Sarah’s Creative Journey

Real Artists Have Day Jobs by Sara Benincasa              Only 10 pages in and I am already quoting this in my blog.  I already have a feeling this will be a great book to get started (again, every day). From the first sentence of the first chapter:            "Have you ever dreamed of being a real  artist?" Obviously.         "...You are not going to become a real  artist one day.  You are a real artist right now.          Do you make art?           Do you make art because it brings you joy, and also pain, but the good kind of pain,           kind you need in order to remember that you are a real person with worth and value          and power and all of the feelings?          Do you make art because it's fun?        ...

Ever feel the urge to do a little bit of everything?  You have piles and books of lists of things you want to do, and maybe get around to only about half of them, if that even.  I think this is something I go through everyday.  Now that I don't have a huge party (aka wedding) to plan, other projects can take priority again.  The problem is (and always is) I have too many projects. Too many things to draw/paint/illustrate/photograph... Too many books to read. Too many movies to watch. I want to learn Italian (like really learn, and be able to speak it and hold conversations even and now read through my Harry Potter book in Italian). I want to hike more and go outside/camp more.  I want to ride my bike more. I want to eat healthy and exercise. I want to hang out with my husband (woo!!), friends, and family.  ... you get the point.  The lists are never ending.  And each day they keep getting bigger.  Each day I get more frustrated and t...

With February 3rd coming and going, I again thought of American Pie... Some themes and thoughts I had while creating the A.P. (American Pie) series: Blank/unfinished faces: Don McLean did not come out and say directly who or what his song was about, but it has been deconstructed and analyzed by many people.  This being said, we do have a pretty good idea of who McLean could be referring to, but no one is 100% positive.  Keeping this theme, I did use images of celebrities to get familiar hair or face structures, but left the faces blank or used minimal details so it was not an exact likeness. Lyrics: there are in fact lyrics written on every piece, however some are more visible/present than others.  The illustration is obviously the main point, but the lyrics tie all of them together in a more coherent thought. History: I did research quite a bit, and tried to get opinions of others about the song and if it impacted their lives at all. My main focus was to includ...

One of my favorite blog reads yet.  Basically just giving you the link because there is not much more I could add right now. 

Well first, some insight from this article , which I read today.  ... To me, being wealthy is having the freedom to maximize one's life experiences.  In those terms, despite the average American having more material wealth than citizens of most other countries (more cars, bigger houses, nicer televisions), their overall quality of life suffers in my opinion.  American people on average work more hours  with less vacation, spend more time  commuting every day, and are saddled with over $10,000  of debt. That's a lot of time spent working and buying crap and little time or disposable income for relationships, activities, or new experiences. ... Comfort sells easier than happiness.  Comfort is easy.  It requires no effort and no work.  Happiness takes effort.  It requires being proactive, confronting fears, facing difficult situations, and having unpleasant conversations.   Comfort equals sales.  We've been sold comfort ...

A common phrase while finding a job nowadays is to "do what you love." Sure, that is great, but how do you know what you love to do?  You find what you hate to do.  You do many things you don't want to do before you really begin doing what you love.  Coming to Columbus seems to have been almost exactly that for me.  Granted, I liked what I was doing for the first couple jobs I found, but it was the management and the company's "organization" that made me want to leave.    So here I am, almost unemployed (not really, but it definitely seems like it...) and trying to find a job that can hopefully support my lifestyle and help me save for this wedding thing as well as a honeymoon.   BUT I am a bit happier, because I got kicked in my ass a bit to work harder at what I want  to do.   I guess just another life lesson to go in the books... So continue to be brave and try new things.  Because in trying new things, we discover ourselves...

How to Beat (and Keep) Deadlines Muddy Colors does it again.  Possibly one of the best blogs for artists or any creative people. So here is to new adventures.  Because without them we would be stuck in the same old boring routines. Remember, we CAN do this.