Wednesday, January 20, 2010

This is My Year

This week's prompt in my “Creative Dreams Come True” journey is to write a "This is My Year" list. As Andrea describes it, "Now it's time to buy a ticket for the creative dream jet plane. So our assignment is to chart out more specifically what dreams you want to have come true this year, to set our destination to make sure we’re getting on the right plane."

This is my health
I feel healthy, energetic and pain-free


  • Do stretches daily

  • Walk and do yoga consistently

  • Drink plenty of water

  • Eat more whole foods


  • These are my relationships
    I feel connected, loved and inspired by my friends and family


  • Continue my weekly "trash tv" night

  • Be more proactive in relationships with my friends/family

  • Encourage other artists, both in person and online


  • This is my abundance
    I am happy to be making a living at what I love


  • Get website up

  • Market business

  • Send at least 2 promo mailings

  • Track successes, both personal and professional


  • This is my creativity/purpose
    I feel I am using my talents as best as I am able


  • Draw and/or write daily

  • Develop at least 4 of my picture book ideas into stories


  • This us how I practice self love/self care
    I feel happy, nurtured and comfortable with myself


  • Take frequent breaks from computer/drawing to move and stretch

  • Continue my morning pages

  • Have 1 "artist date" weekly


  • This is how I experience happiness/adventure
    I feel joyful in each moment


  • I am willing to try new things

  • I will be okay to experience things alone if anyone else isn't interested in doing them with me

  • Monday, January 11, 2010

    My Life's Successes So Far

    This week's prompt in my “Creative Dreams Come True” journey is to list our life's successes so far. I feel like I'm bragging, but as Andrea explains it: "It is important to own our successes and be proud of what we have done. This can fuel us to accomplish more. Sharing our lists with our fellow creative dreamers expands the sense of success~fullness and helps us bring that sense of success into our dreams for 2010 and beyond." So here goes:

  • Made National Honor Society in high school (going WAAY back!!)
  • Got scholarship to college (didn't use it, though - ended up going to a different school)
  • Got my graphic design degree and have worked in that profession for 26 years
  • In the final student art show in my last year of college, I had the most pieces selected (11) to be shown
  • Won Blueberry Hill's 1995 CD Cover Contest
  • Bought 2 brand new cars (and without any co-signers!)
  • Wrote poem that placed 3rd in our local paper's Valentine's personal ad contest
  • Designed and painted sets for a local play
  • Bought home
  • Got married, and had a beautiful wedding
  • At my third job in my field, I got promoted from production artist to jr. designer, then to supervisor of the jr. designers, then to art director
  • Joined SCBWI and attended several local conferences
  • Approached a group of strangers at one of those conferences and we started an illustrator's critique group
  • Attended an Oprah show taping and was in the 4th row!!
  • Learned to laugh at myself
  • Given 4 cats and 1 dog (so far) loving homes
  • Traveled to: Sun City, AZ; Boston/Cape Cod, MA (and saw a whale so close that I got wet from water coming out of his blow hole!); Orlando/Destin/Cocoa Beach, FL; New Orleans/Baton Rouge, LA; Chicago, IL; Hot Springs, AR; Washington, DC; Austin, TX; South Haven, MI; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA
  • Have been in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and The Gulf of Mexico
  • Participated in group art show - The Sketchbook Project
  • Traveled to Utah alone for the BYU Children's Writers/Illustrator's Conference and my drawing won the daily challenge on the first day
  • Going to New York alone for the SCBWI Winter Conference
  • Gotten over fear of dining and going to movies alone
  • Have maintained several long-term friendships with some awesome women - including one that has lasted 29 years, and one that has lasted 22 years
  • Started this blog and cyber-met (I think I just made up a word!) some awesome artists
  • Illustrated a story in the 2009 ABC's Children's Picture Book Contest - we came in third
  • Have sold some of my art on merchandise in my Zazzle store
  • Completed PiBoIdMo in November and came up with 33 picture book ideas
  • Joined several (probably too many!) artist/writer networks
  • Started my new journey this year as a freelancer, with a goal of illustrating, then writing AND illustrating children's books along with my graphic design
  • Thursday, January 07, 2010

    IF - Confined/Renewal


    I posted this very late for the word "renewal" and I think it fits the new word "confined." I felt very confined in my corporate job like the birds in the cage and I feel like the flying bird since I left it. I definitely feel a renewed sense of freedom and creativity.

    Monday, January 04, 2010

    This Year's Motto: Be a Phenominal Failure

    You're probably thinking WTF? Why would someone WANT to fail? As Thomas Watson (the former CEO of IBM who came up with THINK for the company's motto) says: "The way to succeed is to double your failure rate." So, I'm going to try fail more than ever this year. I'm sick of feeding my Fear Fairy - Bitch it's time for you to go on a diet!
    Hey, I've already got one failure, if you refer to my previous post about not being late for everything. It's the 6th of January and I'm just now figuring this out. But instead of giving up and not doing it because it's not the 1st, I'm doing it anyway. Chalk one up for the Failure List! WOOT!
    Oh, I just thought of another one - I failed to be a corporate clone and now I have to try to fulfill my dream of being my own boss and to write and illustrate for children. Man, this failure stuff is rough! :-)