The funny thing about having a writing time is that I can't really publish it here on my blog right now. It's not done yet. :) Rough drafts are fun when you read them on DVD extras, but that's when the finish product is done baking. Take a cake out of the oven too early, and it just falls flat and tastes goey.
For now, I'll just do a check-in on how the past week went. I spent some time just journaling over the weekend, and the truth is, I really, really loved doing the collages. My goal was just to paint four backgrounds, and I did that and plenty more.(Although, I didn't get to do a L.K. Ludwig homage--I was going to use pics of my kids for journal spreads, the way she did in the latest "Art Journaling" magazine. Oh well, next time.)
The criteria I set up for this challenge were:
1) Did I enjoy it? Ooooh yes. :) It felt easy, cathartic, like I was soaking myself in color and beauty. I felt free to practice and learn new things. I got lots of great ideas for future projects. ("Oooh, let's make a couple of journals with these covers, a bunch of bookmarks, and maybe some hand-made scrapbook embellishments, and put them all on an Etsy shop!")
2) Does it fit with our current lifestyle? Absolutely. Collage feels like the perfect medium for a mom--which may be why it's dominated by women. The kids absolutely love paint, glue, paper, scissors, and the assortment of tools that they can break. They especially love poking each other with said tools--so sharp ones have to stay waaaaaay out of reach. :)
Seriously, though, it was easy to work on a project early in the morning, walk away from it to change a diaper/fix a meal/do some laundry and come back to it later. By contrast, writing seems to possess me. I get an idea, a character, a situation, or a "what-if" scenario in my head, and it burns like a fire in my bones, puts a knot in my stomach, and won't let me return to my normal life until I get it on the page. Kids do not like asking mommy 500 times for cheerios while Mommy tries to get her characters out of an exploding building.
On the other hand, I've recently made some *good* changes in my life that may allow writing to join me in a more controlled, structured manner. ADHD meds and a gluten-free diet have cleared my head and structured my time in a way I didn't know was *possible.*
Anyway, on to:
3) Does it help my family reach our goal of being totally debt free in 5 years? Eh, maybe, but I'm not sure. On the one hand, art supplies are really freaking expensive. In order to learn to paint an apple, I have to buy paint, brushes, and something to paint on. Classes and instructional books cost a fortune. On the other hand, there seem to be five gazillion opportunities to make money with this craft--everything from Etsy, to teaching classes, to custom work, to craft fairs, etc. Also, I'm simply the best thrifty crafter in the world, lol, because I'm determined to get my supplies cheap. I simply don't have enough information right now to tell if this is profitable for me, but I'm going to add a couple of new "week's goals" to my list:
Make 5 journals to sell on Etsy or Ebay.
Research how much people make on their craft, why they make that much, and how long it took them to get there.
There are tons of resources on doing a successful craft business, so I just need to take the time to learn them.
In the meantime, last weekend I also came across an opportunity for a temporary writing gig. I'm not sure if I'd be a good fit for this company, but I've got some queries and samples in, and we'll see what happens. Pray for me!
My goal for this week is to practice writing 11-minute screenplays. The 168project is for Christian filmmakers to make an 11-minute film in one week, from start to finish. The biggest obstacle is that you don't know what the topic is until the company releases the verse and the theme--then you write the thing!! :) It's great, but I want to get in some practice writing in that short of a format before I even *think* about putting a team together, and doing that amount of work.
Aah, I'm going to sleep while my daughter sleeps. :)
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