Your Creative Journey is like Candyland 🍭🍬

February 20, 2022 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Sunrise by Eileen McKenna - Acrylic on Canvas — Sunrise by Eileen McKenna – Acrylic on Canvas

I’ve always thought about creativity as a journey not a destination. I sometimes visualize it as the Candyland board game, where there are stopping points, like the Peppermint forest. The creative journey stopping points are subjects and mediums. Mine were things like seascapes, linocut carving, surface pattern design.

Remember in Candyland, those “shortcuts” where you jump ahead on the board? They remind me of times of growth when you notice a big change in skills or technique. I remember when I started using an ink pen on my watercolors and white gouache on my seascapes. It’s helpful to reflect and recognize the twists and turns and periods of growth in our journeys.

Weekly creative inspiration ~

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We all start our creative journey with different skills and ideas at different stages of our lives but with similar thoughts. The thought may be the reemergence of a statement from our childhood, “I want to be an artist.” More likely, we tone down the dream in our minds. Mine started with, “I want to be able to draw something realistic.” A few years later after a few classes it was, “I want creativity to be a regular part of my life.” I wanted to explore all possibilities and find my “thing.”

After several years of sticking with my goal, and knowing what worked, I turned my journey into “Creative Exploration.” Follow the process in the book to add creativity to your life, and find the subjects and art mediums that excite YOU.

I was and am ecstatic that creativity is part of my daily life. I can’t believe over eight years ago I made such a big change. Who keeps a resolution for that long?!

It brings me so much joy. But I am not unique – Creativity is for everyone. “Talent” is just a starting point.

Start your creative journey today…

September Routines and Creative Goals

September 4, 2021 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

My friend asked me the other day how it was going with creating every day in August. I looked at her blankly until she explained that I had written in my newsletter that I was going to create every day in August. Red faced I admitted that not only had I failed in that goal, I had also forgotten about it.

what I’ve learned while pursuing a “creative life”

Goals motivate us
Keep your goals realistic
Be kind to yourself when you don’t meet your goals

When we falter in our regular creative practices, we need to brush ourselves off, adjust our focus and expectations, and try again. September is the perfect time for this!

I’ve always loved September- it has the fresh start feeling of the new year. Life gets back to more of a routine, especially if you have kids. I always use September as a chance to reassess my goals, projects and routines.

This year I’m starting a brand new job so everything will change in terms of my schedule. Up until now my schedule has been very flexible. I mostly work from home and teach at a kids art studio several afternoons a week. With my new schedule I will really have to prioritize to get stuff done.

One painting or illustration a week

I’ve decided that painting every single day isn’t going to be realistic for me. My September goal is to create one painting or illustration a week. When possible I will sit and paint. I truly believe even 10-15 minutes of painting makes such a difference!

As usual, I’ll paint what is inspiring me. Maybe I’ll paint within a theme each week. I’m sure the upcoming fall season will play a role. At some point I’ll dive into all the photos I took this summer. These projects will take a few days to complete, so while I won’t be painting every day, I’ll be painting a few days a week.

Any illustration work will not count towards my weekly painting project. I have to have some rules for myself.

Sharing with you

I also want to keep up with my blog and newsletter. I’ve been sharing my creative journey on this blog for almost eight years! I love thinking and writing about creativity and painting and collecting interesting links. If you aren’t signed up for my newsletter – sign up here:

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When I first made “My Creative Resolution” – the blog was what held me accountable each week. I had to create and post finished pieces – otherwise I would be revealing myself as someone who lost motivation and didn’t finish things. That was in fact what I was, but the blog helped me change that.

If you are looking to introduce regular creativity into your life check out my book Creative Exploration. I turned my journey into a process for others to follow. Creativity has brought so much joy and opportunity into my life!

Creative Goals and the First Quarter of 2019

March 26, 2019 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I decided it was a good time to see how on track I was with my creative goals for 2019. Ironically I couldn’t remember what my specific goals were. I had to look back to a post I wrote in December. Here’s what I wrote:

My Creative Plans for 2019

Paint within a theme. 15-30 day challenges. Explore a theme for two weeks or more. Give myself time off in between.
Grow my Etsy shop. At the end of 2018 I began offering my illustrations as digital downloads on Etsy.
Learn and explore. I want to continue painting acrylics, would like to try block printing again, and have signed up for a sewing class!

My Creative Reality January – March 2019

I am not really painting in themes for 2 weeks to a month. But what I am doing is painting five mornings a week and working on what I feel like, which are often seasonal illustrations. I am very happy with how this is working out. The work I’m currently doing in the mornings is leading to products for my Etsy shop, as well as using all the accumulated illustrations I’ve painted over the last five years.

Growing my Etsy shop is still my number one project. I am really enjoying painting (of course) but also using those illustrations to design different types of digital products. I feel I won’t be truly able to gauge the success of my shop until I have 100 products in it (not including out of season products).

I haven’t really painted in acrylics BUT am committed to making that happen soon. I did take a sewing class and made a pillow, but haven’t motivated to try to make something else. I really want to use my own fabrics!

Teaching wasn’t a 2019 goal (It was a 2018 goal), but I embraced an opportunity that presented itself and began teaching first and second graders at an after school art studio. I loved it! I’ll get the chance again over the summer. One thing I try to do is be open to opportunities, even if they are out of my comfort zone.

I’m glad I took stock on how I’m doing so far. I’m happy with my progress. And even before doing this, I decided that I would try to pursue the other types of creativity on the weekends. Here are my revised goals.

My Creative Plans for 2019 – Revised

Paint regularly. 5 mornings a week
Grow my Etsy shop. 100+ products
Paint with acrylics on canvas. Seascapes including a 2 canvas piece.
Teach – online and in person. Note to self – finish the ice cream cone project. I have two other project tutorial PDFs in my Etsy shop.
Submit work to a gallery show (I have a specific one in mind)
Collaborate with a sewing blogger – is that you? Contact me!

As I write these revised goals I’m realizing that the more specific the goals, the easier it is to go for them. How’s your creative year going so far?

You may be interested in reading “Writing a checklist to help you achieve your Creative Goals”

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