Mind Your Newness

  “The successful warrior is the average man with laser like focus.” – Bruce Lee        You can’t focus. Everyone around you seems to pull great ideas out of thin air. Their ideas are the talk and praise of your team. But your concepts seem to fall flat. There is hope and a simple solution if you are willing to become the creative genius you know you can be. Understand you are no less creative than the person next to you. And you are capable of channeling life changing ideas and concepts. The problem? You haven’t learned to empty your mind.        Before you begin a painting, write a song, compose a tune or sculpt a masterpiece, do this one thing. Be still. Close your eyes and sit in silence. Do not think, just sit still. You can feel the power in being still . There is wisdom in the silence, a feeling of familiarity as ancient as our soul.        Learning how to quiet down the mind can be an invaluable practice . The m...

You’re not getting the results you want because you’re not getting the rest you need. Believe it or not, c reative work is draining. It takes mental and physical strength to engage in it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun and fulfilling .   However, if you are not careful you can easily burn out.  Yes, you heard that right,   being creative can physically drain you.   My   experience as an artist has taught me a lot about the effects making art can have one’s body . They range from mental and physical issues but stems from one major mistak e creatives make across all disciplines .   F ail ure to take heed to g et ting proper rest. It’s a simple concept, yet often overlooked or totally ignored.   There is a case to be made for artists and creators to make rest an essential element in their daily routine. I would   argu e , you are likely to be more productive by implement ing frequent periods of rest in your creative practice . Studies...

  "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up.” – Pablo Picasso      Have you ever met a more confident artist then a child? If you have, then you have witnessed a world wonder. No one is freer than a child painting a picture. I deal with artists often. Finding an artist carefree as a child is rare. Children have no fear when creating art. Whatever is in their mind seamlessly flows onto the page. They never judge, criticize, or obsess over mistakes. That is, if they even perceive them at all.        To the child, it is what it is. In their eyes, everything they conceive is perfect. Not because it is, but because they created it. If you have ever watched a child draw, paint or build anything, you will notice something immediately. They do not care what others think. They will shove it in your face and expect your approval for no other reason except that they created it.        I was...

  Y ou work hard   at creating art .   A great deal of time is spent guessing, second guessing, observing and finally executing on your vision. G et ting far enough into a project without abandoning the work   is   a noteworthy accomplishment. I f you   finish, celebrat e .   I usually take a moment to admire the art I can complete . T hen something happens a day or so afterwards .   I   take a closer   look at it and my attitude   changes . I go from excited to… bleh.   T his cycle   happens often. The more I examin e   my   work,   the more I   cannot unsee its flaws. The   confiden ce in   its beauty has faded .   T he piece I loved just a day ago I now hate.   If you can relate then y ou too probabl y   would wonder w hat else could be do ne to make it better ?   Would o ne more stroke improve or make it worse ? When questions like this start fill i...

       Have you ever seen a Bigfoot? There’s quite a few pictures out there but nothing t o totally convince me it truly exists . Yet we still still point our cameras into the woods hoping to see a glimpse of him. T he same can be said about perfection. You can get close ,   real close. But no one can seem to tie her down . You can look , occasionally touch , but never truly capture her .        The artist knows he will never become perfect , not in this life.   He   can hunt her down   but no matter how close he gets, he’ll never ca tch her . In the mind of the artist, she’s more real than Bigfoot . But the closer he gets the more she eludes him.        W hat is it that keeps the artist chasing perfection knowing it’s impossible to catch her? Why after continually failing , the artist continue s   the chase ? Seems like the more the artist fails, the more he must pursue. Failure, like Per...