Friday, March 9, 2012

When you're stalled


I'm about to begin a custom order, my first. A lot's riding on it. So of course I haven't begun. Also I've managed to work up a lather about an unrelated aggravating situation. I can't get into the flow because my passport to the state of Zen has been revoked. You've been in my flipflops, haven't you? Here's how I sneaked back into my creative cycle.

I knocked out a quick project just for myself. No pressure. Zero emotional investment in how it turns out. In other words, fearless. (By the way: It took all of my willpower not to write "snuck" for sneaked.)

Sharpie fabric painting
This started out life as a black-and-white skirt with boisterous floral graphics. I think I paid 99 cents for it at the thrift store. I'd seen an online tutorial some months ago on fabric painting with colored Sharpies and rubbing alcohol. It reminds me of watercolor, the way it spreads. Coloring outside the lines felt freeing! I knew I'd eventually find a use for that medicine dropper I couldn't toss. It made the perfect dispenser for just enough alcohol. It helps to use an embroidery hoop to keep the fabric taut. I put a clean plastic grocery bag under the skirt to keep the color from bleeding onto the lining.

I probably should have opened the window despite the blustering wind. If I start to sound spacey in the middle of this post, chalk it up to some intense sniffing of Sharpie scent. The rubbing alcohol smell took me back to my childhood, although I'm not sure why. Katol and Vicks Vaporub do that, too. No mom-and-apple pie memories for this child of the tropics.

Coloring outside the lines—Oh dear!
Out of this process came some good reminders that apply universally to writing, painting, photographing, learning how to dance, and any other courageous attempt you make:
  • Your first go at it will look crappy. Keep going.
  • While you're doing what you're doing your mind will race ahead and predict outcomes. Stay in the moment.
  • If you're anything like me, you'll want to overdo it. Know when you're done. (Don't ask me when; I never know.)

At some point it might start to look like you knew what you were doing all along. "Oh, I meant to do that." The boost to your confidence is priceless! "Maybe I'm not such a good-for-nothing loafer after all."

Once you're over the hump, you can't wait to get started on the project that doesn't seem so King Kong gargantuan now. But first you'll want to shout it from the blogtops: "I'm cured!"

Then you'll think of two more ways to exploit leverage the insight from this little adventure.

1) The free picnik premium collage, before they shut down on April 19:


2) The free Animoto 30-second video, because any new discovery gets done to death before boredom sets in:



Alrighty then. I think I'll lop off the bottom three inches of this skirt to ratchet down the matronly factor. Then I'll go outside and plant those summer-blooming bulbs on this single warm day of the week before the temps take another dive.

The world is your coloring book. What did you change about it today?

30 comments:

  1. Such a colorful way of getting over the hump!

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    1. There's just something about color that gets the juices flowing again!

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  2. What a nutty presentation of a wild transformation of a loony ol' skirt!
    Let's hear it for Sharpie fumes!!

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  3. Wow so creative! Hope it helped motivate you & good luck on the custom order!

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    1. Thanks, Holly! After reading your post I felt so self-indulgent in my empty nest, with all the time to create—perhaps too much time, since I apparently have time to get a creative block.

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  4. What did I change? The sheets and towels? And my toenail polish. I like to think these little changes have positive ripples in the wider world.

    Play along with me.

    congratulations on the order!

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    1. Be the change you want to see in the world, as Gandhi said. hehe

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  5. Great colors! So bright and cheerful.

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  6. Hi, Ryan! Thanks for the visit. When I grow up I think I'd like to be a sophisticate who can thrive amid neutrals. Just kidding!

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  7. This is such a cool idea ... it's just fabulous. Thanks for sharing. By the way, love the way your write and your sense of humor rocks.

    Happiness to all.

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    1. I so appreciate your regular visits and uplifting comments. And your blog is chockful of inspiration. Thank you!

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  8. Love it, love colors. Boy if I find any black and white material like that, it better watch out.
    Have a rockin' weekend.

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    1. *chuckle
      Something tells me you're all revved up to technicolor your world, teryl2! Thanks for commenting!

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  9. I changed some photos in my etsy shop, though I'm not sure how much impact that will have on the rest of the world! I know exactly what you mean about custom orders. They can be really gratifying when you finish and the recipient loves it, but soooo nerve wracking getting started. :)

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    1. I needed that empathy! Thank you!

      You know, my shop's latest motto is, "We don't want to change the world. Just yours." Changing some of the photos in your shop (as we've been advised to do in the forums, I know) changed YOUR world. It's where we start when we hope to change THE world, right? ; )

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  10. I love the colours! You are very gifted...I am hopeless at colouring, drawing, etc. No sure I could manage to do anything!

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    1. Awww, you never know until you try, Muriel! I spent most of the last two decades writing for a living and didn't really know I had any interest in visual and kinetic arts until my writing world collapsed. Hopefully it doesn't take that kind of catastrophe for you to discover your "other sides"!

      Confession: I can't draw! That's why I had to color on pre-drawn flowers. hehe

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  11. I am in AWE of your creativity, I wouldn't even think you could do that would markers! I also appreciated your insight as well.

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    1. Golly gee, anybody can do it! It was so therapeutic I recommend it to everyone!

      Yo, miss seeing you in the dancing world, girl! My own fault for not spending more time on the Latin side of things. My heart belongs to ballroom, but once in a while I flirt with Latin ; )

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  12. Oh, I absolutely love this. This is totally amazing. Beautiful work. If I tried this, I think my hands would end up with more color than the material. I'm a true clutz at drawing. I loved how you said, the firsts will look bad, just keep going and they'll get better. Excellent!

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    1. You are not alone, Donna. When I was touching up my roots (yes, world, I have stark white roots in weird clumps on my head), I got more chestnut brown dye on my fingernails than on my hair. Serves me right for being too lazy to pull on some gloves.

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  13. love your sense of humor! and congratulations on your first custom order!

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    1. Thanks, Lisa! This was one of the posts that took me nothing flat to write and yet brought in a bit more engagement than usual. I'm tempted to dash off more stuff like this, especially after my youngest daughter's comment that most readers don't have a lot of time after work to "work so hard" at reading me. She was referring to a previous post of mine that I didn't think was all that challenging to read. Sigh. We all gotta be true to ourselves, though. There will be posts that are light and posts that are an unburdening.

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  14. Awesome process. So applicable to all creative endeavors.

    Way to push through and make it happen.

    Inspirational... even though my medium isn't fabric.

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    1. Coming from a blogger like you who inspires creatives, Andrew, that's a wowee-zowee compliment! Maraming salamat.

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  15. First time hearing (reading/seeing) of using Sharpie pens and alcohol on fabric. What a fantastic idea, and such a colorful sharpie creation! Just beautiful!

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    1. Thanks, "Beautiful" Barn Farm! I hereby dub you thus for your kindness.

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  16. Ok my comment disappeared...grrrr......Anyway, I was saying how wise your tips are!...go fearless, don't overthink, no pressure and just keep doing it. I also found this highly relate-able not only because I experience writer's block quite often, but also because of these points: that medicine dropper you couldn't throw out (I have a revolving spice rack I just know I will use in the future for some unique purpose); how the smell of rubbing alcohol, katol and vicks bring you back to your childhood...hahaha, gave me a good chuckle! Thanks and have a great week! Pretty creation by the way :-))

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  17. The Comment Eater got to you, huh? Pesky thing. Sorry 'bout that, Joy. I've learned to Copy before I hit Publish just in case. Happens to me more often on blogspot, not Wordpress, for some reason.

    When you hit upon a use for your spice rack, do let me know, as I have one awaiting its Second Life's purpose, too! I'm thinking seed beads, stray buttons and saved seeds from my annuals, at this point.

    Hahaha, ever since you commented on the bougainvillea pic in the What the Crow Missed by Dying Today post, I've been hyper-aware of sensory triggers for our childhood memories. Thanks for that!

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