What could you commit to create for 100 days?

I realised recently that I am a bit of a 'commitment-phobe'. Interestingly this didn't used to be the case, but over the last few years as I have been deigning life on my own terms and turning away from comformity and expectation, commitment has subtly become more of a struggle. 

My guess is that in desiring the 'freedom' to create whatever I want in this life, I end up sabotaging my own planning, structure and goals in the process. This is an interesting yet annoying observation for me (but with awareness comes the power to change!), and I can see that it really does not serve me in growing my business.

So that needs to change, and what better way that with a game or challenge, something that has a finite end point (less overwhelming than the idea of infinity!)

What could you commit to create for 100 days?

For the last couple of years I have watched #the100dayproject from the sidelines... overthinking and procrastinating on what I might do for 100 days. I never took the leap and actually took part.

Fear of commitment? Of failure? Of changing my mind half way through? Of not-good-enoughness... probably all of the above and more (see above!!)

That noise is still there BUT that’s all it is- just noise, the inner voice of fear, the head not the heart.

The way forward is strength of curiosity to simply begin, to celebrate the process, to embrace imperfection along the way, one day at a time...

I signed up to their newsletter and have been receiving updates over the last few weeks, and today as I lie here in the early hours in my hotel room in Vietnam mid way through my trip in a foreign land... I committed. Just like that!

What will I commit to do for 100 days?

I’m going to write an article every day for 100 days! The biggest thing for me will be giving myself permission for it not to be perfect, some articles may well be downright rubbish, or very short... some will never get used, but that doesn’t matter, I just have to consciously write words into the words every day.

So many of my goals this year are centred around writing- a book, articles for a number of magazines I am passionate about, my newsletter and regular blogging.

Thinking, researching and sporadically writing ‘when I feel like it’ is not the answer. It’s time to do the work consistently and find flow.

Who else is intrigued to take part in #the100dayproject? The perfect way to kick off the second quarter of the year!

Please reach out and let me know, I'd love to support you as we embark on this journey together.

Check out the website below for more info, and find all the interviews and inspiration shared so far. Also follow @elleluna and @lindsayjeantomson on Instagram- the founders of this wonderful movement.

WHEN?
Here's the kicker- 'tehnically' the challenge is already a few days in (started April 3rd), but because I was away in Vietnam and have only just been able to get back into my work mode, I'll be kicking off properly tomorrow (Monday 9th). Yes, it might not be ideal, it might not be perfect... BUT it doesn't matter. ;-)

FULL DETAILS HERE: >>> www.the100dayproject.org/ (p.s I am in no way affiliated with this movement, I just love their philosophy)

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I have been an artist my whole life…

Just before Christmas I spontaneously had an urge to craft myself a dreamcatcher over the holiday period. It became my Christmas project.  Dreamcatchers and their folklore is something I was always fascinated by when I was younger and I even made my first huge one for my A-level art exam. 

This time I wanted to do something a bit different and so foraged for a branch, sanded and oiled it with coconut oil and created a series of dreamcatchers each with different web designs, to hang above my bed. It also features a pouch to hold a gemstone and a painted disc featuring a quote around the perimeter. I decided to forego feathers and leather so that this installation is entirely vegan- my own personal twist on tradition.

For those of you who've come to know me only in recent years as I began this blog, you've likely never seen this side of me. Un-bridled, un-suppressed artistic creation simply for the sake of creation and nothing more. 

I would draw, paint, model, saw, solder, collage, print, weave and sculpt pretty much anything and everything I could get my hands on from the tiny delicate collages to huge larger-than-life sculptures. It was the manifestation of my energy within.

Most of that was half my lifetime ago now…  during my school and college years, both in and out of the classroom, when freestyle imagination was encouraged to the absolute max, when nothing needed to have a purpose or a monetary value and I wasn't restrained with the notion of making a living from my creations.

This came to mind last week as I commence a deep clean in my house, sorting through cupboards and shelves that hold many of these treasures and coming to terms with 'letting go'. Many of my pictures and collages are wrapped up to protect them, created then immediately packaged away, which saddens me. Other artworks adorn the walls of my house and those of relatives, this makes me happy as the joy continues to shine it's light every day.

I put my heart and soul into each and every one of my creations, immersing myself in the mind-body connection and allowing my energy to free-flow into physical life.

Today I finally acknowledge that I need to let go. It's been a long time coming. I need to emotionally let go of many of these artworks that are hidden away collecting dust, and the many tools and materials I had stashed away alongside 'just in case' I needed them. 

Most of all, I need to let go of the notion that I am no longer an artist. I AM an artist and will always be so. The artist within me now simply manifests itself in a different form.

To honour this process and as a reminder to myself of where I have come from and of the creative sparks that still live strongly within me, I share a little insight to my past. I don't have photos of some of my best work, but this was my A-level art as a mini montage half my lifetime ago...

I am an artist and will always be an artist. Yet I had to let go in order to fulfil my evolving path of creation.

What do you need to let go of in 2016?

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