Art/Work – Life – Balance

Now that I’ve spent a whole weekend with this motto and listened to two talks (by Jennifer K. Mann and Kirby Larson), I want to share some of my notes and thoughts with you on this topic.

• Acknowledge that your Art = Work.
• Your Work matters.
• Harvest “hidden pockets of time” (Mann), for example, while you’re commuting, at night, when your kids take a nap, …
• Try to find useful things (like information/ inspiration/ people/ material/…) everywhere you go
• Make your art/work portable so you can work everywhere! I try to carry a sketch pad with me at all times, and most of us are never without their smartphone, with which you can take pictures, take notes, do research,…
• Be aware of your needs, self-care is important!
• Keep a journal (whatever works best for you, a notepad, sketchpad, a digital note file on your smartphone, even Instagram is a journal!)
• Look for memories and experiences in your life that are worth being told and shared
• Engage friends and family to get some fresh ideas/ inspiration/help you get the time you need
• Establish (good) habits/rituals/routines, that help you start the day/your work  (like making tea or taking a deep breath, easy things. If you already have a habit you can try to add a new one to that)
• Enter competitions and take classes, be brave and learn! I submit to “draw this!” by the SCBWI every month and I’m always looking for opportunities.
• Disregard advise that doesn’t feel right or that doesn’t work for you.
• Life happens, be attentive! Everything has its time.
• Find someone that supports you (this can be family & friends, but it can also be a critique group/partner, fellow artists, …)
• Make it easy on yourself, let go of a clean house – it’s not worth it if it stops you from creating
• Build connections! Go to conferences, workshops, events, … talk to people and stay in touch
• “Don’t be afraid to make crap!” (Larson), in art quantity makes quality, you will always learn something (even if you draw the same apple a 100 times)
• Be a “Flaneur”, that is “a part of this world, but apart” (Larson), observe your surroundings, take notes of things you see without analyzing them
• Stop thinking, start creating
• DON’T QUIT !

In short: be good to yourself and others and never give up.

Don’t Quit!

Keep creating!

Corinna

 

 

 

 

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Seattle Art Fair

Seattle, the beautiful emerald city in the Pacific Northwest isn’t just home of delicious food and breathtaking landscapes, it’s also the place where you can spend many days wandering through the Century Link Event Center, admiring art of all kinds and talk to lots of people from the creative industry.

This year the Seattle Art Fair impressed with a huge selection of galleries, museums, and cultural institutions, interesting talks and art walks.

I spent more than 2 days at the fair and its additional program and my head feels like it’s overflowing with all the things I’ve seen an learned.

I wanted to enjoy the art and not worry about taking notes or preparing anything (as I was in the middle of a move), so I will share some of my impressions with you.

 

On the lookout for great art and nice people

The sad reality of life.

With a heavy heart, I carry the news of my beloved big brothers death. He died unexpectedly at the age of 38 in a paragliding accident, he leaves behind his wife and three kids, his family, friends, colleagues, and students.

Accepting the death of a loved one is SO, SO hard. It’s final. There are no second chances or maybes left. And there is still so much love to give.

 

I overcame my first shock and I am confident to pick up creating more again soon. The last weeks showed me a new side of life, one I never wanted to see – but it was not my choice to make. So here I am, sad and grieving. My love and my loss will find its place inside of me and my art.

 

In loving memory of my brother ❤️

 

Corinna Scholtysik.

 

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Addendum (October):

Now that the day my brother died is almost half a year away I can finally start to feel like myself again and I picked up my creative tools. I am very motivated to work through all of this and to make more and better art today and in teh future.

On my way through my grief a friend recommended a book. I didn’t think much of it when I klicked the order-button, but it helped me so much, that I don’t want to be silent about it.

The books title is “It’s ok that you are not ok – Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture that doesn’t understand” by Megan Devine.

It’s a non-judging help through the hardest of times with the knowledge of someone that not only earns a living as a therapist. She also (unfortunately) knows from her own experience, what it means to lose a loved one and all the crazy things that come with this loss and grief, how your life changes and how you as a person might change.

If you read this and you are also experiencing grief and/or loss, I feel you. And I am sorry that you have to go through this. But you can do it. You’re entitled to your feelings and all of them are valid. There is love.

 

Welcome Wacom!

Yesterday my new and very first graphic tablet was delivered!
It’s a Wacom Intuos Pro – Paper Edition.

 

(I also thought about getting an iPad Pro, but the $$$ was a factor that needed to be considered.)

I’ve never worked with a graphic tablet before, so I’m sure I will need some time to adjust and even more trial and error, but I am sure it’s going to be a lot of fun! So far it’s meeting all my expectations and I’m looking forward to playing around with it some more and then create digital art on/with it!! It is even easier than I expected to draw on the tablet and see what I’m doing on the screen.

Right now I’m using the free program Krita, which works very well for me. I just need some time to figure out where I can find the different tools, how they work and so on. I’m very curious to see what I will do with this and I like trying out all the possibilities!

If you have any recommendations for brushes, tutorials, or other things I need to know or try; please let me know!