Author: Jamie

Find Inspiration: Callum Donovan Grujicich

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One of my practices is actively looking for inspiration.  Every day I open up my awareness to the creative sparks available all around and I gather to me. I make note of them in my Studio Yearbook. They are my teachers. Some sparks become ideas that turn into projects. Some sparks open my mind to something new. Some sparks confirm my suspicions. All contribute to my creative life.

Watching this video about young sculptor Callum Donovan Grujicich came on the heels of my decision to restart my Studio Diaries.  For years I have been searching for the “right” format for this creative push inside of me and finally I remembered this:

The form will be revealed as you are doing the work. Not before.

This was reinforced when I heard Callum say, “I had to figure out how to make them because I had never seen anything like this before. After a while they evolved into what I make now.” Right. When you are doing something brand new, you have to figure it out. There is no recipe or road map but the treasure at the end is that you will have created something uniquely and powerfully you.

I was also struck by Callum’s statement: “I find it more interesting to put a bunch of different materials together.” His work developed as he followed what interested him. Thank you for the reminders, Callum.

What interests you right now?

What creative impulse are you willing to follow, even if you don’t know where it’s leading?

Studio Diaries: Schedules, Home & Cats

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Studio Diary: Friday January 11, 2018

My Studio Diaries gather raw and real inspirations and insights of life in my studio. They are not finished pieces but works in progress intended to let you in to the world of this one creative heart.

Cat in the Hood

Just when I thought I was scaling the mountains of busy-ness, it turned out I was a mountain to be scaled! In the midst of a very full and demanding week, this magical moment happened. I was out for a walk delivering some important letters to do with our reno when I met this sweet tabby. Just as I was kneeling down to get closer, he walked right up my back and settled in! It was as though he were thoroughly ready for me to take him for a ride! What a joy. This was truly one of the most memorable “cats in the hood” experiences ever!

The Studio Yearbook

It’s hard to believe but it’s already time to start working on the spring edition of the Studio Yearbook. Now that we’ve completed our first year’s cycle, we’re making some changes – not to the yearbook itself but to how we share it with the world.

Every season since its inception, we’ve chosen one growing edge to focus on with each yearbook. For example, in the fall season I learned how to print postage from the studio instead of having to take boxes and boxes to the post office in my granny cart. That was particularly good for the winter edition!

We’re always trying to improve and we’re always trying to grow. There are a million things on my list of possibilities for what we can do to nourish the yearbook and its community. It’s hard to not try to do it all at once! But one thing I’ve learned from plate-spinning is to get one thing going smoothly before you add the next.

The Reno

As we prepare for the reno and, like everyone else, as I binge watch Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, I am focusing on the things that are truly near and dear to my heart, like Otis.

On one of our early anniversaries, Justin and I walked into a toy store and each bought one thing. He ended up with little red binoculars and I fell in love with a sweet bunny puppet I named Otis. He accompanied us on the rest of our date. He talked to kids on the streetcar and had his own seat at dinner. Now I even have a portrait painting of me and Otis. (Thanks, Shannon!)

He’s a little worse for the wear but he’s a keeper for sure.

And speaking of the reno, I am just so happy right now! We’re a few weeks away from the committee meeting which will determine whether we can go ahead with the reno in the way that we would like to. One thing that can impact our chances greatly is letters of support from neighbours – and we got one!  I hadn’t been too hopeful, honestly, but now I am beaming with gratitude. Thank you to our neighbours and to the Universe too – and maybe even to that little tabby who blessed my letter-delivery outing!

My Schedule

Ah… writing that makes me realize how often I use that strategy, including moving into the season. This week was my first full-time week in the Studio, including returning to the BTS. Next week, I start working with my coaching clients. The next week Mindful Mondays and Journal Club begin. The next week the Studio Yearbook should be available and Awakening begins. Throughout all of this, I am trying to work with a new schedule, one that puts my priorities in focus and makes sure I include my practices in the mix.

Already I see what’s most likely to get dropped (my writing) and what things are fairly established (basic home tending).  I also see how often I want to veer away from the schedule. Most times it’s simply habit that tries to pull my attention away.  I have some things built-in to the schedule that are helping. Let’s say I want to check my email or social media. I know I have two times during the day that are dedicated to that. It’s easy to say no when I’m really just saying, “Not yet.”

Even though I’m still experiencing the discomfort of trying to adhere to something new and rigorous, I am also feeling the benefits. I was very productive in the studio this week – plus I did get to my meditation, yoga and writing way more than I have in ages. I also managed to have a couple of lovely quiet nights, getting to bed early and even *gasp* having a bit of time to read.

It’s still an adjustment but all of these things seem to suggest I am on the right road.

Feel the Love

And nothing caps off a Friday better than cat videos and Sarpur Duman’s YouTube channel and/or Instagram feed is a rabbit hole that I am more than happy to explore.  The joy is never-ending!

Creativity, Practice & Dancing with Life

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On Tuesday & Friday mornings I invite you Behind the Scenes at my studio.

Today: It’s good to be back in the studio – and to the first Behind the Scenes of the season. Diving back into our regular routines, it’s all too easy to sink into familiar patterns, even if they don’t work well for you! Instead, stop and include your self and your dreams in the mix.

Mentioned in Today’s Show

Studio Diaries: The Day that Got Away

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Studio Diary: Tuesday, January 8, 2018

My Studio Diaries gather raw and real inspirations and insights of life in my studio. They are not finished pieces but works in progress intended to let you in to the world of this one creative heart.

The Funny Shape of Productivity

The overarching theme of today is getting bumped off track. This morning after filming the first BTS of the season, I discovered a technical problem with all of my domains and had to go down the well of tech support in order to get it resolved. Just like that, the rest of the morning was lost.

Then we got an email rejection letter from the city for our reno and were sent in a tizzy!! Luckily it turned out to be simply a revision of the original refusal letter but, just like that, my focus was lost!

Those bumps and bruises continued to arrive and by the end of the day, I felt a pummeled. It seemed that I had gotten nothing done. I have two practices that revealed to me that this was simply not true: daily check-ins with a friend and my “Day in the Life” file.

Every morning and evening I have a daily text check in with my dear friend Kim. We tell each other what we plan to get done in the day ahead and then share what we actually managed to do. We each give the other gold stars for every accomplishment.

I also keep a running file called “A Day in the Life” where I note all of my activities during the day. I originally called this practice “My Day at Work.” I set it up when I became an entrepreneur so that I could have some perspective on what the “right” amount of work was to get done in a day. It was instrumental in being able to declare my work day complete. With the upcoming reno and some other new priorities, I’ve decided not to limit it to work activities but to record life stuff too.

Today both the check-ins and the A Day in the Life practice helped me see that despite not accomplishing what I had set out to achieve, I did get a whole heck of a lot done.

Inspiration

Last night right before I went to bed I had two big thoughts, one about Studio Diaries and one about blogging.

Studio Diaries: I’ve been wanting to come back to Studio Diaries for years and make them a regular part of my practice. I’ve had all sorts of different ideas about how to approach this and many different reasons to be unsure of how to start. As I sit down to do this writing and sharing I realize once again, you can’t know what something wants to be until you start creating it! That moment of inspiration has just enough juice and info to get you started but not enough to provide a blueprint. You must start and try and experiment and listen and it will slowly but surely become what it is meant to be. You have to be willing to risk, to get messy and to be in process. As the creator, your job is to listen to the inspiration, get into action and step-by-step follow the path as it lies before you. I am here.

Blogging: Many times and with many people I have lamented the loss of the early days of blogging, the days when people were sharing from their heart not from their marketing strategy, when bloggers were actual people not influencers, where we could be a community of creatives finding one another around the world. Yesterday my perspective shifted from mourning to blessed when I realized how lucky I am that I found blogging when I did, that I was able to experience that unique moment in time, a time when blogging was raw, real and a lively frontier, where everyone was making it up as they went.

As with so many things, I’m realizing the key is to be filled with gratitude for the experience without trying to hold onto it or resenting its departure. Life moves on. Things grow and change. It’s natural and inevitable. Blogging (or anything else, for that matter) cannot remain stagnant – nor should it!  There are blessings in its new iterations too! Instead, what can serve as a constant, is the love we have of the qualities that made that time or that thing special – in the case of blogging: sharing from the heart, creative community, the realness and risk of being on the frontier. All of that magic can (and will) simply take new form.

Rainbows

So, in the midst of a wonky day, there was still insight and productivity. There was even an actual rainbow! Even better than that, I was able to yell downstairs to my sister Suzie that she should come up and share in this beautiful sight. It reminded me of when she was just a little girl and someone named “Mr Rainbow” phoned her and asked her to step outside and say hi to him, which she promptly did. I wonder who that might have been?

I guess there are some things that don’t change.

Suzie

Studio Diaries: Back in the Studio

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Studio Diary: Monday, January 7, 2018

My Studio Diaries gather raw and real inspirations and insights of life in my studio. They are not finished pieces but works in progress intended to let you in to the world of this one creative heart.

In the Studio

Today was my first full-time day back in the studio with the out-of-office message officially off.  It was a busy day but the beautiful thing was that at several points throughout the day there were affirmations about some core ideas I have moving forward. I always trust those synchronicities and let them guide the way. It’s great to come back and feel on-target and on-mission.

Planning

As I sat down to get clear on my priorities and plans for this week, I found myself pushing a little bit. I stopped and simply returned to our Mindful Mondays practices of starting with meditation and journaling, imagining the week that I want to create and then building my plans around that. Much better! I felt instantly more grounded and, in fact, that inspired my touchstone word of the week: grounded. That’s exactly what this week is about for me – getting grounded in the studio, my schedule and my practices so that I can build a beautiful and successful year on that!

Schedule

I’m continuing to work with a new daily schedule, trying to refine it until it feels just right.  Today I did not get my morning writing in and I felt its absence. This affirmed for me an earlier wake-up time is important. Holidays are over :)

But even though the holidays are over… I did have a gingerbread man to enjoy with my tea!

Food

And speaking of food, one of my goals this year is to establish a lovely set of nutrition-rich, tasty recipes that work for our household. Everyone’s needs and tastes are different but I hope to get a good roster happening and have been doing some experimenting. The best resource by far has been Pinch of Yum. Every recipe has been a hit, including tonight’s Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo.  It took about the estimated 45 minutes to prepare and was quite straightforward. Tempering the egg mixture was the only tricky bit but, honestly, it was just a matter of taking it slow and steady. The result was a delicious and creamy soup that would be a win for anyone who likes lemon-dill flavours.

Art

I am so excited by Carla Sonheim’s one-year course for 2019: Year of the Collage!! It’s being taught by Carla, Lynn Whipple and Ann Marie Grgich. I have studied with and learned so much from each of them. I can hardly wait to get started. Just one more sleep.

 

Five Around the Table

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“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Jim Rohn

Have you heard the saying “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”? It’s often brought up in the context of encouraging you to choose your companions with intention, to make sure that they are people whose presence uplifts you and brings out the the you that you aspire to be.

Do you have these people in your life?

When I was starting out as an entrepreneur, the greatest blessings were the women I knew who were striking out on their own too, solopreneurs who were bringing their work to the world with courage, integrity and passion. I treasured (and still treasure) our conversations and companionship. Just by being present and pursuing their dreams, they inspired and encouraged me to do the same.

I have also had times when I was surrounded by people who were uncomfortable with my dreams. Though we simply had different goals and priorities, judgement seeped into the cells of our relationship. I felt stifled and held back. Perhaps I made them feel the same.

It can take a while to find your people and perhaps when you look around your community, you don’t see creative folk that stir your heart. Where are the artists? The writers? The adventurers? Where are the wild ones? The rebels? The dreamers? The dancers? The iconoclasts?

Where are the people who uplift you?

While you look for them in your life and your community*, let me offer up a playful and positive way to create your own “party of five.” You do not have limit yourself to people you know, people who are nearby or even people who are alive! You can actively choose to spend time with 5 uplifting people by focusing on and engaging with their work and what they share. Think of creating a round table of people that move you – artists, writers, vloggers, singers, chefs, designers, poets, photographers, philosophers… anyone! Think of people you are drawn to, who fascinate you, who inspire you, who challenge you.

Think of 5 people who you would love to be the average of and spend this season with them!

It will help to choose people that have a lot of content on offer. Someone who has written plenty of books, creates YouTube videos regularly, has a podcast, etc. It’s most helpful when the content involves them sharing their thoughts, their philosophy, their personality. This makes it a bit of an approximation of having a conversation, of being let into their life. For example, reading May Sarton’s journals gives a sense of her life, her voice, her take on the world around her. As I’ve read them, I could almost imagine sitting in her home, sharing a cup of tea and looking out into the garden as I listened to her share her thoughts.

You don’t have to choose people who are edifying or educational. Simply choose people that, for whatever reason, lift you up, people that call out something aspirational in you. And yes, it’s okay to choose someone who gives you a little catch in your throat, who triggers a hint of envy, but only if hanging out with them doesn’t shut you down. If you feel smaller around someone, they are not one of your five. If they challenge you to step out of the shadows and claim what you desire, they are.

Consider how the five come together as a whole. Will spending a season with this particular group of five bring the energy you are hoping for? Are you feeling really focused and so want to pick, say, five photographers? Are you feeling like you want a balanced approach – maybe two writers, a spiritual leader, a yoga teacher and a chef. You get to decide.

Once you’ve chosen, spend some time with them each week. You don’t have to make a study of them (though you might). This isn’t about working or pushing or emulating. It’s trusting what my mom would call the power of osmosis. Simply let the beauty and truth that’s in their spirit awaken the beauty and truth that’s in yours.

Who will you invite to your table? Who is your party of five?

* PS Please know that these people might be right under your nose but in hiding. Often we keep the most compelling parts of ourselves quite private because we’re unsure where it is safe to share.  Open up your intuitive radar. Have deeper conversations. Invite people to coffee. Little by little you will find out who your people are.