2. Aves Apoxie Sculpt will stick to anything and become permanent, waterproof and very, very hard. That is what the product says it does, and it does it very well. That's great if you put it where you want it. Not so great if you walk away from a mixed piece for a few minutes, forget it was ever there and later find that your 7 year old decorated some of his room with "clay". That being said, Apoxie Sculpt is incredible wonderful stuff, with all sorts of creative applications, like building hills out of coffee beans....
3. Sometimes, it's okay to sit in silence, not creating, and let the world speak to you rather than through you. This month I watched many videos, tutorials and artist interviews online. I discovered new things I want to learn more about, as well as things I once thought I wanted to explore, but now know I really don't. Sitting and listening is an important part of any journey, ensuring you don't get lost along the way.4. I was getting very frustrated one day, working on a piece. A friend said to me, "you're supposed to have fun with your hobby". Probably, that's true. But sometime, creating my art just isn't fun, it's down right agonizing. However, I don't look at creating art as my hobby. For fun, I bake, I garden, I read. Art I create because I am compelled, as if something within forces me to do so. It's got a life of its own, and I'm not always (even not usually) in control of the things that I do create. They just happen-because they must happen. I can ignore the book and neglect the garden. I can't ignore the need to create art.
5. So many people think there work isn't "good enough". People all the time tell me, "you're so creative", "wow-I could never do that", "I like to make things, but they just aren't as good as that". Well, I say the same things to other artists, and never think my work is as good as theirs, or good for anything really. It's time for everyone to stop the negative chatter. Do it if you love it, if you must do it, if you want to do it. What you create is part of you, and that alone makes it special. We all drew pictures the same way when we were children, making masterpieces with crayons that got hung on the fridge, We were all proud of them. I don't know at what age we came to believe that what we create isn't special enough. Embrace you inner child, and celebrate every piece. I have pieces on my walls that I created that look like my kids made them. Actually, I made them, and they hang because of the positive emotions I get from them.
