Journeys and Inspirations - Day 1

One of my favorite magazines is called "Where Women Create" published by Stampington & Company's Somerset Studio.
 
 It comes out 6 times per year and features the studios of artists who use a variety of genres to create their craft.  If you ever need inspiration to keep creating, it is a great source for ideas and I have learned a lot reading about other people's journeys through the creative world.  One of the first and most useful things I have learned is that trying and failing are part and parcel of the creative process and that you can't let failure or the fear of failure prevent you from trying and trying again.  Fear of failure keeps us in our comfort zones and prevents growth and development of our art and of ourselves, in general.


Soooo, blogging is a fear of mine that I have decided I will try and conquer.  I grew up in the generation where talking about yourself publicly was not encouraged.  Self-promotion, especially for women, was considered in bad taste and not socially acceptable.  I cringe every time I take a selfie on my phone.  However, in this day and age, communicating with your creative audience has become a necessity and I will step out of my comfort zone to attempt just that.

Another awesome publication from Stampington & Company is called "Artful Blogging" which features the stories of various bloggers and how they came to do what they do.  I read one article which made suggestions about how to find your voice and what to write about.  I am a quilt pattern designer so I obviously want to write about that but more importantly I wanted to somehow connect the posts with more than what I have just designed and what is available in my online store (in other words, how can I show my stuff without obvious self-promotion)

And that is when I came up with the idea of Journeys and Inspirations.  We are all a product of our life experience.  Good, bad and/or ugly, our life experience colors how we see the world and what we create as a result.  My blog is going to be about more than my quilt patterns.  It is going to be about my little part of the world and how the journeys of my life have inspired my art.

I am going to spend 1/2 hour each morning, unless life gets in the way, to organize my thoughts and make a post.  Given the short time I am allowing myself, the posts won't be long but I am hoping my commitment is realistic.  Hope to see you often.