Life is funny sometimes. It has been 47 days since I left my day job. A lot of the things I thought would happen in those 47 days happened in a huge way. A lot of them did not. The "did nots" resulted in my waking up yesterday morning at 4am in a sudden all-out panic attack about money, bills, rent, and surviving. I have been bound and determined to make an art career work and have believed in it with unwavering faith. Therefore I did not line up a backup plan or part time job or anything... because this had to work. It's my dream. If you believe in your dreams you can make them come true, right?
What I've also learned in 47 days is that making your dreams come true takes a huge amount of drive and there will be pitfalls. There will be hard days. There will be countless times when you question yourself and doubts creep in. But if you want something bad enough, those things don't matter. It's not easy and you have to work for it. I think that's why a lot of people give up on their dreams; they hit hard times and just go back to living like many people do, taking jobs they don't like out of necessity. Kind of coasting through life like some sort of lazy river ride.
At the risk of sounding like a total cheeseball, I'm staying on my crazy white water rapid ride. Yesterday almost broke me. My creativity has been suffering these past few days because my worries about money are 100% dominating my thoughts. I took a long, late-night walk last night to clear my head and kept telling myself to keep going. I want this, more than I have ever wanted anything. My creativity and love for every single thing in life must dominate my thoughts and feelings at all times. There is no other way.
SO, that (long-windedly) being said, I'm embarking on a project and calling it 40 Works In 40 Days. Why 40? Because it just feels right and lately I'm learning to follow my instincts. Every day for 40 days, starting today, I am going to create an original piece of art. I'm not going to worry about subject, composition, or media. The purpose of this for me is to create, to remember my passion, to keep moving towards my dream.
To keep a sort of rhythm, every work will be on a 9" x 9" square of Canson watercolor paper. I've decided to list them on Etsy, for $47.00: 47 marking the days it has been since I left a very unhappy place to go after my wildest dream. I will not be making any prints, because I also need to learn to let things go. Each piece will be signed, dated, and titled with the day number (ex. "Day 11") on the back. There will also be a typed card explaining the purpose of this project: that this is your life and you owe it to yourself to do something amazing with it.
Works will be available in my Etsy shop here: http://www.jenndalyn.etsy.com.
Here's to Day 1 :)
Hooray For You Jennadalyn! I love this post - I am right there with you creative sister! When creative block strikes because of external worries, you push through it. 40 works in 40 days is brilliant and will do wonders. You are my hero...truly. I am counting the minutes when I take that brave step and leave my day job to follow my creative dreams. GO YOU! You have my support 100%. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAlisa oh my gosh that made me get teary-eyed. You have been one of my inspirations (fellow color addicts unite!!) and I love following your work. Thank you so so much for your support, it means more than words could ever say.
DeleteYou've got the right attitude Jenn...and I'm SURE you can make it!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Annie... being surrounded by positive people like yourself is honestly what is keeping me going!!
DeleteI can't get over how amazing you are! I have complete faith that you are going to succeed, ma dear. You are going to go far...make amazing works...inspire people...and live your dream. Mostly, I know this, because I can hear it through your voice in this post and because I've seen your creations and they are amazing! I also know what it feels like to come from that dark place of working in a job that sucks they very life out of you...knowing that to live that type of existence is like taking your soul, squishing it into a little tiny ball, and putting it in a glass bottle in a dark room, where it can't breathe and can't see. People that are driven to create, like us, need more than that...we need to be free so that we can bring light to the world like we were meant to.
ReplyDeleteWow. How's that for dramatic? But, it's what I feel..wholeheartedly...and I get the feeling you and Alisa both understand. You've also got my support and you are my hero too :) Plus, I cannot wait to see what you create!
Oh Kim I am getting SO emotional over here. Thank you so so so so much. Your words gave me this kind of electric feeling in my fingertips and when I got to the end i realized I had this HUGE ridiculous smile on my face. What you said about being free and bringing light to the world: wow. I could not agree more with you. That's why this feels so right to me, because I honestly believe the world NEEDS people like us. You are awesome. Thank you more than words can say.
DeleteWith that positiveness, you will go far, my friend!. I have no doubt whatsoever, that you will come out of the worrying-about-everything phase very soon. Armed with your great artwork, you'll succeed!. Great challenge to keep yourself creatively occupied :). Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Shahrul... I want to live the kind of life you are living and feel the kind of bliss you do every day. I know that it's possible!! Thank you for the encouragement :)
DeleteJenn viajo em cada trabalho seu, muito lindo. Você não sabe o grande exemplo que deixa, obrigada por compartilhar. Sucesso, muito sucesso! Kátia Marana Brasil
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