• classes
  • VIDA Collection
  • Minted
  • Privacy Policy

Ria Sharon

pondering creativity, process, and making art

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

A new chapter calls…

February 13, 2018 by riasharon

After devoting the last couple of years to drawing animals and creating The Animal Guidance Project, I got a sudden impulse to make a shift. If you’re wondering what guidance feels like, my story will be a good example.

Last week, I had a “walk the talk” moment. During my morning meditation and journaling session, the words “wild and precious” appeared on the page.

Up until that point, I had been perfectly okay with The Animal Guidance Project as the name of this collection.
It was clear and descriptive. I had no inkling that it was a placeholder name until the minute I saw WILD+PRECIOUS.

Immediately, I knew. The words felt so correct! Hearing them out loud felt amazing!
Instead of WHAT, they resonate with WHY!

The WHY behind this collection is the celebration of what is wild and precious–our animal kindreds and that within us that is untamed and unlimited. WILD!

Our connection to our inner wisdom is PRECIOUS.

The wisdom itself and the traditions and rituals of connection that have been passed down, generation to generation, spanning back to prehistory is precious.

And of course, I simply love the homage to the poem by Mary Oliver, which ends with the question, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
​​​​​​
Within hours, I had a vision for what the logo had to look like and within 24 hours, I was able to register the new URL and update the site without a hitch. Talk about alignment! It was all so clear that it felt like magic!

So it is with joy that I turn the page and begin an new chapter for my work. Introducing…

I invite you to visit the new website! More than anything, I’m most proud of having listened to that quiet voice and ignoring the “practical” side of me that kept pointing out all the ways that such a move would be a pain in the… bum! ;P

To celebrate all the ways that JOY, FAITH, and DREAMING made this milestone possible, I’m offering 4 one-of-a- kind pairings:

I only have ONE of each so if any of them speak to your heart, head over to the WILD+PRECIOUS SHOP or click the links below and grab them. The last offering was gone in less than a minute!

Elk + live your dream

Rabbit + believe

Swan + FAITH

Hummingbird + Find JOY in the journey

Thank you so much for being part of this work. For me, when I dream of what I want to do with this one wild and precious life of mine, I think… THIS—sharing this art and guidance with you! These days, it feels like I’m dreaming with my eyes wide open!

Filed Under: process, products

100 Days 2017

April 3, 2017 by riasharon

Are you ready?
The 100 Day Project starts tomorrow! I’ll be participating for the 3rd year in a row.

To be perfectly honest, I’m a little nervous about it.
When I first did it a couple of years ago, I had no idea what to expect.
“No expectations” is a beautiful thing.
There’s only one time like that… you know, like the first time you go to a new exercise class… or get the glaucoma test!

I’m making it sound horrible. It’s sooo not.
It’s like the first time at Disney World with all your friends!!!!

But this being my THIRD time on this ride, I have expectations for myself.
It’s a bit harder to set those aside and not think about the end rather than being in the moment.

I want it to be as fun as last time.
I want to learn something.
I want my collection to reflect my growth… blah, blah, blah.

I share all this because perhaps some of you are feeling some trepidation about committing to 100 days.
And I want you to know you’re not alone.
And yet, I’m gonna do it… because the decisions that have been most forwarding for me are the ones that I say, “What the heck? Why not?!”

So ready or not… 100 days begins tomorrow! Let’s do this thing. Let’s connect on instagram… leave a comment on this image with your #hashtag so I can follow your 100 days too. I’ll post mine in the morning.

Filed Under: process

10 Days of Selfie Sketches

April 27, 2016 by riasharon

5c0bb961Are you a little, teeny-tiny bit scared of drawing people? Me too!!!
As you know, I  make it a habit not to get too comfortable so no surprise, I’m hosting a free workshop on Skillshare!

Nothing like 10 days of Selfies to get you all loosened up about portraits, self-portraits no less.

C’mon! I’ll send you daily prompts starting on Tuesday, May 3 to make it fun. We’ll all post our selfies on Insta. And at the end of the whole thing, I’ll post the whole collection here so we can all give ourselves virtual cheers and hugs!

Deets:
May 3-12
1 prompt a day
30 minutes a day
10 selfies total

Join here, yes?

p.s. It’s a free workshop but you might need Skillshare Premium. In which case, you can get a new Skillshare Premium membership for 99 cents for 3 months with this link, more than enough to do the workshop and check out all sorts of fun Skillshare classes.

Filed Under: process

The 100 Day Project 2016

April 16, 2016 by riasharon

Are you ready?

#THE100DAYPROJECT is a free and open project for anyone who is hungry to jump-start their creative practice, who is curious about being a part of a supportive, nurturing community that celebrates the process, and those who are busy busy busy (??) and searching for a bite-sized way to nurture their creativity! Is this you? If so, you’re in the right spot! @peterrific.ph & @gizemicplanets shared this great overview, which I want to share with you: ✔️ Choose your action (an action you will repeat for 100 days) ✔️ Find a unique hashtag for your project, like #100daysof… (This is very important. Choose your own so that you can have all of your work under one hashtag) ✔️ Announce your project on Instagram with your hashtag and #THE100DAYPROJECT hashtag ? Begin Tuesday, April 19th! What will you do with ? days of making? We can’t wait to see! Please share this post! ?

A photo posted by elle luna (@elleluna) on Apr 6, 2016 at 5:22am PDT

Filed Under: process

You have a style. Promise.

April 1, 2016 by riasharon

I’ve written about this before and I’m sure I will again (every time I need the reminder myself)…

Style, for any artist I’ve ever met, is a THING. We obsess about finding our unique voice, what makes us different, because for some reason that is the validation we need to keep making art. I could go down several tangents here but I’m going to attempt to stay focused…

lolamats.sketchesLet’s try this one, if just for the next five minutes: you already have a style. Period. No more discussion. Do you like it? Is it good enough? Do other people like it? Is there a market for it? It might very well be that these issues are still be TBD.

You already have a unique style because you are the only one who is you. I believe it was illustrator, Melissa Sweet who said that style is your unique take on the world. This unique take is formed by both nature and nurture — your family of origin, your experiences, the places you’ve been and the places you haven’t been, the relationships you’ve had, your physical quirks, your taste in music and movies, the people you hang with, and on and on…. all the things that make up “you.” Can you see how the chances of someone else having the exact same worldview is rather slim?

Let’s take my recent experience as an example. I just completed Month 1 of Lilla Roger’s Bootcamp. The assignment was to design a 1920’s-inspired coloring book cover. My submission was a coloring book featuring women from various eras and what their daily lives were like during that period. I made some sketches…
My final art was the result of a week of sketching and musing on the assignment.

josephine• I thought of my grandmother, who was a girl in the 20’s.

• If you look at my sketches and my portfolio you can see that there’s a way that a draw people and faces that’s just… the way I draw them.

• I have a habit of imposing narratives on my work so of course I had to create a larger story for the assignment.

• I wanted to learn something about the time period and research about women’s experiences.

As I prepared to submit my piece, there’s a part of me that couldn’t imagine a different solution. And yet, of course, there were as many solutions as people in the class (over 300!). As I looked in the gallery, I thought to myself, “I would never have thought to do that!” Of course not! Because I’m not them and they’re not me.

gallery

My illustration reflects my habits and my take on the world—my style.

Thought for today: hang in there, grasshopper! Just do what you do!

 

Filed Under: process

Yoda was wrong.

January 13, 2016 by riasharon

Sorry little green guy. I love you. But the fate of the world does not rest on whether or not I make good art. For me, trying is… everything!

Case in point… I’ve been dreaming about this little kingfisher for a long time. I was dreaming about how I would paint each color separately and collage them all together. Last weekend, I finally had a chance to do it for real. So here it is.

kingfisher It doesn’t look like I thought it would but I’m posting it anyway because it makes a point, one that I think most of us know but don’t really feel until we feel it ourselves and then it feels crappy (ha!): not every project is going to work out, even if you plan and practice and think through the whole thing.

You can do the very best you are capable of at any time and it might just not be how you want it to be for some reason. It’s okay to try. It was worth it anyway. Because now you know and that piece of insight is invaluable to your growth as an artist.

Thank you to everyone who liked it and said it was beautiful and it’s not that I don’t think it is. The whole thing — the process, the product — just doesn’t light me up as much as thinking about it did. That’s my litmus test for whether I should do it again — not so much if other people liked it but if I want to spend my time creating another and another and another using that same technique.

The experience reinforced what I do know about myself, that I am a learn-by-doing person. If I didn’t sit down and actually make this piece, it would have stayed in my “theoretical” column, calling to me until I did it. Now I can put that one aside and move on to the next thing that I’ve been curious and dreaming about.

So if you’re like me, you can take the pressure off. If there’s something that you’re curious about but are afraid because it might not work out the way you want, just do try it already.

Filed Under: process

2016: Playtime!

January 3, 2016 by riasharon

play

Happy New Year, friends!

Yesterday, I did a retrospective of my words from years past:
2010: Surrender
2011: Comfort
2012: Magic
2013: Miracle
2014: Treasure
2015: Craft

Whoah! Looking back, I’m struck by the power of intention, how a word of the year is a spell we cast for ourselves. Those years became those words, sometimes in ways that I didn’t always expect (or enjoy very much! ha!)

In 365 days, I processed and experienced each of those words so completely, turned them over a hundred times, built whole narratives around them, integrated them mentally, emotionally, spiritually, even physically! Always, always they’ve been the correct word for my personal evolution.

I’ve learned to let the word emerge for me, to bubble up. Starting around Thanksgiving each year, I start to pay attention to “recurring themes” that point me in the direction of my word. One year, I let the magic bowl decide among a couple final contenders. Another year, I picked from the bowl (and without peeking) mailed the final one to myself for Christmas! ;P

I’m breathing deeply into PLAY in 2016. On the surface, it sounds like fun, right? But I know myself better than that! lol

Alright, I’m ready (channeling Jack Frost this winter). Cue the fairy dust.

What spell do you want to cast for yourself this new year?

Filed Under: process, The Artist's Way

In Praise of the Day Job

September 18, 2015 by riasharon

1024px-2008-07-04_NCSSM_Unicorn

I’m a duck… you know, those things (not the bird) that you can drive on land and in the water.

I spend a majority of my day at a job AND a good chunk being an artist/illustrator.

But all of the time, I feel like a unicorn because while most of my artist friends are counting the days until they can quit, I feel too guilty to say too loudly, “I really like my job.”

Of course, it keeps the lights on… and that’s a good thing. But there are a lot of other, not-so-tangible benefits of my job — things that I can’t get from my art practice, that actually feed my art practice.

So what does my job provide (other than income)?

1. Interaction with actual humans in real life
The day-to-day existence of an artist can be really isolating. When I go to work, I get to interact and collaborate with real people and dialogue with someone other than myself. I get the benefit from the richness of different perspectives. Generally, those other people are nicer and kinder than I am, to me. Har!

Overheard in the “conference room in my brain” can sometimes be a lot of “What were you thinking?!”

2. A place to go
… that doesn’t have a giant pile of laundry on the floor and a (pretty) good HVAC system, a much speedier internet connection and a cleaning staff… and did I mention my co-workers?

3. Consistency
Sometimes you don’t feel like going to work but you still have to.
Sometimes you don’t want to go to a meeting but you still have to.
Sometimes you don’t want to work with… whoever… but you still have to.
This is a mindset that can make all the difference in any pursuit, whether it’s “creative” or not.

There’s this notion that you can only be creative when you’re in a creative mood.
I don’t buy it… for myself anyway because I totally used to buy it… as an awesome excuse for avoiding what was right in front of me.

Leigh Medeiros said, “I learned that sometimes when you really, really don’t feel like making anything, you make your best work.” This really struck a chord with me.

4. Structure
… some people bristle at the thought but I thrive on it.

I went away for a week’s vacation, I didn’t touch a paintbrush for the first three days. I started to question my commitment to my art!!! How is it that I can whip out something in an hour after work before the sun goes down but when I have wide open day…. bluuuurgh.

Perhaps it’s my parochial school upbringing.
The routine feeds my creativity.
I also love uniforms!
I told you, I’m a unicorn… in a uniform!

Filed Under: process

Is it Facebook Worthy?

August 25, 2015 by riasharon

riasharon-sketches

It’s almost September and I’ve managed to keep my New Year’s Resolution this year: make art every day. That’s gotta be saying something, right? 9 months! That’s how long it takes to grow a human!

What’s bubbling up for me now is sharing it.

I was at the bookstore a few weeks ago, wandering around the stationery section. You would think that would be a delightful experience. In fact, I went with the intention of that being my little treat for myself that week, my artist’s date, if you will. Instead, I was totally deflated. Everything was awesome and beautiful and I left feeling very inadequate.

But then I got to thinking, it’s like the Facebook phenomena… you know how everyone’s life looks awesome on Facebook? Nobody posts all the crap — myself included. Even if it’s not crap, nobody posts everything!!! I think this is the reason for the proliferation of OSS (overnight success syndrome). Zero to famous, overnight when we all know that’s not exactly true.

Since I’m all about process, not product, I’ve decided I’m going to post everything, regardless of whether or not it’s Facebook-worthy… even my 30-second sketches! So if you’re interested in all the behind the scenes stuff and want to see where ideas begin (and where most ideas are likely to die), if you want to be inspired by far from perfect work and an almost always messy studio, you’ve come to the right place.

Filed Under: process

Reflections on 100 Days

August 24, 2015 by riasharon

Dogs

This week, we’ll officially be celebrating the 100 Day Project in St. Louis with a meetup at Meshuggah Cafe. So I wanted to post some of my reflections on the experience before I forget them all!

Before I go any further, a little background on the project…
The 100 Day Project began as a grad school project by Michael Beirut and then launched as a social media experiment in 2014 by Elle Luna. This year, Elle partnered with The Great Discontent to bring it to life on the interwebs from April 6-July 14, 2015 and I happened to be smack dab in the middle of my year of my devotion to my craft so… here we are. You can read more about the project and instructions if you are inspired to participate. The hashtag #The100DayProject is still alive and strong on Instagram (over 279,000 and counting).

I do think that I have grown as an artist because of this exercise and I can’t recommend it highly enough. My “design exercise” of choice was 100 Days of Pup Art. More than discipline, more than stamina, more than permission to experiment, more than range and flexibility and confidence… yes, I gained all of that from making 100 pups in 100 days… I think what I loved and didn’t expect was the element of surprise!

When I began, I thought I would get really practiced at one thing rather than having other things emerge that I did not anticipate. In all honestly, “pup art” was a “practical” choice. I was in the process of creating dog party printables and thought I could kill two “dogs” with one stone if I chose that as my theme for the next 100 days. ;P

I did not anticipate that in the process I would go on to more realistic dog portraits and be commissioned to do over 30 dogs over the course of the summer. I didn’t anticipate that I would explore sketching with ink and watercolor washes or get interested in character and icon development.

14-pup-art

I didn’t expect this on day 14.

77-pup-art

… or this on day 77

90-pup-art

… or this on day 90.

I don’t know if I would be here, without having gone through those 100 days first.

So I think I have to say I am most grateful for my new capacity to accept the unknown — not only accept it but embrace it. Having done this for the project, I’m more confident that I can continue to move forward in a way that allows my heart to lead.

Thank you, Elle and The Great Discontent.
This, has been everything.

p.s. If you are in St. Louis and want to join St. Louis Social Sketch in celebrating The 100 Day Project, come join us at Meshuggah this Thursday, Aug. 27 from 7-9:30p. RSVP on Facebook.

Filed Under: craft, process

The 100 Day Project Meetup in St. Louis

August 21, 2015 by riasharon

100Days

The St. Louis gathering for #The100DayProject is next Thursday, Aug. 27 from 7-9:30pm at Meshuggah Cafe. Please RSVP on the Facebook page so that we have some idea of how many to plan for.

This event is hosted by St. Louis Social Sketch so get ready for an evening dedicated to connecting with other makers and creative souls who just love to draw, paint and sketch. We’ll have some collaborative sketches and prompts to inspire you or feel free to work solo. No pressure, just fun!

Admission is free but space is limited to come early.

Filed Under: process, tribe

An Artist’s Sketch: Esther BeLer Wodrich

July 14, 2015 by riasharon

esther My analytical side wants to face each challenge of recreating what I see while the artist within wants to create something beautiful. I meticulously measure, align and mark to put together works in an autobiography of times and places past. Each work begins with a bit of fear and trepidation as my inner perfectionist strains to recreate what I see while accepting each imperfection as part of the beauty of the process. I am a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, although I’m primarily self-taught in watercolor.

I’ve been blessed with a loving husband and 4 beautiful children who sometimes surface in my art but each of whom are the greatest of artworks themselves. In 2011, I was diagnosed with a thankfully treatable form of cancer, but that diagnosis shook my world. This was a defining moment that put everything into perspective and challenged me to reconsider how I was using my gifts and talents. It pushed me to return to pursuing my too long neglected love of art. Now I spend part of each day sitting down with some paper, fond memories and something to mark the page with. God has given me a talent and desire to create, that no matter how busy life can get I cannot reasonably give up.

BeLer_SouthwarkBridge

1. What’s your medium of choice and what do you love about it?
Since having children, my go to medium changed from oils to watercolor for it’s ease of setup and cleanup. Now I love it because I can achieve the detail I want. This past year I’ve been working on an architectural series in watercolor, pen and ink. I love how the pen and ink allows for sharp contrasts and crisp lines, while the watercolor adds layers of color.

2. What are you working on right now? What’s on your camera/desk/easel or in your studio?
I recently started a drawing of the interior of the Great Hall at Ellis Island. I didn’t plan for it to coincide with Independence Day, but am grateful for the timely reminder of freedom.

3. What practices/activities are most valuable to your creative process?
Nearing the end #The100DayProject, it has been enlightening to see how working a little bit each day has been very beneficial. Not only am I producing more work, but it is sharpening my skills, my drive and my imagination. Working each day has become a priority – I wake up early in order to ensure a little uninterrupted time before the rest of the day’s activities take over.

4. What’s one thing you want to share with others about your art and/or process?
My art forms a visual autobiography. I am passionate about experiences in my life and the people who fill those memories. I enjoy the process of recreating what I see, especially special people and places in my life that I cherish. I love to be surrounded by beauty as well as fond memories and am grateful to be able to share my talents and skills to help others surround themselves with memories they love, too.

No matter if I’m working on a graphite portrait or a detailed architectural drawing, I’ve learned that if you want things “just right”, there are no short cuts. Be patient and don’t rush to finish.

Hmm. I suppose that’s two things. I recently wrote about my process (don’t worry, it’s short).

5. What advice would you give to your young artist self?
I’m afraid this is a bit cliché, but truly it is to be yourself (ooh, I have a blog post on this one, too!). I struggled for a long time to find my “niche.” I became overly concerned with the conceptual or with creating a unique style instead of spending time creating. I tried and failed to create in ways that were outside of my nature that left me feeling disatisfied and my art feeling forced. Frankly, not recognizing or accepting who I was as a representational artist was both discouraging to me as an artist but worse, paralyzed my ability to create for a long time. My advice can be bullet pointed as follows:
• Accept who you are as an artist and a person.
• Ignore those nagging doubts in your head.
• Success will not simply fall into your lap.
• If you really want it, work HARD for it. Really, really hard.

BeLer_profile

Inspired by Esther?
Want to know when the next sketch is posted?






 

Filed Under: an artist's sketch, process Tagged With: drawing, watercolor painting

Your Own Unique Style

July 13, 2015 by riasharon

Do you have a unique style?
I admire artists I know whose style is instantly recognizable that I don’t even have to see their name to know that an image/illustration is theirs. Sharon Derry of Secret Leaves is like this for me and Melissa Sweet and Kim Klassen.

I aspire to that.
Maybe it’s just me but I actually feel a certain amount of pressure to find it already, dammit!

It’s a bit of an existential crisis because for us creatives, our art is so personal, such an extension of ourselves that this whole “style” discourse is actually an on-the-ground way of asking the ultimate questions: Who am I? What is my purpose?

These days, I’m finding a lot of comfort in the words of Bayles and Orland in Art and Fear:

The unconsidered gesture, the repeated phrasing, the automatic selection, the characteristic reaction to subject matter and materials—these are the very things we refer to as style. Lots of people, artists included, consider this a virtue. Viewed closely, however, style is not a virtue, it is an inevitability—the inescapable result of doing anything more than a few times.

Novel, right? They say, “Style is the natural consequence of habit.”

What if it’s that obvious?
What if there’s no need to search because there’s nothing to find:
Your unique style is the natural result of what you do over and over.

What happens if you apply this metaphor to that ultimate question:
Your unique self/life is the result of what you do over and over.

riasharon-20-years

Left to right: 1994, 2004, 2015

Life is a sum of all your choices. ~ Camus

Filed Under: process

Slaying dragons and other nuisances along the way

July 9, 2015 by riasharon

klagenfurt-dragonThere’s a moment in the hero’s journey that people sometimes forget. It’s called the first threshold.

I’ve observed that change of any sort is a hero (or heroine’s) journey. You commit yourself to losing weight, learning how to tango, quit smoking, make art…. In big and small ways, we are attempting to leave our old familiar selves behind.

So if you Google “hero’s journey” you’ll find out that the first threshold is the point of no return for Luke Skywalker or Bilbo Baggins or whoever (you/me). You’re really gonna do this thing! You’re burning the boats, so to speak! But in all the search results, you might have overlooked the references to the threshold guardian.

Wuh?

In the action adventure story, the threshold guardian is especially important for moving the plot along and keeping moviegoers in their seats. It might be something exciting like, say, … a dragon.

In our personal journeys, let’s face it, it’s just a pain in the bum. It’s the thing that makes you question why you ever wanted to do this dance/art/healthy living thing in the first place. It’s the force that will test our commitment and desire for whatever it is that is sending us on our journey instead of staying in our comfy reading chair in the Shire otherwise known as the status quo..

My dragon comes in the form of my inner wet blanket who says, Why are you doing this again? Why would anyone care? You know there are a hundred million artists and illustrators… not to mention bloggers, creativity coaches, urban sketchers etcetera in the world already, right? What, exactly, are you doing anyway? Whatever it is, you know it’s already been done. And of course, is this even any good?

It’s a familiar foe, that one: fear.

Why am I sharing all this? Because I’m a geek. And because I’m trying to talk myself back on the horse to slay the dragon.

A friend of mine once told me, there’s nothing like action to give fear the middle finger.

So despite the internal snorting and puffs of smoke, I’m just going to keep making art every day.

Onward.

Filed Under: process

Wide Open Course: Need

July 7, 2015 by riasharon

IMG_2916

This is my response for Day 1 of the Wide Open eCourse. The subject: Lost. You can follow the body of work for this class with #wideopencourse on Instagram.

This was tougher for me to discern — not that I don’t need. I do. But is it time? Stillness? Space? Calm? Peace? There are so many things that I need… I would never be able to pick just one for my luxury item on Survivor! ;P

After contemplating this for much of today, I’ve decided vulnerability requires a need that I feel guilt or shame to admit; something I need and yet another part of me judges for needing. You know, all the others are “acceptable needs” or “of-course-don’t-we-all” needs. So… the need that I reject is: BEAUTY.

Filed Under: process

Wide Open Course: Lost

July 6, 2015 by riasharon

lost

This is my response for Day 1 of the Wide Open eCourse. The subject: Lost. You can follow the body of work for this class with #wideopencourse on Instagram.

For many years, I’ve avoided going back to my college campus. Just thinking about that time in my life fills me with feelings of loss and regret… primarily because of story I’ve been telling myself… that it was then that I lost my way, when I started choosing “shoulds.” When I read the prompt for day 1, this was what came to me right away.

But I had a last minute opportunity to stroll through the old stomping grounds this last weekend and was able to show my daughter where I spent a significant four years. I realized that my story was incomplete. Yes, I did lose myself there in many ways. But the other part of the story is that I CHOSE to be there. And the me that made that choice was REAL. And the reasons I chose to be there were TRUE… AND are just as real and true today as they were 25 years ago. I would make the same choice again. #wideopencourse #lost

Filed Under: process Tagged With: art daily 2015, choose must, creative process, creativity found, life is colorful, watercolor sketch

Who’s driving the bus?

June 27, 2015 by riasharon

painterlyWhat counts, in making art, is the actual fit between the contents of your head and the qualities of your materials. The knowledge you need to make that fit comes from noticing what really happens as you work — the way the materials respond, and the way that response (and resistance) suggests new ideas to you. ~ David Bayles and Ted Orland

Allowing the paint to lead today.

Filed Under: process

How do you know if it’s good?

June 25, 2015 by riasharon

windows.hi

How do you know when something’s good?
Good question.
The bad news: you don’t.
The good news: you don’t have to know.

I was asked this question recently and it got me thinking… do you EVER really know?!

I mean, I’ve talked to published New York Times best-selling authors who still feel like they’re “faking it.”
I’ve listened to well established artists who still describe that feeling of total panic as they sit in front of the blank page.
I’m coming to the realization that there’s no there there.
It’s so trite but true: it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. For reals.

What would happen if, instead of looking at your last painting/print/picture and asking, “Is this any good?” You asked yourself, “Did making that feel good?”

Because guess what? You absolutely know when something feels good.

If it felt good to make that thing, make another one.
Rinse.
Repeat.

Filed Under: art journal, process

Top 10 things I’ve learned from making art every day for six months

June 23, 2015 by riasharon

day70

10. The more you make, the easier it gets.

9. The more you make, the better it gets.

8. The more you make, the more confident you are that you can make the next thing.

7. Themes start to emerge (and other things start to fall away)

6. You develop some “muscle memory.”

5. You don’t take each thing too seriously.

4. You start to take yourself more seriously.

3. Other people start to take you more seriously.

2. You still have a brief moment of panic before you start anything.

1. You start calling yourself an artist.

day1

(Top image: Day 70 of my 100 Day Project. Bottom image: Day 1)

Filed Under: process

#tbt and Practice Makes Better

April 9, 2015 by riasharon

riasharon-practiceJust start doing something you’re interested in now
and see where that leads. ~ @MelissaPierce

I “ran into” Melissa a couple of days ago on Twitter and was reminded of this wonderful conversation we had a few years ago that is still so relevant to me today. Her documentary film, Life in Perpetual Beta won a bunch of awards. What she discovered in the process of talking to the most interesting people is that nobody had a Master Plan. So there.

We are surrounded by well-intended words of encouragement… Dream Big! Live Your Passion! Don’t Give Up Your Dreams!!! But I’m not one of those people who has always dreamed of becoming an astronaut or a neurosurgeon or a dancer from the time I was itty bitty. What then? For me, Melissa’s words are a great comfort… Just start doing something you’re interested in now! This feels like a 200 pound boulder lifting off my shoulders!

I’ve actually gone through a few “releases” even since our interview (my life really IS in perpetual beta!) The double-edged sword of the online world is that everyone gets to watch you “practice.” The first time you do something, chances are you’re going to suck or mess up a lot and that’s out there. And then the next time, you get a little better. And the next time, better still. You’re basically a work in progress with every post and picture you publish online and it’s all there for everyone to see, if they choose to. Everyone can see your left turns and u-turns and windy path.

But the paths are changing too and I can’t help but feel that in this new way of navigating them so transparently, we are not somehow paving new roads as we go along. (In the tech biz, they call that “innovation.”) We’re 10 to 15 years into “blogging” but now it’s called Content Creation. People are being paid handsomely to tweet. I know, right?

The people I “grew up with” blogging continue to evolve but note, their journeys were not planned! And yet, they changed the “blogosphere.” (Is that even what it’s called anymore?) No, really. if you look at Alli and Megan and Cecily and David and Lewis and Danielle and Scott and Jen, they get out there every day, feeding a dream! And it can feel like they’ve known all along that what they were doing was what they were meant to be doing. But trust me, I’m 99.9% sure that they did not know where they were headed exactly. We were all just doing what was right in front of us.

I wouldn’t have my job as a Content Strategist at WashU if I hadn’t spent a good chunk of the last 10 years playing and just being curious and learning online with people like Melissa.

So if you are feeling called to something… painting, ceramics, macrame, knitting, dog grooming, dancing, playing the harmonica, writing on Medium… you know, it’s okay to just start. It’s okay to indulge yourself in an activity that has no seemingly practical purpose. At one point, that was what they used to say about tweeting, remember?

It’s really really okay to let it light you up, whatever IT is! The chances are, if it really really is interesting to you, no one will have to nag you to do it over and over. You’ll just do it because… it’s fun! And after a few (or 100 times), you’ll probably be pretty good at it and who knows where that could lead.

16,000+ tweets later… big hugs to you, @Melissa Fierce!!!! #ToLifeUnplanned #tbt

Filed Under: process, tribe

Next Page »

A little about me

I have an undergraduate degree in art. By day, I work in higher ed and in my free time I'm currently putting myself through DIY grad school.

I teach classes on creativity and inspiration on Skillshare. I occasionally share my original paintings on Etsy and fine art prints on Minted. I've also been known to make puppy portraits.

Sign up for updates!

We respect your email privacy

 

Shop now: wall art on Minted.

Categories

48dayscreative an artist's sketch artist's date art journal art prints classes collaboration color theory craft design DIY art school Documentation drawings etsy events floral paintings free printables gouache greeting cards illustration Illustration Friday kid art learning hand lettering portrait process products scroll-free year shows The Artist's Way tribe Uncategorized watercolor
dog birthday parties

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Blossom theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 · Blossom Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in