How did 15 years happen?
I gave myself a project on 2006. And it got me moving. So many ideas that had been rolling around in my head started to appear on my work table. It felt like I swallowed a magic productivity pill but it wasn’t magic, one thing really does lead to another, if you let it.
The biggest lesson learned in the past 15 years for me is that done really is better than perfect. Done gets you to feedback, done gets you to the next thing and the next thing etc.. My favorite posts are all about tricking myself into doing things, fighting with the voice that says not to try. To celebrate 15 years I’ve gathered some favorites.
You’ve inspired me to get back into doing daily watercolor after many years of only making cards on special occasions for family.
Thank you so much for your excellent input of “Done is better than perfect!”.
your patterns are wonderful. may I make things from your patterns to sell in my etsy shop?
thanks,
Arlene M Coleman
When I am stuck, I spend time in my workspace preparing to work. I assemble or sort materials for projects, or I gesso canvases, or I look through the tutorials/workshops I have that will help me do the work. Once I am puttering around it is easy to just do ” a little” and before I know it, there I am, doing the work.
One of my Get Unstuck Strategies is to do a small mending project. It reminds me how much I love ‘a needle pulling thread’ or what a great invention the sewing machine is. It gives me a completed task and usually gets the inspiration going!
I get “ sewers block” all the time. I go to my sewing room and can’t get creative. So I sort buttons, scraps, lace, trims. Do small projects like finally sew those snaps and buttons on, do that hem, repair an apron….all these mundane, unexciting little jobs. And somehow, it works and I’m creative again !
Sometimes just going to my sewing room is inspiration enough…filled with things I love=Sensory stimulation. Other times I have to drag myself in not having any energy or motivation. That is when I start checking my Pinterest craft boards (more sensory stimuli!) or flipping through my many art, craft, quilt and sewing books. Something will grab my attention eventually won’t it? If I can’t find something that sparks the fire within, I try finishing a project that was put to the side. After all, it DID spark a fire once….maybe it will rekindle it again!
Happy anniversary!! I just love your creativity, your style and aesthetic! Thank you for all the beautiful ideas, thoughts and images you share!!
Thank you!!
Congratulations on 15 years of blogging Ann!
Happy Anniversary!! Thanks for this blog.
When I get stuck, I start with something simple that comes easily…usually grabbing a magazine for some cut and paste. Next thing I know, I’m digging through my stash of paper scraps and putting together a collage…or gathering “smalls”for an assemblage.
I must ask this…..did you ever make tin art people with hand cranked handle on side?! Your name is so familiar to me and I just now realized what it was.
Hi Elaine – you’re thinking of a different ann wood – she does incredible paper work and made the sculptures you describe with her husband a while ago – you can find her here: https://www.woodlucker.com/
Even though it can sometimes feel like procrastination, tidying up the studio helps me to push past stuckness. Not so much the act of tidying, but the excitement after, of having a clean space with open tables, visible floor, and my supplies easy to access. Works every time!
That’s a great tip Bea!