Busy Mom VS Daily Grind – Day 8

New here and wondering what’s going on? Busy Mom VS Daily Grind is all about making the dedication to do something every day that will help you live a happier, more fulfilling life. I have committed to document my journey of developing the habits of living moment by moment, being grateful, and bringing self expression + creativity into every day. Read more about the challenge HERE.

Its been known that creating can have amazing healing and relaxing powers, and over these past few days I have started to experience it. I have come to rely on my creativity to bring me back to my center and to turn around a bad day. When creating, I’m always in focus – in the moment. I’m relaxed, and enjoying it.

Until today.

I’ve encountered what it was like to be a beginner again.

Its easy for a seasoned creative to say “Go create, it will relax you and heal you.” But to a beginner, it can be a frustrating and stressful experience.  

Your inner critic starts whispering to you. You start to doubt the idea that you can actually do this. You put unnecessary pressure on yourself to create something amazing. And it never works out the way you had planned.

The internet is a blessing to artists in many ways, but I think it is a big contributor to the stressful beginnings of a budding artist. You spend hours “researching”, looking at everyone else’s art, watching video tutorials, reading about it… you come to feel like an expert in the subject. But in reality, when you put it to paper, it doesn’t translate.  

Has this happened to you?

Its happening to me right now.

I have been following the world of collage and art journaling for over a year now. Having all this knowledge on the subject, and images in my head from other artists… makes me feel like I’ve been doing it myself for years. But in reality, I’m a complete novice. And when I build up the courage to take out my book to create an art journal page, I expect something amazing to come out of it.

But it never does, and it frustrates the heck out of me! 

(a TINY section of the journal page I attempted today)

So what have I learned from this?

*Research doesn’t make you an expert, 
*Experiencing it for yourself does.

*It’s never wise to focus on the outcome of creativity, 
*You need to focus on relaxing, having fun, and playing.

*Never aim for a masterpiece, especially if you’re a beginner.
*Start small, and master one step at a time.

You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t start at the beginning.

So tomorrow, I will start again. This time, from the beginning.