Tag Archives: creativity

What happens when you get what you want?

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I recently received an accolade that I’ve been craving, and aiming for.

It was silly, really–and inconsequential. (I say that now, in retrospect, mind you.)

But in my little world of creativity, a pat on the back can go a long way. I place weight on it. And purpose. And I’m going after it.

And I warned myself that this achievement will not change a thing. And that I needed to back off and stop chasing it. And that it wasn’t going to satiate.

And I remember, sitting on my couch reading about this “pat on the back” and thinking, “I still feel wanting. I still feel empty. I still feel unsatisfied.”

I knew it. I told myself that was what was going to happen. And I reminded myself that when the moment came, and the achievement was given, it would feel unchanging.

But still, I chased after it.

I’m trying to drill that moment into my mind–hoping it will rid me of these cravings that haunt me. Hoping it will mute this goal-obsessed throbbing that sometimes pounds in my chest.

Hoping that I can open my eyes in the morning to the day ahead of me, and that I can see the beauty of today as it is meant to be, and that I can look at the world and say, “You are enough.”

And that I can look at myself and say, “You are enough.”

And, yes, I’m starting to find those words.

My own little Grand Opening for those who have requested my Art Journal pages.

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I didn’t anticipate that in the process of putting paint and ink and glue and paper to the page, so many of you would ask for your own copy of the things that come out of my hands.

Really.

Sometimes, like right now when I’m alone and reflecting on where I am now versus where I was then, I can see my little-girl self looking up at me like the dream she always dreamed has come true in the most surprising ways.

She and I both want to thank you for your encouragement in all these new twists and turns and braveries of my “now.”

One of the braveries comes in the form of setting up a process where you could order prints of my Art Journal pages. Etsy seemed like they way to go, and my professional illustrator friend connected me with a prime quality printer. The system is in place and ready to serve you.

So, I’d like to announce the Grand Opening of the Mandy Thompson Art Shop. If you’d like to browse the collection, you can click this link. I would love to hear what you think, and if you see any pages that you’d like.

Here are a few that are available as prints, and I plan to add another dozen very soon!

the “when nobody’s looking” blah blah

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Remind me who said that. That quote about who you are when nobody’s looking? You know the quote. It’s supposed to help bring clarity to who we really are, right? Like: Your truest self can be shown by what you do when nobody’s looking.

It’s been floating around in my head lately, or at least some butchered version of it. (By the way, butchered is not spelled “butured” like my brain wanted to spell it. Whew. That was a close one.)

(Glad I was looking.)

So, the quote. Yes! It pops in my head randomly. Surprisingly. Like a 5-year-old with a cape–”TADAAAA!!–announcing its arrival. And it wants to see what I’m doing. And so, this mini mental mirror has been following me around lately and tapping me on the shoulder and demanding my gaze–especially when nobody’s looking. (haha Oh, how cute.)  Ok, like when I’m driving home from work and Drew is teaching the last session of his Revelation Class and I know I’ve got the evening to myself and my brain asks me what I’m going to do and I answer with something like “Whatever the heck I wanna do, because nobody’s looking! Woot!”

(See? That’s what happens in my head when nobody’s looking.)

I should probably assure you that I didn’t exactly invite this little caped mirror into my head. I don’t know where it (he) came from. But it’s (he’s) there. And maybe that’s not comforting at all…

Nope, probably not.

Oh well.

The more I’ve looked at myself–really watched myself when nobody’s looking–the more I’ve learned about myself:

  • I really do like a clean house (even though the 4 loads of laundry on my living room floor would currently say otherwise–and no I will not attach a photo to this post to show you how high the pile is).
  • I have a love-hate relationship with my laptop.
  • I can go for hours at a time without uttering a word.
  • I like the quiet more than the noise.
  • And, most importantly, I’ve learned that all I really want to do is create. I spend a lot of time creating stuff that I know no one will see. And I don’t know if that’s a good thing–the “no one will see” part. So. Well. Um. I’m going to work on changing that. No more hiding my creativity. It’s ok to be the Creative Mandy when other people are looking.
  • Right? Oh geeze…

Until then, it’s your turn! Think back on the last time you were doing something “you-ish” when nobody was looking. What’d you do? Wanna share? Oh come on it’ll be fun!

What I really want to talk about is Inspiration…

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1) Things that inspire me: creativity in others, candles (!!), coffee, pre-dawn rituals, time to sit and think, sunlight on skin, quotes that jump off the page and slap me in the soul, honesty, goals.

2) Are you all out of inspiration? I came across an article last week that floored me. It’s a psychological look at inspiration (here, since my little linky button isn’t working right now and I don’t know why and it’s too early in the morning for me to figure it out: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/why_inspiration_matters.html). Ok. Yes. It’s very much worth the clicking and reading. I had to read it three times to grasp what it was saying, but I needed to get it in my brain.

3) The way Ann Voskamp paints a word-picture and turns a sentence leaves me dizzy. In the best way. And I will read certain passages over and over and over again dissecting the way she stitched her words together.

4) What inspires you? How can you add more of those elements to your life?