The summer holidays are well underway here; warm and pleasant days interspersed with monsoonal downpours which leave a fresh, lingering scent that is irresistible and draws you outside to take big, happy lung-fulls. I have been to Majorca for a week with my family, and I was deeply inspired by the turquoise of the crystal clear sea and the forever blue skies. I was also lulled by a hot sun into dreamy slumbers by the waters edge where I let my imagination wind its own way gently towards future dreams and ideas. It's a seductive pastime, to lie in the warmth with nothing but your thoughts to linger over. I confess to feeling rather overwhelmed before we travelled, things have piled up this last year to make me question many facets of my life and business, yet I have come home feeling relaxed, soft and calmer than I have in weeks.
I feel a slow sense of possibility and optimism returning. I realise there are certain things I need to stop doing in order to feel happier, and some things I need to do more of for the same reason.
It is easy to lose oneself in the daily grind, to forget our hopes and desires, to push them down and lose sight of them. It's easy to get swamped by the visual tidal wave of talent on the internet, and inevitably begin the fatal game of comparison, which only serves to empty our souls and leave a sour feeling in our bellies.
To walk amongst the pine trees of Majorca as the sun set behind the town I felt that I had finally reconnected with an important, and forgotten part of myself. I stood on a rocky promontory and watched the line of a denim blue horizon become one with the fuzzy lavender sky as the evening light faded. When we allow time for peace; inspiration and desire has a chance to blossom. We can make space to let go of unrealised dreams to make way for the new. We can take stock, fill our wells, let things go.
So, back home, back into the fray of a chaotic summer holiday - the children are home from school and normal life is seemingly tossed in the air and disregarded til the beginning of September. But that's ok. There's plenty of time for everything, and I've found that for now I am happy sketching ideas in my book, tearing out inspiring pictures from magazines for another day and making small plans.
One thing I have managed to do since coming home is to implement the beautiful new branding package my talented designer friend Angie Spurgeon has created for me. My website and blog has long been due an overhaul, and she has captured the look I was after perfectly.
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See you next time.
J x
I do like it a lot. It's very succinct and it has a meaning which I understand. On the other hand I think it is a shame that so many handmade artists and creative are putting their blogs and branding into the hands of others now, when before they did their own. I liked the unique feel that artists bring to their own work and it seems too much now like people are aiming to be like the generic look of the high street stores.
ReplyDelete'I made it' seems in danger of becoming pejorative as everyone wants what they have made to look factory made. Handmade is not the same as homemade. There is nothing wrong with either and both are better than manufactured. We are beginning to lose that individuality I fear. Etsy is phasing out people's shop banners (or might be) and people are choosing generic computer graphics over representatives of their own work to sell it. Handmade has become all about the brand too, rather than actual creative expression a lot of the time. Everything has to be the same, have a theme etc. to fit 'the brand' . I can't deny I am a bit sad about that as I dislike brands intensely. I don't even generally like to eat them, never mind look at them or wear them. It is why authors have to keep writing about the same thing instead of feeling free to explore and express their creativity. They say (marketing and advertising people) that we (the consumer) expect it and want it. I really don't.
Fiona
I know what you mean when you say 'the fatal game of comparison' when you check out other people's work. It's the same with writers. I've just finished my first novel, but when I compare it to some debut novels I have recently read (Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase by Lousie Walters and The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry for example) mine pales into insignificance. Yet I am proud of myself for having achieved it, love the story, the humour, the real characters portrayed, and that's what I have to keep in mind when I submit it to publishers. It's MY writing, and so what if it won't set the world alight. I loved the writing of it, and the follow up is started now too, irrespective of whether or not I sell the first. It's the joy of making, creating that's important.
ReplyDeleteSo fresh, so holidays, so calming... I like the new look of your blog and I am glad you post a message as I like to read from you.
ReplyDeleteMiss