A New Year, a New Self Portrait and a note on What’s Important.

Hello everyone! Happy New Year, and Happy February!  If you’re wondering why I’m saying Happy New Year in February, well it’s because for some reason every year, even though I’ve planned not too, January never seems to “work out” for me. That is, in a creative sense. Call it burn out, call it being overwhelmed, […]

Hello everyone! Happy New Year, and Happy February! 

If you’re wondering why I’m saying Happy New Year in February, well it’s because for some reason every year, even though I’ve planned not too, January never seems to “work out” for me. That is, in a creative sense. Call it burn out, call it being overwhelmed, maybe it’s even seasonal depression, but January is not my month. And that’s okay! I use this month to focus on other things, brainstorm for the year ahead and what-not, but mostly to rest and regroup. I guess it’s my way of hibernating.

Now, I am slowly getting back into things and for todays post I wanted to share something with you I find very interesting.

Here’s a Quick Story…

Kung Fu Panda 4 is coming out later this year. Yes I’m talking about a children’s movie series, and yes it brought me to a deep realization. Because the new Kung Fu Panda is being released soon, my family and I wanted to catch up on all of the previous Kung Fu Panda movies.

We started with the first of the series, which is rightfully named just, Kung Fu Panda. I’ve seen this movie a handful of times. I usually end up falling asleep to it, but for this instance I stayed awake and enjoyed the whole film and one very IMPORTANT part that specifically stuck out to me. If you’ve seen the movie before, you’ll know what I’m talking about. 

A break down of the movie…

Towards the end of the film, Po has finished with his training as The Dragon Warrior, and now it is time for him to receive The Dragon Scroll. The Dragon Scroll is the missing piece, the key, the only solution to saving his village and defeating the evil tyrant Tai Lung. Pretty serious stuff.

He receives the scroll, unrolls it slowly, and reveals… nothing. But this isn’t the part I’m talking about.

A little while after, Po and the villagers are evacuating the village because Tai Lung is on his way. Po meets up with his dad, a goose, and Po is feeling defeated. His dad is trying to make him happy, and finally he reveals a deep secret, THE SECRET to his secret ingredient soup. To Po’s surprise, and much like The Dragon Scroll, the secret ingredient is… nothing. This also isn’t the part I’m talking about.

After Po’s dad reveals there is no secret ingredient, Po asks him, “It’s just plain old noodle soup? You don’t add some kind of special sauce or something?”

AND THIS NEXT PART IS THE PART THAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

Po’s dad says he doesn’t need to add a special ingredient. He says, “To make something special, you just have to believe it’s special.”

Did this old man goose just blow my mind?!

Here’s a link to the clip of the movie I’m talking about (Fast forward to 1:50)…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJcBqwKq0qw

This brings me to my point…

A point of IMPORTANCE. Or, as Po’s Dad says, something being SPECIAL.

The definition of Important is, of great significance or value; likely to have a profound effect on success, survival, or well-being.

But what is important?! Well, it’s whatever you want it to be! I think that’s the best part. What is important to you? Much like Po’s Dad’s soup, it’s only special because he believes it’s special. So in turn, if you believe something is special, then it will become special to you. This may sound simple, but it’s something I have to remind myself of frequently as I can lose track of what’s important to me. Do you struggle with this sometimes too? I would love to know if you have a way to remind yourself on what’s important to you in your life, let me know in the comments!

Special vs. Important

I’ve changed the wording from special to important, because going into the new year, I want to focus on what’s truly important to me. You could call it special though if you’d like! The word “important” just has more gravity for me for some reason. Whatever word you choose, I hope this will help you figure out what’s important, or special, to you. On the opposite end, I think if we give things that aren’t important to us less energy and focus, then we can spend more time working towards the things that are important and valuable to us. Does this make sense? Basically why waste your energy on things that aren’t important to you.

A quick activity to try…

Let’s give power and energy to those things that are important to us! For me today, I’m focusing on my art, more connection offline and giving more time to reading. Here’s a list of what’s important to me

1: creating or finding a space for my art. (see my post on renting a space here)

2: painting more. (this seems to be a constant on my list!)

3: writing more.

4: getting more involved in-person through my community.

5: setting up my online shop. 

So far, that’s it! And these aren’t in any particular order, but if you would want to list yours in order of importance that could be fun. I hope because I’m giving these things importance, maybe everyone around me will find them important too!

A Self Portrait…

Self Portrait on What's Important

To explain my portrait a bit more, I’m very much into reading books lately. Instead of doom scrolling on my phone, I read. I love finding a new book (any other goodreads lovers out there?), or highlighting quotes I find interesting, hence the highlighter in my back pocket. The leaves in the air are a nod to a project I’m working on, and the pencil and paintbrush are nods to my art focus. Lastly, I’m sitting outside, which being outside is always important to me, and my little mouse friend in the picture is a reminder to keep my work whimsical.

So what’s important to you? What’s special to you? Finishing that sketchbook? Sharing your work more publicly? Selling your work for the first time either online or through a show? Whatever it is, it WILL BE IMPORTANT, IT WILL BE SPECIAL, because you’ve given it that energy and power it deserves.

Thank you for reading along, and have fun creating!

-Kay

 

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Bit Bobs & Knick Knacks

An Illustration Blog with Monthly Updates.

Ohkayyay 5 things July Edition

Hello everyone and woo hoo July! Wow, can’t believe this year is over half way through now, it’s flying by for me, how is it going for you?  As mentioned in the previous months, “Ohkayyay 5 things” is a loose and free, monthly based prompt challenge with zero pressure! Just some things to get the […]

Hello everyone and woo hoo July! Wow, can’t believe this year is over half way through now, it’s flying by for me, how is it going for you? 

As mentioned in the previous months, “Ohkayyay 5 things” is a loose and free, monthly based prompt challenge with zero pressure! Just some things to get the gears turning if you need any inspiration, all focused around a particular month. See May’s list here, and see June’s list here. 

Here are the “5 things” for July: 

Parade: A major staple to the summer season, parades! Our town does a big one for our local fireman’s carnival, and it’s definitely something my kids look forward to every year. I think parades are also fun to draw because you can make them very dynamic by playing with the characters, levels and color palettes.  

Fireworks: In honor of fourth of July, fireworks! This is another nostalgic one for kids. Staying up late till it’s dark, watching fireworks, holding sparklers. Great opportunity to play with lighting, shapes and patterns.  

Strawberry: My family and I went strawberry picking a couple weeks ago and oh man, strawberries are really cute. Some ideas to think about, whose picking the strawberries? Could the perspective change and could someone be living in the strawberry patch? Could you design a pattern out of strawberry leaves, flowers and fruit?

Picnic: A lovely day for a picnic! This prompt has been one that I’ve been wanting to paint for a while. I hope I have time to tackle it this month.  

Jam: This one could be interpreted in many different ways! I think of the jam you can eat, I mean what else am I going to do with all those extra strawberries? Can’t wait to see what you think of!

That’s it! The “5 things” for the month of July. Hope they help inspire you to create! 

Note: These prompts do not have to be finished pieces, they could be a sketch, a story, a sculpture, anything! If you feel like sharing, you can use #ohkayyay5things  and tag me on instagram @ohkayyay. I’ll be sharing creations in my stories throughout the month of June! If you don’t want to share over social media, you can email me at ohkayyay@gmail.com or you can keep your beautiful creations all for yourself. I can’t wait to see what you make! 

Thank you for reading, and have fun creating everyone! 

-Kay

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Bit Bobs & Knick Knacks

An Illustration Blog with Monthly Updates.

Your Art is Not a Number

How-To find value in your Art! *without looking at the numbers.* Hello everyone, and happy mid-May! How are you doing? I hope everything is going well so far! May is one of my favorite months for several reasons. Number one, the flowers! I love me a good lilac. Number two, I feel like the time […]

How-To find value in your Art! *without looking at the numbers.*

Hello everyone, and happy mid-May! How are you doing? I hope everything is going well so far! May is one of my favorite months for several reasons. Number one, the flowers! I love me a good lilac. Number two, I feel like the time to be creative is now! There are so many prompts, challenges and things to get you inspired. Last but not least, the May weather. By this point of the year, I have had it with winter and cold weather. Even as I am typing this it is still not that warm outside, but it’s not snowing so I can’t be to picky.

With all of the art challenges coming up and creative inspirations flowing, I can find that now is the best time to create and share your work! Sometimes, there is a negative. You create, get excited, share your work and the result you get from the public is not what you expected. Does this devalue your art? It shouldn’t, but I understand if you feel that. Well that’s what this post is about. So let’s get into the meat and potatoes of it all!

How it starts

Have you ever noticed yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media platforms, whether it’s on your personal page, or whether it’s someone else’s page, and find that while you may be “looking” at the art, you’re actually just looking at the numbers? The following count, how many likes it got, how many views it got, how much money was brought in, how many comments were left and on and on and on? 

While I do find that sometimes numbers are important, what I also find equally as important is… ignoring them. The reason that I find it important to ignore the numbers is that sometimes that’s the only way we find value in our work. In my opinion, this is the fastest way to experience, burnout, self-doubt, depression and an overall creative decline. If you thrive on having creative energy, valuing your work through number comparisons is one of the worst things you can do. 

How can you find value in your work then? Because it is valuable! With the numbers game out there, sometimes it is hard to remember, why am I doing this? Why do I create? More on this in another post, but for now, here are 5 things that you can do when it comes to finding value in your art. 

1: Be mindful while you’re creating. How did you feel WHILE you were making something? Did you feel peace or relief? Did you feel “in the zone?” All those feelings hold impact and if art can give you a sense of joy and peace, than that’s the value right there! Another time to be mindful is when you’re done creating but BEFORE you share your work. There’s nothing like finishing a piece you’ve worked so hard on and taking a moment to reflect and appreciate everything that went into in. Be aware of your feelings. Do not focus on how you feel after you posted it, or showed your work to anyone. Don’t let outside influences negate your personal value in your work.

2: Take a look at the bigger picture. Look at the progress of your work as a whole. Here’s an activity you can try! Take all of your recent work, 5 or more pieces, place them all out in front of you. Then take 5 or more pieces of your older work, say about a year ago, further back if you’d like, and place those next to your more recent works. If you work digitally, print out the pieces! Having them physically in front of you hits differently.

Here are some questions to answer while you’re looking at your art! Did your style change? Did you learn a new medium or skill? What about composition and color? Have things like those come more natural to you in your newer projects? What was the overall personal progress you’ve made?

Sitting down and taking the time to reflect on where you’ve come from and how much you’ve grown visually puts the value of your work right in front of you. And look how much you’ve grown!

3: Take pride in viewing the world through creative eyes. This one sounds kind of weird, and let me know if I’m crazy or not. Ever since I started down this creative journey, I see the world around me differently. An example, when I see a flower, I want to draw it. When I garden and come across a worm, I come up for a story for that worm. I’ll see some moss on a walk and think, wow what a great texture! I’d love to figure out how to recreate that with paint! Does this happen to you? I think there’s value in seeing the world with a bit of whimsy and magic. Having creative ideas like these is not something everyone can do! Take pride in that.

4: Create with no outcome in mind. Create something, and keep it to yourself. If you start a piece knowing that you’re NOT going to share it with anyone, I bet that piece will be one of the best and freest works of art you’ll ever make. I would love to see it, but don’t show it to me!  

5: Be aware of your spark. Recognize that sometimes your creative spark will not be burning super bright. I have another longer post on this idea around burnout and the struggle with being constantly creative. The main thing to take away here, of finding value in your art, is to find value in yourself and recognizing that your creative bucket will not be full every day. Which is 100% normal and completely great. No one can be “on” all the time and if you are what is your secret? Let me know!

Biggest Takeaway

The #1 (get it?) thing I want you to take away from this is, YOUR ART HOLDS VALUE. No matter what others think, or how many likes, comments, shares it got, it is still important and the world still needs it. Please do not let anything stop you from creating, because the value you can get from creating can be so rewarding!

Thank you for reading, and have fun making something!

-Kay

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Bit Bobs & Knick Knacks

An Illustration Blog with Monthly Updates.