Enjoying the Process

“I’m having fun. I’m being myself. I’m doing what I love. That is all that matters. -James Charles

We have many reasons for doing things:

• Duty
• Obligation
• Function
• Desire

I think that the reason we do things is directly related to the outcome, as it affects our attitude as well as our feelings about doing the task at hand in general.

Isn’t it funny how when we enjoy doing something it takes a remarkably shorter time to accomplish the task, whatever it is? It seems that way, anyway.

So much of what we do and how we live our lives is directly related to our internal attitude. I am sure of that.

While some may disagree – especially when things aren’t going so well in someone’s life, I truly believe that no matter what task we are working on, it is much more pleasant and fulfilling if we tend to enjoy it. It makes it seem to go by much quicker, too.

In my case, take the ‘writing patterns’ part of my work…

I know I am not alone in that it is probably not my favorite of the process, as (to me) it is much more fun to paint things and play with my supplies than write about painting and using my supplies. (And here I am – writing a weekly blog about art! HA!)

That doesn’t mean that I do not like writing about art. I tend to like anything to do with art and creating, as many of you have realized. Be it writing about art, watching someone create art, listening to podcasts about art, or learning about classic art pieces through videos and documentaries, it’s all good.

I just sometimes wish that there was more time in my life to actually create art myself. But I am working on that.

However, being a teacher and having an art-related business requires a little more than just creating art. A large part of the business is not only creating the art, but replicating it for others to be able to recreate it, and that involves explaining the process step-by-step, writing the directions, and perhaps, creating a video showing the process.

That doesn’t even touch on the logistics of cutting surfaces, printing patterns, packing and shipping to customers, shopping for supplies, and learning the many programs and efficient methods to do all of the above. It is definitely a full-time job.

So when things are in a little lull and I find myself with some time for creating, I am usually pretty thrilled. But sometimes, by the time I get down to drawing, there are so many ideas swimming around in my head that they can often bottleneck and it gets me ‘stuck’ and I accomplish little in the way of designing. By the time I figure out what I want to do next, things can get busy and orders can roll in and I find myself starting the ‘production’ cycle all over again, missing the opportunity for relaxing and designing. I just have to wait for another lull.

But this time around, things have been a little different.

I worked so hard on getting my “Ginger All the Way” Treasure Boxes together that I had it down to a science. Not only was I able to fill the large rush of orders (THANK YOU to everyone who ordered one!) but I was also able to make some extras that are ready to ship. (PSSST: there are still some left if you would like one!) It was altogether a wonderful and satisfying experience that took over 25 years for me to figure out. I think I finally found a way to make things work well for my little business. I must admit – it feels great!

I am going to be producing the Ginger Treasure Boxes until August 1st. After that, the patterns and kits will no longer be available in box format. I will be selling the patterns for the 15 ornaments and bonus pattern individually, as well as the wood blanks for the ornaments and an ’embellishment package’, but the cumulative cost of the items will be a bit higher and there will be normal shipping charges, and the little extras will not be available. So the best time to get them if you are thinking about getting them all is ‘soon.’

I have set up a special Treasure Box group on Facebook for those who purchased the box and I was very pleased with the response. I visit there often to answer questions and hope the members post photos of their gingers. I am planning a couple of videos and may even attempt a ‘live’ to answer questions, etc. or just to visit. I am still figuring out the timeframe that would work best for all. That is the difficult part.

In the meantime, things have slowed down a bit with cutting and shipping orders. This is normal for me at this time of year especially, yet I still need to remind myself of this fact. I am still cutting and receiving orders, but after the feverish pace I have been working for the past few months it feels as if I am ‘slow.’ But I really am not.

I have learned from experience that I can react two ways to this part of the cycle (and it is a cycle that I go through many times throughout the year) – I could worry about things and get myself upset that the party is over and my business is failing, or I can embrace things with all my heart and be grateful that I have time to design and work on my next project.

I choose to embrace things.

After all, it is summertime and while we don’t typically get hot weather here in Nova Scotia, we do get some beautiful and warm days. Just this week we took a day trip mid-week to a lovely lake and had a picnic lunch on the shore, enjoying the calm water, sunshine, and quiet. We did our food shopping on the way home, so we actually accomplished something necessary in the process, but the day was picture-perfect and it refreshed us completely.

I then spent the latter part of the week working on my next big project: another Treasure Box! I have been working on this one in my head for months now – if not years – and it was finally time to take the pencil to the paper and begin painting the preliminary artwork for the project. Here is a sneak peek for you all to see:

I hope this little tease excites you as much as it does me! However, how could it be when I can envision the finished pieces in my head and they are – let us say – Magical! I think I am off to a great start and I actually have many of the embellishments and supplies that I will be using with the next Treasure Box project either ordered or already delivered to me! I am ahead of the game this time and I think it will be better than the last one!

The best part is that I am thoroughly enjoying the process of creating. I am beginning by painting the first drafts of these pieces using my beautiful Holbein gouache. I love doing things this way because the gouache allows me to adjust and kind of ‘move’ the paint around my pieces (if I want the eyes bigger or the cheeks fatter, for example.)

Also, I get to play with a beautiful supply that I have had in my stash and just love. I have done several gouache pieces in the past and every time I use it I love it more. Maybe one day I will do lessons in using that medium, but I am still learning myself and want to get a more solid footing before I attempt that.

It has been a fun process and I look forward to painting every day and then transforming the designs to acrylics for the patterns. It is very exciting to me.

I also received a lovely ‘goodie box’ from my friend Vera this week. In it were some supplies that I have looked forward to trying for quite a while: Daniel Smith Watercolor Sticks.

(You can get the cute palette at my Amazon Affiliate links USA here: https://amzn.to/3VSw8c5

And Canada here: https://amzn.to/4czD6bk

I earn a small commission on my Amazon Affiliate account at no cost to you.)

Since I received the box on Friday, I only was able to organize slices of them into my palette and swatch them out. With the limited exposure that I had to them, I am thoroughly impressed at the sheer concentration of pigment each stick has. As you can see in the photo above, Even after slicing off enough to fill my small palette pans, the sticks still look new. I bet I can fill at least 10 pans such as this with one stick – perhaps even more. For the money, they seem to be an excellent investment, as Daniel Smith’s paint is high-quality and the colors are lovely.

I will be doing a full review of them after I get a chance to play with them more, as I want to fully explore their capabilities. Let me know if you are interested in that.

Last Sunday, I did get to play with my Roman Szmal watercolors for a couple of hours. I painted this beautiful Black Metaltail hummingbird on a 10cm x 10cm pad of watercolor paper that I have. (My reference photo was from Pixabay)

I really enjoy this type of painting and it was also a wonderful learning experience for me as I just played around and mixed the colors to match the tones in the photo. It was truly a piece of art for art’s sake.

In other types of artwork, I decided to add crystal glass beads to a cute t-shirt that my friend Vera had sent me.

This little kitty motif represents Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice who passed away a couple of years ago. I love everything about it – the black cat, the collar (which was her trademark), and her continuous fight for women’s rights. I admired her greatly.

I have been working on a beading project in the evenings while I watch my show to decompress after these busy days. Many of you know I love to embroider and I have a spectacular collection of beautiful beads and threads. I purchased a beading kit from Etsy several months ago from a Ukraine woman and it is the perfect way for me to unwind at night and not have to think, but still be creative.

It is a pre-printed piece of canvas that is about a foot wide and comes with about 6000 beads. All you have to do is add a bead to each of the little circles according to the color chart provided. It is slow-going, as the canvas is thick (to support the glass beads) and the needles are tiny (to be able to go through the tiny beads) but for some reason, it is calming and fun. I am having a great time doing it and even though I only progress a couple of inches per night, it is again the journey that I am enjoying. I don’t even know what I will do with the finished piece. But somehow, that isn’t important.

When listing all of the things I did this week here in the blog, I realize for the first time what I busy week I had. It seemed to have passed so quickly, and I had so much fun doing so many things that I loved doing (I also actually had a ‘shop day’ on Monday!)

I love my life being so full and happy. While it isn’t perfect by any means (nobody’s life is!) it is enjoyable and creative and I have good health, a nice place to call home, and wonderful friends. How could I ask for anything better?

With all that said, I come full circle and once again feel the need to mention that attitude plays a large part in our own happiness. Each day when my kitty (Wolf Blitzer) wakes me up and comes up to me purring, I say to him, “Are we going to have a good day? Let’s have a GREAT one!”

And we mean it!

It is a nice way to start off each morning with a great attitude and a smile. It works for us.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Until next time…

(For my favorite supplies, you can visit my Amazon Affiliate storefront. I earn a small commission when you go through my link at no cost to you.

For Amazon Canada you can see my storefront here: https://www.amazon.ca/shop/sheilalandry?ref=ac_inf_tb_vh

For Amazon USA you can go here:

https://www.amazon.com/shop/sheilalandry?ref=ac_inf_tb_vh

If you would like to buy me a cup of coffee as a show of support, you can visit my Ko-Fi page here: https://ko-fi.com/sheilalandry

Thank you to all who support me! You help me do what I love to do every day!