Clarity
01.17.19 I just completed my first art journal. This is a big deal, like a really big deal I have spent most of my adult creative life trying to get even one journal off the ground with no real success…until now. Ever since I began my 3rd reinvention (interior designer to letterpress stationer to artist), I have been waiting patiently for my next big thing to present itself. And though I’m not entirely sure what that is just yet, I do know that this is surely a major stepping stone, dare I even call it a pivotal moment. This unassuming little journal has proven to be far more than just a place to record my thoughts or play with techniques. It has become a safe place to release, unwind and explore. It has allowed me to face my biggest fears and teach me that it’s ok to not create a personal masterpiece or love everything that I make but it is a process worth enduring. When I began pursuing my art for real, I realized that I actually had no idea how to go about achieving this lifelong fantasy. The only thing I could think to do was just start doing. So I pursued any medium that even remotely piqued my interest and played and played and played. There have been many moments of clarity. “Oh, this is definitely not for me.” or “Wow, I kinda suck at this." And then other moments that have truly stopped me in my tracks. I know that feeling. I’ve had it before. My heart skips a beat. I gasp just a little under my breath. I realize now that what I am looking for is not what I want to be but what I want to do that makes me feel like that over and over and over again.
Howard Thurman said it best…
“Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”