Artistic Endeavors

          We are all artists, even if you claim to not have an artistic bone in your body.  You do – it’s there.  Perhaps you’re underestimating your own creativity. 

            I can’t paint.  I draw only stick figures.  When I try to dance it’s not pretty.  However, from a very early age I loved music and would frequently burst out in song.  Then, in my teen years, I discovered the fulfillment of writing.  Arranging words together in a way that both inspires and describes makes me feel productive and important.   A few years ago, I tried making jewelry – a venture that now garners me compliments and holiday gift requests.

            While I embrace all of the artistic ventures listed above, there are many people I know whom frequently say, “I wish I was creative like that.”  I do my utmost to convince them that they are artistic and there must be something creative they do.  Please don’t ever believe that you are not talented.  For you are, indeed!  The first step is believing that to be true.  Give your creative interests credence.  Do you enjoy cooking?  Take a culinary class.  Have you always been fascinated by sculpted art? Volunteer at a museum.  Maybe you love supernatural-themed books and movies?  Ever tried writing one yourself?  You’re probably well versed in that genre to understand the terminology and style.

            Plenty of people enjoy music but can’t hold a note.  That shouldn’t stop them from immersing themselves in that world.  Start an open-mic night at your restaurant or get a part-time job helping out at a concert venue.  If you grew up fascinated by the lure of the theatre but are too introverted to ever perform on stage, volunteer to be an usher at your local county theatre.  Or, start a blog that details your favorite shows and other interesting facts about the industry.

            The point being, be creative!  We all have interests that make us smile just thinking about them.  Even if you can’t financially afford to pursue an artistic career, find a creative outlet that lets your spirit soar!

Choose to heal

"So that a tragedy like this never happens again."

How many times have we heard this declaration?  And yet tragedies continue.  They will until we address the problem on a deeper level.

As much as I abhor guns and violence of any kind I can not pull all the blame on those issues.  And trust me, I want to. Because that would make it easier.  Would mean we'd have someone or something else to blame.  We'd have an outlet to voice our concerns, frustrations, anger and deep sadness.  But we'd be neglecting an even more important and critical part of the problems - our actions.

Choice.  Every single moment of every single day we get to to choose.  Whether the choice is what to wear that day or deciding to enact your rage with violence we still get to choose.  And because we have that ability we also have the responsibility, to not only our community but ourselves, to make the choice that's rooted in unwavering love and respect.

You're in pain.  You're angry.  You're fed up with being mistreated.  You're tired of being ignored.  Fine, I get that.  I can understand your pain.  I hurt for you.  But you still have a choice to make.  AS someone who battled a form of mental illness I felt pain.  I felt alone.  I felt unheard.  But I CHOOSE to channel those feelings through art.  I took pencil to notebook and wrote feverishly of all that I couldn't vocalize.  I listened to inspiring and motivating songs and sang along in my bedroom and with the windows down in my car.  I found outlets that helped me express my issues in a constructive and creative manner.

We're all dealing with pain on some level.  Sometimes it's so debilitating that you just want others to understand.  Truly understand.  But choosing to bring harm to another living being does irreparable damage to so many others, yourself included.  You have a choice each and every moment.  Choose respect for all living beings.  Choose respect for yourself.  Move us all forward instead of taking the choice away from us.

Fill That Glass!

I consider myself to be a “glass half-full” type of person. I’m optimistic, hopeful and generally believe in the goodness of others. That being said, or written to be more precise, there have been many instances where I regret the choices I made. Granted, those choices led me along a path that brought to where I am now but holding onto all these regrets have caused me to doubt the joy, happiness and confidence of the person I am today.

For example, I’m an entertainment girl. Through and through. With every fiber of my being, every beat of my heart and every molecule of my aura I am an artist. I sing. I write. I adore musical theatre. I will willingly choose sitting down and watching a TV show rather than read a book. I relish the enjoyment, artistry and creative stimulation these forms of entertainment bring to my life. For so long I devalued them. I believed the generalizations from others that my affinity for these types of superficial interests held no merit for a career, or any other long-term life planning. And so, I chose a different path despite the ache inside that yearned for me to listen to the artist within.

I hate money. I do. Really! Okay, so maybe I’m being slightly overdramatic. What can I say? I am a daytime drama fan. But seriously, issues of financial stability have plagued me since my high school years. Finding a career path that led to a stable future was promoted in lieu of being emotionally, spiritually and mindfully fulfilled? I listened to the opinions freely offered informing me that sometimes you had to take a job to earn money even though you may not like it. Who needs to be happy in what they do anyway? At least you’re bringing in money, right? Even as a teenager I knew there was something flawed in that line of thinking. Why would anyone willingly choose such misery? How is that productive? If, in fact, we only have one life to live (told you I was a soap fan) then why spend so much time and energy in a path so cut off from what you truly desire?

I've been on both ends of those extremes and I've been much happier pursuing that which brings me happiness, fulfillment and excitement.  When I stopped being so wrapped up in the negativity of "I'll never be a professional writer" I found ways to write simply for myself.  And eventually when I followed my instincts I opened myself up to new opportunities; including employment as a writer!

I spent way too much time being upset, frustrated and miserable but that was of my own choosing.  I choose now to embrace my creative interests and their importance in my life.  Because after all, it's up to me to fill my own glass!

Drafting

The first draft is done!!!!!! And was completed by July 4th. Now, I've given myself 3 months to review, revise and revisit (?) draft#2.

Accomplishing that goal felt absolutely magnificent and for about a week I didn't pick it back up again. When I finally did, I found a chapter that needing tweaking and went to work. An idea came rather quickly that helped clarify a primary conflict in the story.

I truly love the revision process! I don't mind criticiques or constructive criticism one bit. I'd much rather have someone tell me what needs fixing or clarification now then have readers confused and frustrated later on.

So, here I go along the next path in my novel writing venture.

Best wishes,
Kelly