Entries Tagged as: Books
Annealing
September 18th, 2012, Comments (10)
Inspired by an essay in Patti Digh's upcoming book, The Geography of Loss, I created this piece recently. I've found that you do get stronger from experiences of walking through the fire. This was painted with acrylic on paper.
Writing aRound and a Giveaway!
July 24th, 2012, Comments (35)
Another idea to play with the round theme before the month is up is to gather with a few friends (or do this via email) and write in a round. You could each write a line (or paragraph) of a story (or poem) before passing it to the next and marvel at where it goes!
I once did this idea with 5 canvases and 5 friends. Each person started a canvas and played with it for about 30 minutes before passing it on to the next person. We worked on the canvases throughout the day, eventually ending up with the canvas we started with, an original piece of art touched by many hands. So fun!
There are loads of fun ideas, prompts and inspiring tidbits in A Year of Writing Dangerously by Barbara Abercrombie. A great style for writers looking for daily inspiration, the book has 365 short essays, a bit of inspiration for each day of the year. And at the book there is a list of 52 writing prompts, one for each week of the year. If you're feeling stuck or unsure where to begin, this book will surely give you something to run with.
One of the suggestions that reminded me of the circular theme this month was day 29, titled "First things first." The author mentions writer, John Irving, who writes his last sentence first. That blew my mind! But what a great idea, to start with the ending and then work your way back to it.
Would you like a copy of A Year of Living Dangerously? Simply leave a comment (make sure to include your email address, so I can contact you) and I'll select a winner by Friday, July 27th. Good luck!
Update: We have a winner! Congrats to Becky!
Day 23: Last page of Annabelle’s book
November 23rd, 2011, Comments (10)
Here's the last page of Annabelle's book. I can't wait to read it to her! I know at first, she may just want to eat it (hehe), but I think it will become a special book to her someday. I'd like to make more! Maybe something with collage that I can have printed and bound elsewhere. Hmm, something to think on.
For those who celebrate, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope your day is filled with family, great food, love, and hopefully a bit of time to create!
Day 22: Annabelle Loves…
November 22nd, 2011, Comments (6)
Another page in the book for Annabelle today. She definitely loves her mommy and daddy!
Day 6 – Emily and the Deer
November 6th, 2011, Comments (22)
A quick drawing today, using some new brush pens I picked up. I had no plans, just started to draw and the deer came. I seem to be connecting with deer lately. I'll have to look them up in my Animal Speak book!
I hope you had a beautifully creative weekend!
Day 5: More book pages
November 5th, 2011, Comments (18)
Today, I finished up the cover and the bath time page for Annabelle's book that I started a few days ago. I read her the first few pages and she seems to like it!
I also worked a little bit on the larger painting I started on day 1. I also want to share a bit of creativity from my family history. My grandmother made this sweater for my future child, before she passed away and before her Alzheimer's disease got bad. I didn't know about it until my mom gave it to me at my baby shower last April. Today we put it on Annabelle and it fit perfectly. Thank you, Grandma! We love it!
Day 2 – Book for Annabelle
November 2nd, 2011, Comments (25)
For Day 2 I wanted to do something in honor of my daughter turning 6 months. 6 months!! A whole half a year. Remember when half a year was important? When you'd say, "I'm 8 and a half!" Hehe.
Back when I was still pregnant, Mindy of wishstudio gave me a blank board book as a gift and this week, I decided what I wanted to do with it. I decided to create a little storybook of things Annabelle loves. So far I've done two page spreads, one for cats (you can see above) and one for music, two things she adores at this point in her young life. I'll later do pages for bath time and for mommy and daddy.
On Dreaming Big, Guest Post by Carmen Torbus
May 24th, 2011, Comments (6)
For quite some time now, I’ve referred to myself as a Bliss Follower, Big Dreamer, Mess Maker and lover of the words, “I’m so inspired right now!” So naturally, a blog like Creative Every Day and an artist like Leah would certainly draw me in.
When my big dream of writing a book began to take shape, I knew I had to ask Leah to be a part of it. I was absolutely elated when she said she would contribute!
Putting a little check-mark next to “write a book” on my Mondo Beyondo Big Dream List is a pretty surreal feeling. I love Leah’s theme of “Big” this month and when she asked me to do a guest post, I knew I wanted to write about dreams. It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to share my Big Dreams, so I took a bit of a stroll through old blog posts and pulled out my journals to see where I’ve come on my list.
It as almost a year ago that I shared my Big 3 and so much has changed since then, but what’s really cool is that although my circumstances have changed, the heart of my goals has not... talk about reassuring!
My Big 3 last summer:
1. Develop and launch an empowering & inspiring, self-discovery, powerhouse course/seminar/extravaganza for creative dreamers.
2. Create a coaching/consulting/conspiring program for creative women and begin taking clients that are ready to get fired up & take action to rock their creative lives.
3. Start speaking to audiences of creative women. The cheerleader in me gets all giddy at the thought of getting a crowd of creative women fired up!
Oh my gosh, I still get all kinds of excited just thinking about these dreams. Now that I'm working full time outside the home, instead of reaching for these goals individually, I want to combine the three and make them into one mega-big dream... an extra-messy, super-inspiring, blissed-out, art making, personal discovery workshop. That one is a whopper.... scares the pants of me just thinking about it.
My Big 3 now:
1.The workshop above.
2. Again.
3. And again. (to infinity!)
What are your big dreams? What are you passionate about? What gets you out of bed in the morning and tucks you in at night? What makes your heart sing? Dream Big - over and over and over again!
xo & belief in all things you,
Carmen
http://www.carmentorbus.com
Mixed Media Artist and Author of The Artist Unique, Inspiration and Techniques to Discover Your Creative Signature.
p.s. from Leah: Congratulations, Carmen on the launch of your book, The Artist Unique! I'm thrilled to be a part of it!!
Some small things I’ve been up to
April 22nd, 2011, Comments (10)
Keeping with the small theme, here are some of the small things I've been up to in the last week. I finished up a total experiment in sewing, using some fabric scraps I had from my first big sewing project, to make this little bird. He's perfectly imperfect.
My littlest pal (my best friend's 3 year old) and I made beautiful play-doh art (this was entirely directed by her.)
I've been taking loads of tiny photos with the Instagram app. If you use the app, have you heard about postagram? It's a cool way to get your instagram photos in hard copy, in the form of a postcard. I'm going to have to try that out.
I've also been putting the finishing touches on the nursery, including painting a growth chart tree which I'm in love with. Here's a sneak peek of it in progress. I promise to share photos of the whole nursery in all its glory very soon!
I also got a copy of the small and lovely new book by Patti Digh, What I Wish for You. I love Patti's writing. You can find my painting, The Unknown, on page 70!
I hope your weekend is full of small beauties!
The Right Brain Business Plan and a Giveaway!
March 1st, 2011, Comments (59)
I'm thrilled to share this interview with Jennifer Lee, author of the recently published The Right Brain Business Plan: A Creative, Visual Map for Success. Jenn is a friend of mine and I've loved seeing the process of this book go from a spark of an idea, to proposal, to draft, to finish product. I'm so proud of you, Jenn!
The book is awesome and I'm so excited to be giving away a copy! With all the creative folks who stop by here, I know many of you would benefit from this work. I'll have more details about the giveaway at the end of this post. I also want to be sure you've heard about the free Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit that's taking place this week. Check it out, there's loads of great information being shared.
On to the interview!
Jenn, how did you come up with the idea for the Right Brain Business Plan?
Funny you should ask, Leah, because the first Right-Brain Business Plan was born when I did your fabulous Art Every Day Month challenge for the first time back in 2007! So thanks for creating a space to help the idea blossom. During the last two days of the challenge, I was also working on my business plan and decided that I would use the opportunity to do something creative with it since I had to make art for the day anyway. I collaged my big vision for 2008 and beyond on one side of an accordion book and then the next day I put details such as my marketing plan, products and services, financial goals, and action plan on fun cards on the back. The plan helped me reach my goals the next year and became the inspiration for the e-book, workshops, e-Course, and now the book. Just goes to show you how having a regular creative practice like AEDM can spark fresh new ideas!
What advice do you have for creatives out there looking to start their own business?
You don’t have to go it alone. It can be scary to start your own business and put yourself out there, so make sure you have a circle of support – I like to call them your creative cohorts – who you can lean on and learn from. In fact, Leah, you and I connected through our blogs several years ago and have been great sources of support and encouragement to each other even since.
What is the first step to crafting a Right Brain Business Plan?
Start with getting clear about your vision for your business (and your life). What are you passionate about? What do you and your company stand for? What values are you honoring in your business? What does your success look and feel like? This will serve as the foundation for the rest of your plan.
How do you recommend creative people deal with the overwhelm and fear that can come with putting a business plan together?
Find ways to make it fun. Use colorful markers and sticky notes on fun paper instead of forcing yourself to go straight into a spreadsheet to crunch numbers. Pick one piece of the plan to work on and then jump to another part if you get stuck. Don’t feel like you need to have everything ironed out before moving on to the next piece. Give yourself healthy doses of what I call Left-Brain Chill Pills to quiet your judging mind.
What are the benefits of crafting your business plan in this way?
People who have unsuccessfully tried to do a traditional business plan have actually completed a Right-Brain Business Plan because they had fun with it. So actually finishing a plan (and a plan that you’re totally jazzed about and that you look at again and again) is a huge benefit. This RBBP approach allows you to think outside the box and make your plan in any format that tickles your fancy (I’ve seen a bracelet, a paper plate mobile, and even a plan in a paint bucket decorated with a feather boa!).
Above is the fabulous leather cuff bracelet created by Bevla Reeves of Hair Conspiracy.
What are some of your favorite creative business planning tools and resources?
So many. Basic things like sticky notes and colorful markers (Mr. Sketch and Staedtler triplus fineliner are my faves). I’ve been using the Levenger Circa notebooks for more than a decade – it’s an amazing cross between a spiral notebook and three-ring binder. I also love Levenger’s Oasis Concept Pad for brainstorming ideas. My friend Lisa Sonora Beam’s book The Creative Entrepreneur is also one of my favorite creative business planning resources.
How do you stay creatively inspired in your business?
I like to connect with other creative entrepreneurs and see what they’re up to. I work with a coach who helps me innovate and try new things. I look for ways to blend my various interests to form new ideas. I practice self-care Fridays so that I refuel my creative spirit. I love to read.
Where can we get more information about you and your book?
You can find out more about the book at http://www.rightbrainbusinessplan.com. You can also visit http://rightbrainersinbusiness.com to learn about the Right-Brainers in Business Summit started this week.
*Giveaway!*
To win a copy of Jenn's book, leave a comment on the post below by Friday, March 4th at 12 pm EST. If you'd like, leave a comment about how you think the book could be helpful for you!
UPDATE: Congrats to Sheri D. Maple who won a copy of Jenn's book!
