Love it Amy, love this perspective. I agree that choosing to DNF can be as much of a learning experience as a finish. I consider my creativity a luxury to myself and while I appreciate being challenged by it, I don’t continue when I feel boxed in or trapped by it. Probably also why I am terrible at commission or on-request pieces 🤣
I’m always trying to do too much. Deciding what not to finish is so tough that I usually let the Universe decide for me. It is hard, though, to get rid of the clutter. I’m sure I’ll read those magazines someday.
On the movie front, I found a much better film with a snow globe as a plot device. It’s “The Holdovers,” available on Peacock. Great script, direction, cinematography, design. The director is Alexander Payne. It has depth, heart and unexpected story twists.
I mentioned you a couple of times in this week's post, BTW.
I have so many unfinished projects packed away! I don’t know when I gave myself permission to abandon the guilt that accompanied them, but it was a freeing experience and luckily hasn’t affected my ability to want to create. Thank you for your words.
Some things I really want to continue or improve slightly as I head into 2024:
Illustrated Journal, of course! I am going to be much more intentional about putting aside time for it, but set a realistic goal.***Continue drinking water for my first drink of the day. It’s been working for me.***Continue reading and tracking it. I set a 52 book goal😬 which seems extra ambitious, despite surpassing it this year.***This 3 things have given me joy and make me feel good in 2023.
I’m terrible at DNFing and the project sits somewhere physically, and then mentally it’s in the land of “someday.”
My words of the year always end up not serving me! I like to think I could set an intention, but too many surprises come my way. I think a word reveals itself.
I can relate so much to this post! It's taken me years to be able to not finish books, but now I know a few pages in if it's never going to happen. And it's very freeing! Strangely, with art projects it was easier to drop them but I kept them and that also weighed me down. Last year I gave away everything that I knew I'd never finish (or even start!) and it was the best. And I try to mostly draw/work in my sketchbooks to keep the "end result" pressure to a minimum. Enjoy the process is my goal.
Reading is the thing I do most, always, whatever is going on in my life. Great books read last year: The Weaver and The Witch Queen (Genevieve Gornichec), Go As A River (Shelley Read), We All Want Impossible Things (Catherine Newman), Starling House (Alix E. Harrow), The Celebrants (Steven Rowley).... I could go on forever, sorry ;)
This was such a helpful read for me this week, Amy. There wasn’t any finishing or starting with the transition to the new year for me, and I did have an “approximate” deadline on a a project of December 31 thinking that would give me plenty of time. Not enough, I guess. I often find it discouraging when my personal goals or expectations of what I think I should be able to accomplish are not met. But there was progress… and a message to be gentle with yourself as there is only so much time and so much energy was a good thing for me to hear. And when I look at your unfinished embroidery project, I find it beautiful and inspiring as it is, whether you ever add another icon to it or not. It is indeed ok to not finish; there is still beauty and value in the time we spent and what we created, whatever came of it.
I have been spending time thinking about prioritizing projects within the time I have, and I made a goal to focus on some of my own creations this coming year once I wrap up my current client art commitments. I would like to come up with some of my own stories, something I always put off…probably because it feels a bit intimidating and outside my creative comfort zone. But it is something that always calls to me, so I want to devote some time to that.
Thank you as always for your words that keep me thinking, reflecting, and being inspired.
Sparkling snowflake, the way they glint magically in a fresh, crisp, undisturbed layer of snow. There is a glimmer for sure! Happy new year.
Late to commenting here, though I read the piece when it came out and again just now. Kind of ironic that I'm defining it as late, given the context. 😅 In many ways, the reminder that it's okay to not finish something is meaningful to me. I'm pretty rigorous when it comes to my commitments and can be less than gracious when I come across folks who are clearly more comfortable with letting go of things that aren't serving them. I could use a dose of that, I'm sure! I've had a recurring thought, what with everyone's New Year's goals showing up everywhere, asking me to look at the difference between intention and flow. Do I want to live intentionally, by setting goals, deciding where I want to show up, and who I want to be? Or do I want to be more capable of going with what the universe brings me? Can I do both? All questions, no answers yet. Thanks, Amy!
Love it Amy, love this perspective. I agree that choosing to DNF can be as much of a learning experience as a finish. I consider my creativity a luxury to myself and while I appreciate being challenged by it, I don’t continue when I feel boxed in or trapped by it. Probably also why I am terrible at commission or on-request pieces 🤣
I’m always trying to do too much. Deciding what not to finish is so tough that I usually let the Universe decide for me. It is hard, though, to get rid of the clutter. I’m sure I’ll read those magazines someday.
On the movie front, I found a much better film with a snow globe as a plot device. It’s “The Holdovers,” available on Peacock. Great script, direction, cinematography, design. The director is Alexander Payne. It has depth, heart and unexpected story twists.
I mentioned you a couple of times in this week's post, BTW.
And, igloo, since I wrote about ice hotels.
I have so many unfinished projects packed away! I don’t know when I gave myself permission to abandon the guilt that accompanied them, but it was a freeing experience and luckily hasn’t affected my ability to want to create. Thank you for your words.
Some things I really want to continue or improve slightly as I head into 2024:
Illustrated Journal, of course! I am going to be much more intentional about putting aside time for it, but set a realistic goal.***Continue drinking water for my first drink of the day. It’s been working for me.***Continue reading and tracking it. I set a 52 book goal😬 which seems extra ambitious, despite surpassing it this year.***This 3 things have given me joy and make me feel good in 2023.
I’m terrible at DNFing and the project sits somewhere physically, and then mentally it’s in the land of “someday.”
My words of the year always end up not serving me! I like to think I could set an intention, but too many surprises come my way. I think a word reveals itself.
Snowflake ❄️ the name of a childhood dog.
I can relate so much to this post! It's taken me years to be able to not finish books, but now I know a few pages in if it's never going to happen. And it's very freeing! Strangely, with art projects it was easier to drop them but I kept them and that also weighed me down. Last year I gave away everything that I knew I'd never finish (or even start!) and it was the best. And I try to mostly draw/work in my sketchbooks to keep the "end result" pressure to a minimum. Enjoy the process is my goal.
Reading is the thing I do most, always, whatever is going on in my life. Great books read last year: The Weaver and The Witch Queen (Genevieve Gornichec), Go As A River (Shelley Read), We All Want Impossible Things (Catherine Newman), Starling House (Alix E. Harrow), The Celebrants (Steven Rowley).... I could go on forever, sorry ;)
This was such a helpful read for me this week, Amy. There wasn’t any finishing or starting with the transition to the new year for me, and I did have an “approximate” deadline on a a project of December 31 thinking that would give me plenty of time. Not enough, I guess. I often find it discouraging when my personal goals or expectations of what I think I should be able to accomplish are not met. But there was progress… and a message to be gentle with yourself as there is only so much time and so much energy was a good thing for me to hear. And when I look at your unfinished embroidery project, I find it beautiful and inspiring as it is, whether you ever add another icon to it or not. It is indeed ok to not finish; there is still beauty and value in the time we spent and what we created, whatever came of it.
I have been spending time thinking about prioritizing projects within the time I have, and I made a goal to focus on some of my own creations this coming year once I wrap up my current client art commitments. I would like to come up with some of my own stories, something I always put off…probably because it feels a bit intimidating and outside my creative comfort zone. But it is something that always calls to me, so I want to devote some time to that.
Thank you as always for your words that keep me thinking, reflecting, and being inspired.
Sparkling snowflake, the way they glint magically in a fresh, crisp, undisturbed layer of snow. There is a glimmer for sure! Happy new year.
Late to commenting here, though I read the piece when it came out and again just now. Kind of ironic that I'm defining it as late, given the context. 😅 In many ways, the reminder that it's okay to not finish something is meaningful to me. I'm pretty rigorous when it comes to my commitments and can be less than gracious when I come across folks who are clearly more comfortable with letting go of things that aren't serving them. I could use a dose of that, I'm sure! I've had a recurring thought, what with everyone's New Year's goals showing up everywhere, asking me to look at the difference between intention and flow. Do I want to live intentionally, by setting goals, deciding where I want to show up, and who I want to be? Or do I want to be more capable of going with what the universe brings me? Can I do both? All questions, no answers yet. Thanks, Amy!