Creativity Isn't for Wimps

If you're a creative, chances are you've spent time daydreaming about doing your art full time.

Maybe you imagine what it would be like to be a novelist: words flowing out of you and onto the screen for hours at a time as you sit, tucked in your perfectly designed office. Or perhaps you've dreamed of being a painter full time, stacking completed canvases against a wall in your studio, waiting for the next gallery to call you and offer yet another a solo show.

Quilters, mixed media and fiber artists, illustrators, screen printers, potters ... we all dream of "someday" when our work will make it out of our studio and into the world, changing it for the better, don't we?

Altered jean skirt--circa 2007 in a college art course

Here's something that came as a revelation to me recently: making art is scary.

I've always been a creative who works in starts and stops. For a long time I blamed this on my propensity for switching gears. I get bored easily so I need to make room to change my mind, try new things, experiment frequently. While this makes sense when you're first trying a new creative field--say metalworking (which I didn't enjoy), pottery (enjoyed but too much room/expense required), or mixed media (loved and still love) at some point you have to really delve in to get into something.

Recently I was listening to a podcast, "Live Creative Now," by Melissa Dinwiddie. In it, she talked about creatives like me, who like to switch gears a lot, try new things. So much of what she said in that episode resonated with me. But one thing that I realized as I went back to my creative space the next day is this: fear is a great liar.

I mentioned before that I'm applying to be part of STRUT! and fashion show held as part of Art Hop in Burlington, Vermont. When I accepted the creative challenge I was so excited to get started! I practically ran to my studio to start cranking out beautiful, unique upcycled clothes.

Something funny happened, though. I kept getting stuck. I couldn't get the sleeves of one garment to fit another and didn't know how to fix it. I started making a skirt from a pair of jeans and it ended up looking lumpy and strange around the rear end. The skirt I painted on and appliqued had a funny, twisted up hem, making it appear crooked when I tried it on. After several days of problematic sewing and designing a little voice started to remind me how much I enjoy 2-D mixed media, using paper and found objects.

"This isn't your medium. You don't know what you're doing, really. Why not go back to what you love?"

and

"Who do you think you are? You're no designer. Leave that to the professionals and go back to what you know."

The "who do you think you are," question was a sure sign that I was scared. That annoying little phrase always pops up when I'm trying something new and am freaking out because it's imperfect. So part of me was dying to toss in the towel and forget about upcycling clothes and making textile art. The other part of me dug in my heels and said, "no way. I'm not giving up on this again."

I've tried upcycling clothes and accessories in the past with mixed results. The "failures" always bothered me so much that I eventually packed up the clothes I'd collected and either set them aside or gave them back to the thrift store.

This time was different though because I recognized that voice of fear. It wasn't that I was bored, or disinterested (though another voice tried to convince me I was!). It was that I was afraid to be creative in a medium I'm not as comfortable with (fabric) and tempted to run back to one that I know much better (paper).

Creativity isn't for wimps. While "they" (whoever "they" are in your life--family members, co-workers, the corporate world at large) may think that being an artist is all airy-fairy and an easy cop out to "real work," it's not. It's challenging to learn new things, to let yourself make mistakes, to make flops. It's hard to put work that you love and have poured yourself into out in public for others to find fault with, critique and maybe even make fun of.

If you can let yourself experience the joy of creating--even the hard parts where the process doesn't feel joyful in the least--you'll be blessed with so much freedom, though. Freedom from fear, from normality, from trying to fit your square self into that round hole. Being what you're meant to be is so much more rewarding than any attempt to make yourself into someone you are not.

Exciting News ~ Altered Couture Magazine

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Celebration! 

Well, maybe you've already guessed from the title, but I'm so excited to let you know that Altered Couture, one of my very favorite magazines, accepted my vintage upcycled slip for an upcoming issue! (You might remember me talking about submitting something?)

I don't have any more details right now, other than that I need to complete a 600 word synopsis of my process by mid-month. I actually have already sketched it out but still need to type it up and fine tune it a bit. When I got the email from the editor, I literally bounced in my seat, a wide smile on my face. I will remember this moment when I'm next feeling that sense of creative frustration.

I'm telling you this because I'm excited, yes, but also to encourage you to smack that inner critic in the head when he/she next pipes up and tells you, "oh, well, that's for other people, not you," or "you want to do what?!" It's for anyone, thanks so much, and doing things is absolutely the only way that we learn.

There are still so many creative things I want to try, some of which are very scary for me to admit. Most often when I'm enthralled with something new, I prefer to research it extensively. I read books/magazine articles/blog posts, etc., on the topic, listen to podcasts, try to find someone else to talk to about it.

The problem is that all that excitement and education about a topic, while wonderful and sometimes necessary, doesn't help you as much as trying to do the thing.

Creativity = Trial + Error (maybe lots of errors)

When it comes right down to it, you rarely learn how to do something if you never pick up the material/piece of furniture/beads/thread/lace and just give it a go.

What are some of the creative things you've tried that have flopped? What's turned out fabulously? Please share one of your experiences in the comments. 

Inspiration: Bead Creative with Nancy Eha

Picture this: it's a dark and snowy night. You're on your way home from work and stop "just for a minute" to browse at the local library. You wander the stacks, looking for creative inspiration, when a book catches your eye. It's all about beaded embroidery. You flip through the pages ... and realize 15 minutes later that you're still rooted to the spot.

This is what happened to me several weeks ago when I found a copy of Nancy Eha's first book, Off the Beadin' Path. A couple of things struck me about this book:

1. It was self-published by the author. 
2. The patterns included in the book were simple and easy to follow (this really struck me because I'm not very good at following patterns. I tend to get confused, so mostly look at the diagrams and figure stuff out as I go). 
3. The tone of the book was friendly and down-to-earth. In fact, I learned later that Nancy was previously a classroom teacher. It definitely comes across in her writing and instructions, which I found clear and without a lot of extraneous detail. 

After skimming the book at home over the next several days, I contacted Nancy to tell her how much I was enjoying it (side note: I've contacted several authors in this way and Nancy is one of the few who wrote back. And wait until you hear what she wrote!). 

I tried one of the most simple beading stitches when I created this upcycled slip dress. It was so much fun! I had to keep going so started working on a vintage bib/collar thing. In the meantime something exciting happened: Nancy visited my blog. Then she sent me a nice email reply to my 'thank you' email. 

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It turns out that Nancy has been very busy! She's written two more, full-color books since the first. One is titled, Bead Creative Like Crazy, and the second, Bead Creative Art Quilts. Both appeared packed with great information and instruction. 

Nancy offered to send me a free copy of Bead Creative Like Crazy. It was slightly worn, she said, and one that she wouldn't feel comfortable selling. It was mine if I wanted it. Yes, please! In return, I agreed to mention it here on Joy Creates, if I found it helpful. 

Well, I'm sure you can guess that I did find it helpful. Though I haven't yet made it to the end, I've already learned a few techniques which will save me lots of time on future projects. I love the brightly colored photos and again, the simple and easy-to-understand directions. Plus, Nancy's tone is very friendly and not at all "preachy." 

Even if I do get stuck, Nancy has a bunch of free video tutorials. I found this one particularly helpful: 

Downsides: With any book there are bound to be a few downsides, right? 

1. The spine of the book: if it were to lie flat when opened, that would be super helpful. It's hard to follow the directions and hold the book open with your other hand. 
2. An index would be helpful. There are times when I'm looking for a bit of specific information, and an index would come in handy. 

Overall, I'd highly recommend this book, particularly for beginning bead embroidery learners like myself. I'm not new to hand sewing or embroidery per say but it's been a long time since I've worked with needles in this way. And never with beads before. 

I'm looking forward to finishing the book and applying more of the techniques and different stitches to future projects. 

In addition to the books, Nancy offers free online tutorials, classes (paid), beading supplies and will even teach at events. She's been beading on fabric for more than 25 years (!) so obviously has a lot of knowledge to share. Be sure to check out her website, www.beadcreative.com for more information. If you like her work, drop her a line, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you. 

Have you tried beaded embroidery? If so, what are some of your favorite pieces? If not, are you interested in it? 

A Failed Sewing Attempt: Dress from Hell

OK. I'll admit that I might have exaggerated slightly in the title of this post. This dress isn't exactly from hell, but it certainly has some issue. (But hey, who of us doesn't?)

I've wanted to use this certain vintage sewing pattern for more than a year. What was holding me back? The dreaded zipper. (You might remember me talking about zipper-installation fears before.)

Well, I finally found what I thought was the perfect fabric. Plus, it was deeply on sale so I wouldn't feel as horrible if I ruined the dress.

Since I mostly re-make/upcycle clothes and accessories, buying fabric of any kind new and fresh from the bolt is sort of frightening. I mean, I feel badly enough if I mess up a thrift store or free item, but virginal, perfect, new fabric?

Shiver. 

Anyway, I was lucky enough to have President's Day off of work so after kissing my husband and son goodbye for the day, I settled in with some soft music, the material and the pattern.

All was going well. Cutting was as slow as ever, but the fabric, a sort of denim-like material, was a dream to work with. All the pieces were cut and laid out. And I got the zipper in!

When I went to try it on, however, I noticed something. Even though it was a Size 10, it seemed really large and ill-fitting. Well, I'd fix that.

I took the side seams in by about an inch on either side. This helped. Still, I felt a little like I was wearing a potato sack. The length wasn't helping. Was it made for a giraffe? On the pattern front (which I'm now learning to be very suspicious of) the dress came up above the models knees. Mine was closer to mid-shin.

It still looked large on me but I wasn't sure how to successfully take it in anymore without altering the basic shape. Once the hem was shortened it would surely be better, right?

Well, ahem, no. Not necessarily.

Now it looks something like a short potato sack.

Look at those shoulders puffing! Can you say Igor in Frankenstein?

I made this for a warm-weather trip that's coming up. I thought maybe if I styled it, I could still wear it. I'm not sure if a sweater will be possible to keep on where we are headed though.

Better, but still reminiscent of a potato sack ... 

What to do? Do I try to take it in myself? Drop it off for alterations? Shrug and call it a learning experience? Give or sell it to someone who would look better in it?

My Submission for 'Altered Couture' Magazine

Do you enjoy Altered Couture magazine? It's one of my favorites. The pages are filled with inspiring projects of upcycled clothes and accessories by talented individuals. The beautiful images, and thick, beefy size of the magazine make it a pleasure to flip through while sipping tea in a cozy nook.

Another fun aspect of the publication is it's open call for submissions and challenges. This month there is one titled, "Playin' With Paint." It requires submissions to be painted or dyed--hopefully there are extra credit points for embellishing further.

[On the Blog] Get Published: March Calls and Challenges https://t.co/glHNk7cQju pic.twitter.com/OHpBj44Vhy

— Stampington (@Stampington) February 23, 2016

With the deadline of March 15th in mind, I worked to get the vintage slip-turned-dress ready to mail in. Yesterday, I finally had a chance to get some decent daylight to photograph a couple of pieces~my hubby is such a good sport, always willing to do an impromptu photoshoot.

Many magazines and online publications have strict rules about photographing pieces that they publish. Because I'm unsure about Altered Couture's rules, I'm not going to post pics of the dress here (yet) sigh. It's so hard to resist! I don't want to do all the hard work of submitting the thing though, only to find out that I'm ineligible because of photos published here.

I can, however, leave you with photos of another dress:

True, you've already seen this one, but I got some great shots of the back which is where the true beauty lies in my opinion. All those beautiful little bows add the perfect detail to the v-neckline, don't they?

a bit of wonkiness on that waist bow, I think I forgot to attach the little hook

A Pretty Red Vintage Dress & an Upcycled (Beaded!) Slip

Best Goodwill find of the year

Don't you love it when you pop into a thrift shop, "just for a peek," and emerge bleary-eyed two hours later?

This trip didn't take quite that amount of time, but way more than I anticipated. Of course, I spent a good deal of that trying to wiggle my way back out of a gorgeous, albeit too clingy, cream-colored beaded vintage gown. Is there a dress style called "mermaid?" because that's exactly how it felt.

Undeterred, I kept looking. Good thing I did. I found this beautiful vintage wool dress for under $10.

I have to get out and ask my hubby to take another photo of the back though, that's where the true beauty is. There are little bows all the way up, covering the zipper. He took one shot but the pleats were winging out and it looked as though I had a pumpkin stuffed up the back of the dress.

Right now, I'm working on a new project: upcycling a vintage slip. I must, must, must get better about taking "before" pictures. I keep forgetting and it would be so inspiring to see the transformation.

Play along with me though, and picture a plain, cream-colored vintage slip.

First, I dyed it purple. I found some beautiful rose trim at Joanns and added that to the dye bath. Unfortunately, it didn't soak up the color as I'd hoped, so is quite a lot lighter than I anticipated. But that's OK. That's part of the fun of upcycling and trying new things: being surprised. 

After the slip had dried, I thought that,  in addition the trim,it needed some more bling.

The solution? BEADS!

I've never beaded anything in my life. My foray into jewelry design was disastrous as everything I made fell apart ... while I was wearing it. I'd never considered beading on fabric before but, inspired by Pinterest, dove in.

Here are the results so far:

You can see from the top picture the design, lightly, in blue. I just discovered washable fabric markers. I've heard of fabric chalk or tailor's chalk, but not these wondrous pens! The only  downside is that the tip catches a little on the silky fabric making curves a challenge. I didn't realize this before making the design.

The design is just something I doodled, then recreated on a piece of copier paper with Sharpie. After that, I slid it under the front of the dress and traced my pattern with the special fabric marker.

I'm enjoying this SO much! (Complete disclosure: I started and re-started beading about six times before it started to click. It was so frustrating!)

That's all for now--it's freezing here and I'm looking forward to a little more beading in a cozy corner before dinner prep.

PS if you're also into beading, you'll want to check out this site. I just found Nancy Eha's book last night at the library, called, Off the Beadin' Path. It's a bit old and I'm not sure if it's still in print, but I found some used on Amazon.

Gorgeous, Nearly Free, Fabric Cabbage Roses

I'm so looking forward to getting the time to make these gorgeous, swoon-worthy cabbage roses and peonies. Have you made anything similar?

Full confession--I haven't watched the tutorial all the way through. I did, however, attempt an abbreviated version of the photo tutorial ... unfortunately, my results would fit right into the Pinterest Fail category. 

I've got high hopes though that once I get to watch this complete video tutorial, all the wrinkles will be smoothed out sort of speak. 

2016 Hopes, Dreams & Creative Plans

Happy Holidays~Joyeux Noel~Merry Christmas~Happy New Year! 

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, filled with light, laughter and the companionship of good friends and family, time to enjoy the special smells, tastes and feelings that happen only this time of the year and a chance to breathe sometime during the busy season. 

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas ... and for the first time in I don't know how long, I didn't even feel tempted to dismantle the tree on December 26th! This is a record for me. In fact, it's still up in all it's silver and blue glory.

I'm glad it's now a new year, though I never make resolutions anymore (too discouraging) and rarely do anything special like go out and party the night before. Who wants to start the next year off hungover? 

I have been working on a mental list of creative projects and home-caring goals though. 

One is to do more sewing, especially upcycling. I have been drooling inspired by so many great pins on Pinterest and once I figure out how my new Instagram account works, I'm sure I'll find even more there. 

I would love to find a local sewing group to take classes, or better yet, just a circle of other women who I could meet with to sew and ask questions of. My skills are still pretty basic. 

Here is a creation I recently finished. I'm happily placing some of these items in the vintage shop in town. A friend and I are sharing a room there which I'm thrilled about. 

Posy made from upholstery fabric from a previous project

Vest--on it's way to Goodwill before I saved it from the bag

I have a bunch of other projects I'd like to try: reworking old hats, making hair accessories (Downton Abbey-style), skirts, tops, maybe making a neck warmer or two out of old suits ... 

In addition, this year we're planning to get chickens once again. We had them at our previous house but relocated them when we moved. This will require a coop and outdoor pen of some kind. 

I'd like to build another raised bed for the garden and a smaller raised bed to transplant some strawberry plants my Mom has been offering me. I'd love to also put hedge or fencing across the backyard for more privacy. (I've been wanting to do this for the past four years--will this year be the magical one where I actually take action?)

I want to learn some garden design. Someday my dream is to have a garden that looks half as good as this beautiful White Garden that Brandy created. I created an herb garden last year and loved it .. even though I forgot to collect herbs out of it most of the summer. (In fact, the little green sprig on the table above is rosemary from that garden. You can tell it's been an unseasonably mild winter here in Vermont for there to be anything green left outside other than pine trees.) 

Lastly, I want to keep saving for my next adventure, whatever that may be. We're planning a big trip this spring out west as a family, but I always have a jar of change that I save for my next solo adventure. Maybe one with Sisters on the Fly? Or maybe buying a vintage camper like I've been dreaming of?