want to be a financially independent, thriving, artist/entrepreneur.

But, I'm not.

Yet.

And it's buggin'.

It's taking way too long.

I'm taking the teeniest, tiniest baby steps ever.

I think I may be 90 years old by the time I make my first $100.

BUT, I'm going to stop being so negative.

Right now.

I'm going to tell you all the little teeny steps I've taken in the past week towards by beautiful, happy "Successful Artist" goal.

First, I made a little ditty:

It was part of an assignment for my Surface Pattern Design class that I'm taking.

I love the colors, the flowy lines, the swirly wave, and the polka dots.  I couldn't spend forever on it, though.  If I spent more time on it, I think I would blend the colors of the sun more and add a little texture to it.  I'm also not sure if I love all of the squiggliness.  It's a little crazy.  I might tone that down a bit.

Another thing I've been doing, is listening to these AMAZING interviews on the website: Smart, Creative Women.   Oh my goodness!  Seriously!  I LOVE that website!  I am so so happy that I'm finding all of these women out there in the world making it happen - doing what they love.  It is SO inspiring - keep it up, ladies!  Yay!!

The website is great, too, because I can listen to the interviews while I work at my regular job.  Yes, I love multi-tasking.  It's my favorite.

I've also been keeping up with my goals for completing Part 2 of my Surface Pattern Design class.

I work on it for 15 minutes every day, before I clock into my regular job, and then on Tuesday evenings and Saturday evenings, after the boys go to bed.  So far, it's been working.  It isn't as much time as I would ideally like, but it's something, and it does make a difference.

I also figured out how to check out library books from my Kindle - awesomeness!  And I happened to find a really cool book: Creative Time and Space.  It's really inspiring and interesting.  My favorite part so far is when it talked about making art a part of your every day, regular life, and incorporating it into as many things as you can, to keep that part of your brain turned on and tuned in.

So, to incorporate this into my life, I just randomly started sketching in my sketch book at the kitchen counter.  I ended up drawing my son's Superman Funko Pop action figure that was sitting there.

It only took a couple of minutes, but it really lifted my spirit, and I felt my creative energies come alive.

It was cool, too, because, as I was drawing, my two oldest boys gathered around me, intently watching me sketch Superman, so fascinated.  I think they thought I was a pretty cool mom.  : )  Then, they made me draw Batman, too (of course!).

Anyway, I think those are my main artsy accomplishments this week.  Small stuff, but good stuff, right?

As long as I'm moving forward, however slow it may be, I'm calling it good at this stage in my life.

Good job, Laur.  : )