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So there's this really big deal news that I can finally share with you now! We've worked really hard to get to this point, and I can hardly believe it's finally time to spill the beans! I put together a new video (It's about time, Gracie, sheesh!) to share all the news with you, so I won't spoil it here... ... except to say it involves picture books!! Also, all of the upcoming changes mean my Patreon page will become an even more integral part of enabling me do what I do, and I could use your help! I'd love to have you join me and the rest of the community there, or share my page with someone you think might be interested in becoming a part of what I do and getting more behind the scenes content like live how-to videos, original art in the mail, ramble podcasts, wallpapers and picture book recommendations! Ok, ok, that's all I'll say for now! Check the link in my bio to see the video over on my Patreon page!
This is Shelley. Having a poet's mind and a 5 pound note more than he needed to survive for the day, he spent it, as it were, by folding it into a boat and delighting in setting it to sail on the Serpentine in Kensington Gardens. Some people might say it was a waste of a 5 pound note, but here's the thing: Shelley enjoyed it. He probably laughed a bit to himself as it took off through a ray of sunshine and bobbed about on the water. Probably some children playing nearby stopped what they were doing to watch and point and shout in delight. A lady sitting on a bench close by looked and smiled, perhaps. And later, that very 5 pound note turned out to be exactly what was needed to get Peter Pan off the island in the Serpentine and into the Gardens itself, and from there on to the Neverland. (J.M. Barrie tells us bits of this story in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.) We all have to grow up in the sense of time. But growing up in the sense of never folding 5 pound notes into boats, or never dreaming and delighting in things without feeling self conscious, or always pretending we know what we're doing, or thinking it's childish to have fun or do anything that results in us looking a little silly--*that* we don't have to do. And those little moments of shared wonder and joy? They matter--probably more than we'll ever know--to the Peter Pans waiting for a way to adventure, and all the ones who will be inspired by his story, and the women sitting on benches nearby, needing a smile. Don't lose your wonder, friends. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
I spent way too long this afternoon scrolling and scrolling through a well-known illustrator's instagram feed. I love their work and at first it's always inspiring, isn't it, to see the work of people we admire. Then at some point it becomes something else. What was I even looking for? Proof that they're actually human and that maybe at one point in their lives their art was as poor and inexperienced as mine seems to me? A magic formula to get me from where I am to where they are now? I honestly have no idea. But whatever it was, it wasn't worth it, and I was wasting my time--good, beautiful time that I could have spent creating. So for me, and for you, here's the perverbial 2x4 across the head: Stop. Stop comparing. And start creating stuff. It doesn't have to look like anyone else, or even be pretty or remotely what you saw in your head before you started--this piece sure wasn't. The point is you just have to put pencil to paper (or however it is you do what you do) and show up. Be there. Stop looking at other people and just be you, exactly where you are now. Because that's the perfect place to start creating. And I'll let you in on a little secret. That's exactly how those people--all those amazing artists--got to wherever they are now. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
I think my worst fear is waking up twenty, thirty years from now and realizing I just let things slip by. That I'll have just lived the way it seemed easiest to, or the way people said I should, the way things are done just because... they are. That I'll have forgotten how to really consider what I want and make things happen. That I'll have become conventional without even noticing it. For me, conventionality is terrifying. But I also know conventionality itself isn't the problem with my nightmare. It's not living on purpose. However you live it--conventionally or no, organized or chaotic, larger than life or simple and quiet--do it on purpose. Be intentional. A lot can happen in twenty or thirty years, and what I want might change--maybe drastically. Obviously we don't control everything that happens in our lives, either. But keeping tabs on how I want to live and doing what I can to make that happen on purpose means wherever I end up twenty or thirty years from now, I'll at least know how I got there and have done my best to live with intention along the way. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
Sometimes he sneaks up real quiet-like and tricksy. This week, however, I feel like time is literally chasing after me as I scramble to get everything done. There is big, BIG news coming soon that I can't wait to share with you, and it's all happening very, very quickly--which is probably why my desk and apartment in general look like a real crocodile came through here.⠀ ⠀ On a more serious note, however, I'm sure you've noticed I've been thinking about how short life is, how easy it seems to let it just slip by, and the importance of making it count, even if it means taking big, scary risks. I feel more #100daysofgatheredtruths about this topic coming for sure.⠀ ⠀ #the100dayproject
So I played hooky from the internet and my #100dayproject all weekend, even though initially the Liz Lemon/Rory Gilmore/Hermione Granger in me put up a giant fight and told me it made me a complete failure. I consider it a personal achievement that I do not currently regret taking a break or mentally label myself a failure for having done it. At all. I know, right?!? *High-fiving a million angels over here.* You can see my catchup #100daysofgatheredtruths in the stories and highlights over the next couple of days.
Time to be daring. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths #quotestagram #lifequotes #onmydesk #sketchbook #communityovercompetition #carveouttimeforart #makersvillage
It's ok to need someone to tell you things will be ok. (Anyone else out there sometimes feel silly about needing that?) Sometimes it helps. Especially if that person is Chummy from Call the Midwife, and she says it like this. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
Another good reason to keep these quotes and ideas and stories around, to re-tell them to ourselves to we start to really understand and know them in our hearts. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
Some things that seem small, but aren't: How often you are hugged. A ray of sunlight on the floor. A song. The words, "I'm proud of you." Steam from a cup of coffee. Laughing with someone. What are some small pieces of your life that are big to you?