Tuesday 28 January 2014

I never thought I'd steal, but I do...

I admit it, I cry easily. Just ask my kids - they will tell you the truth:
I leak from my eyes ~ often. 
I am moved by love, compassion, joy, suffering, 
you name the tear-jerking emotion and I likely beat you to it, 
tissue in hand, wiping off my make-up 
once again.

So, to tell you that a book brought me to tears might not impress you, 
or cause you to run out and and buy it.
But if I tell you the book is called 
"Steal like an Artist" {by Austin Kleon}
you may be a little bit perplexed. 

As an artist 
{and sometimes I struggle calling myself that
I battle with the blank canvas demon... 
"What if I ruin that beautiful white canvas with something ugly?" 
"What if I have nothing to say?"
 "What if there is no inspiration when I sit down to my journal?" 
"Do I have any original ideas?"  

I look at my work and often remember 
the painting, the Pin, the photo or the artist that inspired it, 
and I sometimes feel shame:
Did I copy? 
Am I unique? 
Am I a fake?  

I think of the inspiration I felt when I saw the initial work ... 
how my heart lept
how I wanted to run to my studio and do something like it, 
how I wanted to feel about my work what I felt in that moment.

This book is for anyone who battles the battle of 
"finding your own voice" in your creative work.  
It has released me to steal:
 to grab what I see and love 
and bring it into my personal storehouse of creativity. 
Unashamedly

This book reminds us of the age-old tradition of learning an art:
 Steal an idea here, borrow another there. 
Mesh all those all together and you get you. 
We used to call that being an apprentice. 
All artists do it. 
It is how we learn.
And somehow through that process,
we find our own artistic, unique voice.

I've had the question asked of me: 
"Is this your idea, or did you see it somewhere and copy it?" 
What is the correct answer to that question?  
It's," Yes!  I copied it, and it was my idea."
 I'm learning, I'm drawing out the things I like 
and I'm adding them to my library of inspiring ideas
And in that process
I'm finding my voice, my signature, me

So yes, "Steal Like an Artist" made me cry. 
It showed me that I am on the same journey that 
artist after artist 
has taken throughout time. 
It released me, 
and gave me wings 
to keep learning from others. 

{please note: this is not talking about plagiarism which is copying something that belongs to another and claiming it as yours ... it's about copying to learn, grow and add your bit of you into it. 
Kleon explains that part well.}

Incidentally, I heard of this book through 
an on-line course I'm taking called, 
hosted by Jeanne Oliver 
{check her amazing blog and classes out here}. 

Thank you to both Austin and Jeanne 
for knowing that we all want to be original 
and reminding us that well worn path the originality 
is to learn from those who know what they are doing!  

Here it is: Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon
{you can find out more about him out here}.



Go on now, in this case, it's okay to steal.

Silvia

Tuesday 14 January 2014

inspired by passion

Hi Friends,

I'll start with the aside...

I'm working on a new look for my blog, 
but it is still in process, 
so stay tuned for {hopefully} a few more changes!
After a year of blogging
{my 1 year anniversary  is Jan 21st}
I am still very much a learner
in the blogging world!

Onto the good stuff now ...

Lately I have been doing a lot of my reading 
from a new translation of the Bible called, 
"The Passion Translation".  
The whole translation isn't complete yet; 
it is a work in progress. 
I have "The Psalms: Poetry on Fire" 
and nearly everytime I read it, 
I am undone.

The "Passion Translation" is 
a very good title for it.

I thought I'd share with you 
a few pages out of my sketch book, 
inspired by Poetry on Fire:

 

What is inspiring you these days? I'd love to hear!

Silvia

Sunday 5 January 2014

unleash your expectations (with video this time)


Excitement is in the air, 
expectation is high,
hope springs eternal,
a new year is here!

Twenty13 is history and Twenty14 has arrived.

Unleash your expectations,
imagine,
play,
experiment
hope all over again.

In reality, every day is a new beginning, 
but the onset of a new year impacts us more intensely doesn't it?

Some make resolutions, but we don't.
We welcome the new year as a family by listening -  
 listening to the whispers of heaven.  
This morning we did just that.
 We now have a large paper posted in our kitchen 
full of all the delicious things God said and showed 
to our family.

And we ended up dancing ~ enjoying the glow of heaven on us,
 delighted by the sweet words He spoke to us.
{Its going to be a good year!}

I believe that this new year is a year of wonder, adventure and joy.
Unleash your expectations and dream!

Dreaming ... another other thing we do together.

I am taking some time today to respond to a prophetic word I heard in December ... I am going to dream with God about my future today and pour out the desires of my heart for this upcoming year ... 
a kind of co-creating with God.  

He loves to hear your heart's desires...
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Ps 37:4)

It begins with being rapturously caught up in joy with Him.

I saw want to share this video with you today as you enter your new year.

May you find yourself dancing on God's dance floor every day of twenty14.



Happy, happy 2014!

Silvia