It’s always something

Posted on by May 26, 2017

It’s always something

Rosanne Rosanadana; Gilda Radner from Saturday Night Live, used to say “It’s always something.”

There are so many times this statement has come back to me. It came to me last week when I realized the magazine two of my illustrations are in have the wrong information on them. One has my name and someone else’s web site. The other has someone else’s name and website.

Many years ago I was invited to be in an art show which would include an artist’s identification book. I sent in a photo of my art piece for the book. No one called me and asked me about my bio or other information. I was told there would be a call but when none came I called the curators. I was told the book had already been sent to the printer. When I got my copy the only page that was blank, except for the art, was mine.

This keeps happening; so much that I have begun to write and illustrate a story based on this. Maybe this is why I insist on being chief, cook and bottle washer when it comes to producing my work. Unfortunately you can’t control everything. Thus, the two samples above.

Oh well. Watcha gonna do? Sometimes it can’t be helped. It’s always something.

 

Your time is yours: no one else’s

Posted on by May 25, 2017

While writing yesterday’s blog about the class I am taking I decided to stop and put my thoughts in the private FB page. Then I thought “why not put that on my own FB page? Then when the post got too long, I thought I would put it on my website with a link from my FB page. I started writing my blog entry but made false starts; several of them. So there I sat, many minutes later, with nothing really done except a few convoluted drafts.

So, here I am now; with more thoughts from the class.

What outside distraction does a creative person encounter? We had a discussion about friends, family members, and colleagues who don’t support you fully in your creative dreams.

Some tend to be needy and even whiny. They feel your life should be devoted to them. Family is especially good (or bad) at this. They either are jealous of your time, or they don’t believe in you.

I used to have friends who decided to drop in at any time of day. Some would call in the middle of the day and want to chat forever. If I said I wanted to get off the phone they wanted to know why. There was even one who would send me emails, then call and want me to run to my computer to read it so we could discuss it.

If you want to move forward you have to make a decision and limit your time when it comes to others. You wouldn’t stop what you were doing at the office for them, so look at your work at home as just that: work. Set your boundaries and learn how to say “sorry, no.”

Why are habits hard to break?

Posted on by May 24, 2017

Breaking habits is no easy task

I am taking a creativity class this week. This one is from an illustrator named Jessica Abel. I have decided to set aside the other challenges since this one seems the most pertinent to me: and it’s only a week.

Here are my thoughts so far.

Distractions, habits and why things are hard and easy.

Why are habits hard to break? Why don’t will power and discipline work?

Have you ever heard the term “thoughts are things?” They really are. Each thought and movement causes a physical action inside your head. When you have a thought, synapses are formed in the brain and nervous system. They are the connections between neurons. The more you repeat the thought or action the stronger the connection in the body/mind. So before too long you find yourself doing something literally without giving it a second though. Because your body has taken over, you have to be really conscious to stop the action.

Example: When I think about a big project, say, starting an epic graphic novel, I find myself feeling out of my comfort zone and getting overwhelmed. I procrastinate by playing computer games. “Just for a few minutes” I tell myself.

Not only is it easier to play computer games, or cook, or watch a movie because of my physical environment, it is easier because my brain has formed the stronger connection which makes me able to play without much mental, physical, or emotional effort.

So I must combat that desire to fall into easy habits and work hard to start a new and complicated project. Once the synapses are formed and strong, it feels uncomfortable to not do that thing. So even though it’s hard to start that big project, once I decide to do it, I begin to actually change my brain, and the task stops being a chore, and becomes pleasurable.

I’ll have more thoughts on the challenge tomorrow.

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Are you ready to put out a newsletter?

Posted on by April 28, 2017

What do you really have to say?

I get lots of newsletters in my inbox. To me they fall into three categories: The ones I read, the ones I may open but usually delete, and the ones to which I unsubscribe.

For the ones I choose to keep, I glance through most, rarely click on the links, and then delete many. Here’s why.

Some are not true newsletters. For the most part they are click bait and advertisements. Their latest “news” is what they have to sell. For the ones I get this can be almost anything: books, magazine or video subscriptions, online classes, consultant services, and whatever else the writer wants to pitch to me. Yet, I keep them because they offer some good info sometimes.

Many letters are often sent to me several times, just to make sure I get their message. I always delete these without opening them. I delete anything that has the word “reminder” in the subject line. I delete anything I see from the same company with the same subject line. If I see something from the same company more than once in a day, into the trash it goes.

Another kind of non-newsletter is the chatty letter. I read through these just to find that the writer hasn’t said anything. This is a double time waster. You waste your time writing it and I waste my time reading it. This is why I always scan first. If it looks interesting I go back and read more carefully.

Of course there are some good ones. I save them for later: then I read, and may even click on a link or two. Newsletters like Doodlers Anonymous, Illustration Friday, or AIGA are some of my faves. They give me actual news and updates I am looking for. Some of my favorite solo entrepreneurs have good ones too.

I found this article showing the stats regarding newsletters. The issue is, the lower the numbers of people reading and clicking on a newsletter, the more companies feel the need to flood our boxes with them. It’s the same mentality spammers and robo-caller companies have. “Flood them with information they don’t want, and eventuality they will relent and respond.” Ummm, nope.

So, although the marketing gods will tell you it is essential to have a newsletter, unless you really have something to say on a regular basis, don’t do it.

JMHO