I love making things, which is probably why I’m so annoyed by all the people who are insisting that the coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity to tackle a big creative project or be more productive. I want to be making things, people, trust me. But these are not the best conditions for creating.
Continue reading Making Rope Out of Leaves, or Why Simple Projects Are A Must Right Now
The number one reason I don’t finish projects is that I get stuck. Usually, I don’t know what to do next, like when I put together part of a quilt before I’ve designed all of it (a mistake I have made more than once). Sometimes, I don’t know how to take the next step. Daunted by the unknown, I let the project go fallow instead of tackling the challenge.
Continue reading One Way to Unstick a Stalled Project
In my struggle to do more nature journaling, I got some help from a recent episode of The Nature Journal Show by Marley Peifer on burnout. While I’m not burnt out, his advice helps make nature journaling both fun and easy to do. In fact, you can apply most of his advice to any creative activity you enjoy. Two of the eight tips in his 15-minute video have already helped me.
Continue reading Nature Journaling: How Doing Less Can Lead to More
Sometimes running with inspiration has magical results. Each step of the process is a natural extension of the last, and the vision of the end product keeps you on the right path, just doing the next thing, until suddenly, the project’s done. Sometimes doing what seems natural, however, can be a mistake, especially if that next thing is done without thought.
Continue reading Good Design Takes Thought: A Quilting Story
We need to be careful who sees our work when it’s still in process. I’ve learned this from writing and from quilting. My quilting experience is particularly surprising, because I discovered that early praise can be as harmful as early scorn.
Continue reading Unfinished Quilt: How Praise Froze My Project