Posts from the ‘For Artists’ Category

Quote of the Day

I am in the home stretch of my long-term photography project, a few more months to go (hopefully), and sometimes I say to myself, “Am I ever going to finish?”  But that thought is exactly why I am doing this project.

I keep thinking of this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

I also frequently think about this quote by Sally Mann in her new book, Hold Still: “The voice of despair suggests seducingly to me that I should give up, that I’m a phony, that I’ve made all the good pictures I’m ever going to, and I have nothing more worth saying.  That voice is easy to believe, and, as a photographer and essayist (and my early mentor) Ted Orland has noted, it leaves me with only two choices: I can resume the slog and take more pictures, thereby risking further failure and despair, or I can guarantee failure and despair by not making more pictures.  It’s essentially a decision between uncertainty and certainty and, curiously, uncertainty is the comforting choice.”

Somehow the act of creation does feel scary and overwhelming, at times, as illustrated by the quotes above.  This project is reminding me to keep an open mind, persevere, and remembering that I can always go farther than I initially think.  Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”  I believe that every day.  If you dream something, make it happen, and witness it come to fruition — there is nothing more rewarding.

Happy Tuesday!

Wading Through A Large Project

I have been working on my long-term photography project for over three and a half years now, and I am still working on this project and I plan to finish by the end of 2016 — there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel, as they say!  Also, since we have been snowed in the past several days, I have taken advantage of the extra time to work on my project.  Although no project is alike, below are some tips that have helped me keep going on a large and long-term undertaking.  Hopefully, these tips will help you if you are in the midst of working through a large project or if you are considering beginning a large project.

1. Stay Organized: Staying organized is key to getting through any large project.   Without my spreadsheets and lists of everything outstanding to complete, I would literally be lost and I would needlessly waste a lot of time looking up information, etc.  To stay on track, I keep a current updated lists of outstanding tasks in order to have a visual to easily see what is still outstanding.

2. Break Your Project into Sections: It has really helped me to break my project into main parts, which helps me not to feel as overwhelmed, and within those main parts, I have smaller projects/tasks to complete comprising each main part.

3. Set a Work Schedule: I have found it easier to set a work schedule specifically for this project, which helps keep me moving forward.  I set a work schedule, and I do everything possible to protect and guard this time.  Everyone works differently, but I have found setting work hours each week is very helpful to ensure progress is made.

4. Set Target Dates: Due to the nature of my project, I have set general deadlines/target dates.  Sometimes I meet these target dates, and sometime I do not.  However, my main mantra is to keep working each day in order to continue to make progress.  Even minimal and steady progress adds up over time.

5. Back Up Material: When you are working on something for a long duration of time, it is always a smart idea to back up your work.  I back up my work in at least three places to help ensure my work is not lost after spending countless hours creating work.

6. Reviewers: While working on a project for a long period of time, I find that it is helpful to have someone/people you trust to review your work along the way.  I find that it is helpful to receive feedback periodically while working to help improve and/or refine the body of work/idea.

7. Take Breaks: It is helpful to take breaks when needed.  Sometimes there are times where I am too tired or need some time to step away from the work.  These breaks are essential and provide space and help provide perspective once returning to the work.

8. Be Persistent: Even though it is a great undertaking, which takes several years to complete, it is important to keep at it and finish the project.  There are definitely days where I feel burned out and wonder how I will finish, and wonder how it will all come together.  However, no matter what, I always know that I must finish.

9. Be Open: While you are working on a long-term project, the work and direction often changes.  It is therefore important to stay open as these projects take on a life of their own, and this is where the ‘big magic’ happens.

10. Keep the Faith: Having faith is probably the most important component to wading through a long-term project — to work on something for an extended period of time takes faith and trust.  You must have faith to carry you through any large undertaking and you must show up each day and push through and move further than you think that you can go with your work.  At times, this is terrifying, but I have learned to lean into it to get through it and to trust the process…and eventually, the work will be done — the most rewarding part of this process!

“It seems to me that my fear and my creativity are basically conjoined twins — as evidenced by the fact that creativity cannot take a single step forward without fear marching right alongside of it.” –Elizabeth Gilbert

Artistic Advice

Here is some really good artistic advice by Levni Yilmaz, contained in this video, which is also shown below!

Now, it is time to get to work now!  Onward!

Happy Wednesday!

The Power of Constraint

I recently listened to a podcast discussing constraint in relation to creativity, and it got me thinking about how time and resources, for example, impact creation.  This quote by Twyla Tharp sums it up perfectly –“Whom the gods wish to destroy, they give unlimited resources.”

I have often assumed that constraints are limiting, such as having a limited amount of time and limited resources to pursue a project, interest, etc.  However, Whitney Johnson in her new book, Disrupt Yourself, shares how constraints, when it comes to creativity and innovation, can oftentimes help us.  Interestingly, the research shows that too much time can diminish a person’s ability to complete a project.  It also turns out that the fastest growing startups are not those that received funding; the ones that are successful were actually constrained by financial resources.  I found this information very insightful.

We often believe that (non-dire) constraints are a negative, when in fact they are helpful to achieving success.  I have seen this in my own life.  Some of the most well-received blog posts are those that I wrote in the quickest amount of time.  Sometimes, having less time stops one from perfectionistic tendencies and over-thinking too much.  I am currently working on a long-term project, and I wish that I had more time to work on it.  Per the findings above, perhaps if I had endless amounts of time, I would be less effective in completing my project.  However, I have consciously and deliberately set aside time each week to work on my project through its completion.  Otherwise, it is too easy for time to slip by.  I find that making slower incremental progress is much better than making no progress on an endeavor.

I really love this quote by Whitney Johnson, “For the risk averse who are trying to convince themselves to try something new, the trick is not to focus on what will be gained by venturing forth, but to instead focus on what might be lost by standing still.”

Happy Monday!

Theory Animation: Ray and Clovis

We normally do not curate content about cats, the other furry family member.  However, National Cat Day was at the end of October, and David Andrade of Theory Animation, reached out and wanted us to share their animation, Ray and Clovis, shown below, promoting cat rescue and adoption.  As a result, because Biscuit’s Space always promotes animal rescue and adoption, we therefore decided to share this neat animation, shown below!

From David Andrade:

In short, the goal of the short film is to promote care, adoption, and awareness.  We have a couple of great characters who are popular online: Ray, the Iguana and Clovis, the Cat.  For this short film we wanted to use their popularity and spread the message of cats.

We don’t want to be preachy though.  We wanted to have fun and make a positive message about the whole thing.  That’s why we included cat facts and hilarious interpretations of them, like being Crepuscular means sleeping during the daytime; or in Clovis’ case, he sleeps because there is no good day time television.

At the end of the day if we inspired a young person to adopt a cat, then we’ve accomplished our mission.  That is the goal with this short animation — inspire at least one person to adopt a cat, and fall in love with them.

Enjoy!

The above image is courtesy of David Andrade, Theory Animation.

Artists: Inspirational Quote

I came across this quote by Kurt Vonnegut, shown below, and it really resonated with me so I thought that I would share it with you in the hopes that it helps motivate you to keep creating…