Welcome to the blog
This is my blog archive. My new writing lives on Substack.
The making of an art shop
Opening a little shop on my website has been an act of turning dream into reality.
It's saying yes to a tingling idea, to a longing tugging my heart.
But it's also saying yes to learning to do things I've never done before.
It's giving my dream a chance.
This is what I've learned about the process from idea to reality.
Dear Fear. You're not in charge anymore.
This is a letter to my fear, telling it that the tables have turned. It's a letter about how I've taken back the control, how I grew stronger than my fears. I'm the one making the calls and I will never go back.
That pesky little word "art"
Is it possible to be scared of a word? Yes, yes it is.
Even if that word isn't Voldemort.
I'm scared of the word art. Of what it implies, of calling myself an artist, of choosing a label for myself.
Silly? Maybe. Common? Yup.
Decide what matters most
October was a month of facing the fears of calling myself an artist and what I make art. I battled resistance and put too high demands on myself. Through deciding who I wanted to be as an artist, I broke through and started to plan my art shop.
It was also a month of making hard decisions to relieve myself of stress. It was hard, but I needed the changes for my own well-being.
The nightmare of a creative soul - a Halloween story
She opened her eyes.
Found herself all alone on a big stage.
Uncountable pairs of eyes looking straight at her.
A sea of white eyeballs.
Dead quiet.
All she could hear was her heart, beating like a hammer.
Du-dunk. Du-dunk. Du-dunk.
Where did you go, inspiration?
Have you lost you creative inspiration? Everything feels boring or hard? Don't panic, read on!
I want to tell you a story.
Inspiration and I were out and about, skipping and singing, life was a blast, my head was in the clouds. Some hippety hops and suddenly the world changed. I looked around - grey grey grey - and inspiration was gone. Poof.
Dear Creativity. I will stay with you, through better or worse.
This is a letter to my creativity, my messy, uncontrollable and impatient creativity. It's a letter of love, but not an uncomplicated love. With creativity, the road will wind high and low, and it won't always be comfortable.
Let's break you out of that creative block
You just... can't.
You want to, long to, but you can't.
Something is standing between you and creating, and it's a big, fat block.
Telling you over and over not to create.
Sitting down to create gives you anxiety.
You feel lost and have no idea how to go on.
Creativity becomes so hard, it's practically impossible.
It's a state that wrecks projects and kill dreams.
Let's break it together, before it's too late!
Be intentional but embrace your messy imperfection
September was a month for being intentional in taking a break and being realistic in my schedule, while allowing things to get imperfectly messy.
I successfully got back to writing on my novel after a break and I started to face one of my big fears: selling my creativity.
Do you dare to share your creativity?
My creations are not good enough for the world.
I need more practice. More time.
There's no room for me.
I'm not good enough.
I will hide from the world, because I fear that the world will tell me what I already know. That it's bad. That I'm bad. That I should keep quiet.
Sounds familiar?
Sharing your creativity is scary, but there's a reason you should do it anyway.
What you've made matters to the world, whether you believe it or not.
Dear Stress. I don't want you in my life.
This is a letter to my stress, telling it that I'm done feeding it. It's a letter about our love-hate relationship, my addiction to it and my fear that I can't live without it. This is me telling stress that enough is enough.
Design your own sustainable creative life
It's easy to dream of a creative life.
To build one that fits with everything else in your life is harder.
A sustainable creative life is one where you can keep creating and keep living, without burning out. I'm not talking money here, I'm talking life.
Finding creativity among dishes and bills. Creating in spare moments when you're tired and overworked. Getting out of procrastination mode when there's endless other things you could do. Not pushing yourself so hard that life becomes stress. Making time for making.
Let's design your creative life. Let's find a plan that helps you create, in real life and not just in a perfect fantasy world.
Focus on the draft and just keep writing
August was a month of fighting to keep writing. I struggled with creative frustration in my painting and by focusing on the current draft, I could keep painting and writing.
Towards the end of the month, my summer vacation was over and moved into a new apartment with my boyfriend. It forced me to take a break and I worried I wouldn't be able to get back to writing afterwards.
Is perfectionism limiting your creativity?
Do you fall prey to the perfectionist mindset from time to time? Does it keep you from exploring your creativity, from putting your art out into the world, or from even creating at all? Let's have a look on what the perfectionist mindset looks like, what it really is and what the antidote is: the draftist mindset.
A guide to starting that creative project your heart is longing for
Do you have an idea calling for your attention? A voice in the back of your head, whispering and tugging, telling you there's something you want to do? But for some reason, you haven't gotten started yet?
Then I have to tell you something: you're ready. Now let's get started.
Dear Dream. I pledge you my pen.
This is a letter to my dream, that unreasonable, irrational dream. Telling it that I hear and I am listening. It's a letter of promise to fight for it, no matter what the world says.
When you feel like throwing your creative project across the room, read this instead
You know the feeling, right?
You have an idea. Something you want to create, a vision, a little dream longing to be brought to life. It's tickling the back of your head, pulling you towards creating. You decide to do it. It's going to be brilliant. It's such a beautiful idea.
And then you just can't do it.
Let's talk about that frustration, of what we can do instead of throwing things across the room and give up on our projects.
Open up to creative freedom and experimentation
July was a month of trying to get back to writing on my novel. I wrote, struggled, contemplated. Through embracing my creative freedom and forcing myself to experiment, I opened up to a more process focused way of creating, that helped me finally work on my novel.
Once I really sat down to write, the demons of self-doubt came rushing forth, but I didn't give up and managed to create my way through them.
Reclaim your creative freedom
When you ponder an idea.
When you sit down to create.
When you sketch out a project.
When you decide to share or not share.
When your heart beats with improbable dreams.
What whispers of restraint do you hear?
What lessons, doubts and rules to you follow?
Dear Inner Child. Thank you.
This is a letter to my inner child, thanking her for sticking around when I thought I needed to get rid of her. When I locked her in a dark room deep inside of me, and threw away the key. This is a thank you, and a promise.