A Life Well Lived

What do impressionist paintings and a successful life have in common? They both become much clearer when viewed from far away.

Think about it: when you initially set out after a goal, you're in the thick of things. This is the whole 'you can't see the forest for the trees' experience - it is incredibly hard to take a broad objective perspective on something when you're hiking through a valley forest and all you see are rocks, green stuff, and sky (followed by more rocks, green stuff, and sky). For all you know, that forest might go on forever -- and when you reach a difficult pass, it's easy to feel like that dark, thorn-infested, spooky-looking patch is just a preview for how hard the rest of your journey is going to be.

Worst. Hike. Ever.

For example, you may have heard of the man who wrote these words:

"That can't be my story.
That's only a start.
I'll say that a ZEBRA was pulling that cart!
And that is a story that no one can beat,
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street."

Jerk Alert.

That would be Theodor Suess Giesel, better known as Dr. Suess. Did you know twenty-seven different publishers rejected his first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street? How in the world do you say "no" to Dr. Suess? Apparently they all hated fun, and probably spent their days twirling their evil mustaches and despising green eggs and ham. No matter -- even before Mulberry Street found a publisher, the Dr. Suess success machine was up and running -- but it might have been hard to tell that from behind a desk covered by rejection letters.

And what about Oprah? She seems pretty cool - I mean, she's only one of the richest and most influential women in the world. But first, she had to survive an abusive childhood and numerous setbacks -- including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was "unfit for TV." Yes, the woman who presides over a massive media empire and and whose daytime talk show / awesome-stuff-giveaway-apparatus appeared in 2.6% of American households daily (that's 7.4 million people, Holmes) - OPRAH - was not the kind of person TV execs thought belonged in front of a camera.

Success tastes sweetest when served over hater's regret-flavored tears.

The point is that wherever you are in your journey, you need to keep in mind that things aren't necessarily going to fall into the imaginary narrative arc that you have planned out inside your head. Let go of those expectations, and just stick to the business of getting through the here and now. As Dr. Suess would say,

“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
ou can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go [...]
 You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!”

Back To Reality - It's Budget Time!

Epic Leap of Faith Is Epic

Did you watch yesterday's video from Shane Pearlman? Because hot damn, I want that life. Not only has he been able to grow his business to the point that he's actually turning down legitimate clients (not just the crazy ones, actual clients that he would like to work for but just doesn't have the time!), but his business allows him time to surf, a beautiful house, time with his family, and a life he loves. Hard life, right?

In all seriousness, it does seem difficult - even unimaginable sometimes - to reach that point where your art is fully supporting you. And Shane doesn't talk about how his wallet was able to handle those first steps out into the big scary world of freelancing. He says it took time, and it took learning how to sell his services. But what do you do in the meantime, when you're still that baby freelancer with minimal experience and no nationwide network to draw on?

Kids, it's time to make a budget. Let's start with figuring out where your income's coming from:

Pack a Parachute

When I quit my 9 to 5 back in January, I had a couple regular side jobs that helped cushion the fall in income. When Kadie was starting her photography business, she was also working part-time. Freelancing -- whether you're working commercially or in a fine art field -- is choosing to go without the protection that working for a company provides. Having that alternate gig is a good way to make sure that when things get slow in your freelance life, you still have some cashflow - especially if you're trying to leave the days of renting a closet and existing on Ramen back in college where they belong. Just make sure that you're also leaving enough time to work on your business, and enough time to take care of your mental and physical health.
Feel like you're juggling too much now? Just wait!

Take Five With Morgan Lee Kestner

Photo By: Hilary Mercer

Name: 
Morgan Lee Kestner

Creative Specialties: 
Costume Design

Current Location: 
Los Angeles, CA

Mini Bio: 
Morgan is straight from Nashville Tennessee. Growing up she had her mom and grandmother teach her how to sew. From there Morgan knew that she wanted to be a designer. After college and 2 years in Atlanta, Morgan has resided in Los Angeles where she works on print and commercials.  She is working on her new lines and hopes to have it on display in 2014.

Website: 

www.morganleekestner.com
Or check out her Facebook Page!

1) What is the greatest challenge you have faced as a creative person?

Making a living at what I love to do. Obviously, this is an ongoing challenge but the fact that I have made this choice to do what I love over any other "safe" job has been my biggest challenge. Since embarking on this challenge, after 3 years I am finally hitting my stride. 

2) How do you cope with creative anxiety and societal expectations?

I workout and dance. I find that if I have some social interaction and do intense workouts it helps my mind release stress and thus be able to think clearer. 

3) Do you have a ritual way of preparing to create?


I love to walk the fabric district in downtown LA. Trips to Mood Fabrics (a must), glimpsing through magazines, and sketching. Coffee is always apart of this ritual. 


4) How do you deal with the inevitable uncertainty that accompanies a creative life?


Save your money! I work freelance and it is inevitable that there will be slow months and busy months. You have to really figure out a budget for yourself. I limited all my outings for 3 months so I could save an emergency income supply for those dry months. 


5) What moment/place/time/setting lets you function to your fullest creative potential?

For me, its coffee, This American Life, music, clean space, and evenings. I am most productive around 3pm-10pm. 

If you want to check out some of Morgans work, check out her VIMEO page.

Challenge #4: With A Little Help From Our Friends

From day one this website has been about keeping it real with other artists and creatives about the ups, the downs and all the in-betweens of living a creative life.  So let me just say straight out that last week was really rough for me emotionally.

I found myself feeling like everything I did was crap, like none of this “creative” stuff I do really matters and that nobody even cares that I do it at all. How could I have been foolish enough to think that anybody would really care about my work let alone want to pay me money for it!?  Basically I sat around having a pity party for myself wondering why I wasn't like a “normal” person, with a “normal” degree and a “normal” job where life would be so much much much less complicated.

But I don’t have to explain this to you guys, you know exactly what I mean I’m sure.  We’ve all been there at one time or another.

Sometimes in this creative life I lead I feel as if I am essentially drudging my way through some dark, murky and infinite abyss.  I keep flailing my arms about around me as I go, hoping to find some sort of hand rail, or wall, or defined pathway, to let me know I’m heading the right direction and not simply around in circles but all I ever seem to come up with is air.  So without any other recourse I simply keep plugging along in the darkness, hoping the direction I set out on will eventually get me to where I want to be and not into some bottomless pit, or off a cliff along the way.  Sounds enticing doesn’t it?

The beauty and the curse of a creative life is that it has no boundaries, it has no rules, it has no predecessors to simply follow along behind.  The course for everyone is their own, they get to make up their own rules, their own path and their own way to travel the distance to get to their goals.

I always find myself looking around at other creatives and thinking that their paths are so pretty, clearly labeled and that they look like they are traversing them so effortlessly.  While mine on the other hand resembles more of a swampland, combined with a mine field, and maybe a few ravenous wild zombies chasing me while I run around like a crazy person trying not to get blown up or drown in a pool of goo.

But that’s the thing, our paths never look as pretty to us as they do to others.  They never look as clear to us as others seem to perceive they are from the outside.  While we can get lost in a maze of our own making, others can look at our lives and see the beauty in the path we’ve followed.

I found myself thinking a lot about this while I was aimlessly wandering around my creative path, avoiding the ravenous zombies, this past week.

When I am lost in my head so deep that I can’t even see which way is up (like this past week), my friends are always there to offer that outside perspective and let me know which way is up again.  It’s so easy to loose track of where we are and how far we have come as creatives, that being given the gift of understanding how others see you from their perspective is one of the most amazing gifts that can be given to another artistic soul.

Creative people tend to be so insecure about their work and assume, no matter how many time you may tell them, that nobody likes what they do, or that nobody cares.  Hearing the contrary from another human being can be life altering.  It can literally mean the difference between someone throwing in the towel for good on their work or continuing to pursue their passions no matter the challenges they face.  A simple “Hey, I think what you do is amazing,” can literally be that important in the life of a creative person.

So on that note, the challenge I put to you this week is to encourage as many of your creative friends as possible!  Send them a hand written note, post a comment on their website, shoot them a message on Facebook, invite them to coffee, whatever, just let them know that you care and that you think they and their work are amazing and of great value.  You have no idea how much something that simple could change their life. If you can’t think of what to write or say, feel free to grab this weeks challenge badge to share with them!

Now, on the flip side of the coin, maybe YOU are the creative person who could really use this bit of encouragement in your life.  Maybe YOU need to hear that what you do matters, and that your work is of value and importance.  I learned a long time ago that there is nothing wrong with admitting that you need a little encouragement! (In fact, I think I pretty much told Kate point blank that I needed a pep talk last Monday at our weekly meeting) If that is the case, we have something special just for you!  Shoot us an e-mail at: theartabyss@gmail.com with your home mailing address and get ready to receive a little something special from us to you. (We promise your info will stay secure and that you won’t get on some weird mailing list.)  Make sure you get your address to us ASAP since we have a limited number of special somethings we can send out!

So there you have it lovely people, mission encourage a creative is officially a go!

If you’ve ever been creatively lost along your own path we’d love to hear about it! Drop us a line in the comment section below to share your story!

Play Is Spreading + I Suck At Running

For some reason lately I have decided I want to become a runner.  This probably has something to do with the fact that my husband just ran a half marathon a few weeks ago (13 miles in 2hr 2mins!) and I felt like a lazy piece of !#(*! sitting in the bleachers watching all the other people (of ALLLL sorts of shapes and sizes) in the race actually getting off their lazy bums and kicking butt at life.   Although, as a knee jerk reaction to feeling lame in a sea of awesomeness I spent the whole day lying to people when they asked me if I was a runner too, saying how I had already finished the race, gone home, showered, changed and come back to meet up with some friends.  That part was quite fun...

The truth is, I am terrible.  I get about a mile (running pretty much as slow as death warmed over) before I start gasping for breath, or doubling over with a side stitch, or getting nauseous, or having a cramp in my leg, or a cut on my foot, or my eyes tearing so bad I can't even see… it's not a pretty sight people.

And then just because I apparently like public humiliation, I signed myself up to run a 5k at the end of next month.  Which leads me up to my main point which is, while I was "running" (or more accurately "spastically flailing around in a linear motion") in downtown Huntsville yesterday I saw something cool. True story.

Said Cool Thing:

I'm not going to lie, sometimes I'm pretty sure nobody else on the planet really cares about things like the importance of playtime besides me.  I talk to people about it, they nod politely and say something like… "hmmm, that's really interesting". (I've still never deciphered what exactly that means, is it good, bad? Anyone?)  So when I randomly stumbled upon this art installation downtown I was a tad bit excited! (that and the fact that it gave me an excuse to stop running for a moment and take a few pics while I sucked in air)

Don't projects like this just make the world a better place?  For more info on the project check out their website: LOVEHuntsville.com  Any ideas how can you spread a little play into your community?  We'd love to hear them!!!!

Playtime… it's spreading people!