Creative Inspiration

Advance your Art

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Unlikely Artistic Inspiration in a Business Publication

There is a professional publication that arrives every month in my mailbox – Healthcare Business Monthly. It comes as part of a professional membership I have in the healthcare industry.

I appreciate all the work that goes into this publication but many times the articles are fairly dry and technical; however an article by Tara Cole in the June 2016 issue (page 58), really caught my attention.

The title of the article is “Advance to the Career You Want”. In this article the author provides tips on how to develop yourself professionally and move into the career you want.

I thought the author’s tips in this article could translate into how to “Advance to Where You Want to Go with Your Art”, “Artist Development”, “Advance Your Creative Journey” or something like that.

Here is a listing of the author’s eight (8) tips which I am going to apply to advancing my creative journey:

  1. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
  2. Be open to change
  3. Be curious
  4. Stay connected
  5. Get technical
  6. Challenge yourself
  7. Be honest
  8. Use your time wisely

I embrace all these tips! Lately I have been working on #5 – Get technical: taking classes, talking to mentors, reading up on new quilting techniques, etc. I have definitely been challenging myself (the secret quilt I am finishing for the by invitation exhibit – I have been quilting this quilt myself – gasp!)

Time for a Random Photo

And now here is a random photo: Recently I returned from a long weekend visiting a friend in the Denver, CO area (see post Creative Inspiration: Travel). During on weekend together, we went on lovely walks on nature trails. One of the trails had many gopher or prairie dog holes along the path and I was fascinated looking at the prairie dogs popping up and talking to one another.

I was not fast enough with my smartphone camera to capture the adorable prairie dog that was popped up from its hole, but here is a photo of one of the holes, right after the prairie dog seeing my camera disappeared into:

IMG_3891.jpg

But wait – I will connect this photo to this post:

  1. Sometimes on your creative journey you have to retreat into a metaphorical hole and focus alone on your art.
  2. Sometimes on your creative journey you have to venture into an unknown hole to move forward in your art.
  3. Sometimes on your creative journey, you have to follow someone into a hole and see where it leads (but I was too big to follow after the prairie dog!)

Please share any thoughts you have on how this photo could relate to an artist’s creative journey (or how you are concerned that I obviously need my “special medication” adjusted! Ha!)

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

7 thoughts on “Advance your Art”

  1. Sometimes you just have to withdraw for awhile to rejuvenate and to assimilate all the things you are learning and/or thinking about. Rest is equally important to the creative process as the actual creating!

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      1. Well I am glad you liked it and I would like to take credit, but I can’t. I was actually thinking about times when Jesus withdrew from people and how that would benefit us!

        Liked by 1 person

  2. #3 (the ‘what it’ I forget to do too often): Sometimes you have to think. What if I could make a design of the absence of the prairie dog and what would it look like?
    My biggest failing is not observing #8, but I can’t relate it to the photo.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well I appreciate your comments so much anyway, even if you cannot relate them to my random photo challenge – ha! I like the idea of a design without the prairie dog!

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