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·R O U N D . H E R E·
If you follow me over on the socials, you know that apart from doing a bit of moon gazing, I have also been hinting at a new project that has started in the studio.
Although I’m only just starting the project, I am so excited by it. I am excited by the paintings I am creating. I am excited about how it will look when I finish it. I am excited to share it with the world. I. AM. EXCITED!
But there was a moment there when I wasn’t sure that this project would even start. Usually a project is slow to start because of creative block, but this time I had the opposite problem – I had too many ideas. And I was feeling overwhelmed.
When I worked in Scotland, one of the mantra’s in the office was K.I.S.S. You probably know it – Keep it Simple Sweetheart. (Yes I know it’s usually stupid, but I kinda hate that word!) So if we were creating new activity and holiday packages, instead of offering ten different options, we offered two or three.
We kept it simple.
And because I often have an abundance of ideas and options and offerings in my head, I have adopted this mantra in the studio. I would say it would almost be my number on rule.
Keep it simple.
And it helps. It helps to keep the unlimited collections of wee beasties in my head to just four a year. It helps me finish canvases instead of flitting from painting to painting. It helps me to keep my daily ‘to do’ list to just three…. ok five items a day, instead of the twenty I really want to write down.
We also use this mantra in our daily lives, when ever things seem complicated or threaten to overwhelm us, we remember ‘keep it simple’.
So back to my project.
It felt like for weeks I was buzzing about this project. Did I have to start from scratch? Could I use older paintings? Should it be mixed media only? Should I not use mixed media? Should I use a combination? Should I paint only one character? Should it be bigger or smaller? Total overwhelm!
Then I was standing at Handmade, it was Sunday afternoon on a very rainy day, and there was a lull in customers. I started to redesign my stall, because I realised it needed a very serious update, when I muttered to myself ‘Just keep it simple, Kirst!’
*LIGHTBULB FLICKERS ON*
Luckily there was a bit of a lull, because I grabbed my notebook and wrote down three pages of notes, keeping it simple, and had the outline for my project sorted in five minutes.
Now I like to think that the weeks or thinking, (or agonising) about my project, led to this epiphany, but I really think it was that I forgot my number one rule. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
And since I was no longer hung up on all my options I was able to move into the creative flow and start my project.
And the project I am working on?
Well I may have already mentioned it briefly in a previous email – its very much in it’s infancy, and kinda hush hush in that I am not really talking about it outside of my community, but it has been a life long dream to make my own oracle deck…. so that’s what I am making!!
And I can highly recommend the keep it simple sweetheart mantra to you – especially if you have too many options of are feeling overwhelmed just now.
