All images and contents of this blog © Ginny Baker. Please don't use without permission.

Friday, January 15, 2010

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY

OK, this is my first ever Illustration Friday participation. The theme for this week is WILDERNESS. Well, using this definition:

wilderness

1. a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals;

my jungle piece fits the definition. :o)

This is an older piece and obviously the one I use for my blog's banner. This was created with colored polymer clay on an 11x14" piece of glass.



This piece was inspired by the work of my all-time favorite children's book illustrator, Barbara Reid.

Monday, January 11, 2010

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
-Robert Collier


To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.
-William Shakespeare

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
Confucius


Sometimes it sure feels like those small efforts aren't getting us anywhere, doesn't it? Or, that we're not just going at a slow and steady pace, but damn near standing still! Those times can be frustrating.

It's like when we were kids and we were traveling some place with our parents, and it felt like we'd been in the car forever. We ask of our weary parents again and again, "Are we there yet?" And again and again, the answer is a disheartening, "No".

About a year ago, I got this strong desire to write a romance novel. It started on a lark. I've mentioned here before about National Novel Writers Month, better known as NaNoWriMo. This is an online event that takes place every November, and the idea is to try to write a 50,000 word novel in the space of 30 days. My daughter, Caitlin, wanted to do it, and she talked me into doing it with her for moral support.

Well, I didn't write 50,000 words by the end of November. I did, however, write over 30,000 and came away with an idea for a romance novel that I love and really want to finish.

I've never written a novel before, romance or otherwise. So what qualifies me to write one now? Absolutely nothing, but the sheer desire and determination I have to do so.

I've had to learn and relearn a lot about writing and I'm finding the challenge to be quite fascinating and enjoyable. But, I do struggle at times with feeling like I'm really not getting anywhere.

When we look at a goal that seems so far out of reach, it's easy to lose sight of the steps we've already taken on our journey towards it. It feels like there's still so far to go, like we've been traveling forever, and we're just not getting anywhere. This is why we need to celebrate each step we take in the direction of our goal, no matter how small. Each one is bringing us closer and closer to our dream come true.

Looking at it as a whole, writing a novel is a daunting project. Writing ten pages seems a whole lot more doable. Writing just ten pages feels a very long way off from writing a 400 page novel. But, as we all know, ten pages on top of ten pages, on top of ten more pages will one day add up to 400 pages.

The key is in not getting discouraged and giving up. It's easier to keep going if we remember to celebrate all the steps we've already taken along the way. Soon enough, the distance we still have to go will be much shorter than the distance we've already gone.

Just like on those long road trips with Mom and Dad. Soon you start seeing those billboards announcing that your destination is getting near, and before you know it, you've arrived and the elation you feel is worth all the frustration and boredom you sometimes felt along the way.

Keep on keeping on. :o)

P.S. I'm not even worrying about what I'm going to do with the romance novel when I finish it. My only goal at the moment is FINISHING it. ;o)

Monday, January 04, 2010

Motivational Monday



“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.”
Author Unknown

“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”
Earl Nightingale

Since we're setting off on a creative journey, and each of us has to find their own path to our dreams, I wanted to share the two quotes above.

I do believe that as we set out on the journey towards our dreams, the path does become clearer as we go along. Although, there are times when I would give just about anything for a GPS or a tour guide! But, for many of our dreams, there are no road maps. So we have to forge our own path, little by little.

It can be hard to take those first steps towards your dream when it's something you've never done before, and you're uncertain of how to proceed. What you can try to do is to break the goal down into smaller, more manageable steps.

For example, when I made up my mind that I wanted to do a craft book on working with polymer clay, I had no idea how to go about doing that. But, what I could do was to look at similar clay books, and learn to break my own projects down into steps, and write up instructions outlining those steps - or step outs, as they're called. So that, by the time I was asked to do a book, I was prepared to do so.

So when you look at the dreams you have, the things you would like to accomplish - is there one thing you could do right now that would bring you one step closer to that dream? That's how we get to where we want to go. One step at a time. :o)

Sunday, January 03, 2010

BEGINNING THE CREATIVE ADVENTURE

Today kicks off the Creating Dreams Come True Adventure and our first assignment is to make a list of our dreams and post it online. Andrea suggested we list 100 or more small, medium, and large dreams, but I'm choosing to focus specifically on my dreams for 2010. I believe nothing is more powerful than focused energy, so I would rather focus my energy on specific dreams for 2010, rather than dissipate it by trying to focus on too much at once. But, that's me. Everyone has to do this program in the way they feel will work best for them. So, here's my list for 2010:

  • To focus more than ever on my writing, both fiction and non-fiction
  • To finish the romance novel I'm writing
  • To create tutorials on sculpting that I will make available for sale
  • To get more free publicity for my artwork in the form of articles on blogs and in publications
  • To continue to build my illustration portfolio
  • To redesign my website
  • To regain my blog following and reach even more people
  • To create more videos for You Tube
  • To do more needle felting, along with my clay sculpture
  • To USE my airbrushes on a regular basis
  • To learn to work more with digital art
  • To license my artwork
  • To travel more - this year to Ireland and Scotland, land of my ancestors
  • To take more time to expand and enjoy my social life
  • To take better care of myself

I'll probably add more as I go along, but this is plenty to get me started on the new year. :o)

I didn't want to lose the lovely comments I received when I moved this post here, so I copied and pasted them. Hope nobody minds.
Carrie Anspach said...

Hello Ginny!

I'm on the creative adventure as well and I love you list! I love your focused energy concept and I look forward to seeing all these dreams and more come true for you this year!

roz said...

Happy New Year, Ginny. I think I'll hop in your bag when you head to Ireland and Scotland. I am half British and desperate to go back for a visit. I was actually married in Scotland. Edinburgh.
Hope you're settling in well to your new digs. It's so funny to me that we were both in Vegas and now in the Mid West.

ABCcreativity said...

great list ginny!

yes we all have to do everything in whatever way feels right for us :)

Redheaded Stepchild said...

I look forward to seeing you and the rest of us creative dreamers fulfill our dream goals!

Ginny Baker said...

Thanks ladies! I'm off to respond to each of you on your own blogs. :o)


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