Category: Life

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Flow~~~

River...Flows

In art, as in life, experiencing a state of flow can be very exciting and great motivation in moving toward one’s goals. 

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Flow, (c) 2011 Joni Beach.

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In Flow

 [click to view You-Tube video of Csikszentmihalyi on Creativity, Fulfillment, & Flow.]

~In Flow your activity matches your skill level–mismatches equal boredom if too easy or anxiety and frustration if too difficult.

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Lost in Time

~We lose an awareness of time…our focus and concentration is on the creative process and task at hand.

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Go With the Flow 

~It includes patience and an easy, gentle pace…but also the failures, frustrations, impatience, and rebellions! (Make Your Creative Dreams Real, by SARK)

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Optimal Experience

~ In the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi discusses that creativity and being in flow contributes to an optimal human experience.  When our activities are balanced between being a  challenge but within our skill level, we enjoy a state of concentration and a sense of well-being. I think of it as a chance to test myself––in a fun way!                                                

* Today in the studio I will be quilting a wall-hanging–When do you experience being in Flow?    

If you have the time, I’d love to hear your thinking!  (To Leave a Comment–click below…)                                                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

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Family Fridays–“Goals–Disappointment or Motivation?”

Pumpkin PatchThis week there was a theme on my blog-–goals. Earlier this week, I observed that as an artist failing to reach a goal can be disappointing and discouraging. In our families, especially as parents, we may experience a similar thing. Having goals and expectations, along with perhaps being perfectionistic with ourselves and our family members, may lead us to feel stressed if the end results are not always what we want. Can’t this actually present additional stress and add to problems rather than lessen them?

Instead of viewing goals as end results that must be achieved, perhaps goals can be set to use as a guide to help us move in the direction that we would like to go…an aid in seeing a vision of our families that we would like to encourage and strive toward. For example, instead of saying my child must make all A’s on their report card, a parent’s goal might be that their child will learn, develop, and gain confidence in their abilities as they grow as a person. Then, our goals become motivation with positive encouragement, regardless of the specific end results. In the end, this may lessen our disappointment and raise our confidence in meeting life’s challenges along the way.

I have not met all of my goals for the week, but I am working in the direction I’d like to go…How about you?

As the fall colors and warm days are here, enjoy the weekend!

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Goals…Discouragement or Motivation?

One of the most difficult things for me to deal with is to fail to meet a goal. Not particularly when I procrastinate and run out of time, or begin but never finish, but whenever I put all of my time and energy into a project, finish it, but fail to get the results I had expected and hoped for. Being a bit of a perfectionist in some things, I usually expect that if I work on something hard enough it will be a success, so when it doesn’t, I have a problem!

Many times in the studio I become discouraged for this reason. In working toward my artistic goals, I often must remind myself of the importance in finding a balance between the artistic expression of an idea and certain end goals, such as entering exhibits and selling pieces. While professional artists engage in many tasks related to running a business, the skills are not always taught in colleges and must be acquired after graduation on their own. So, at times discouragement and self-doubt creeps in and hinders creative and professional development.

Backing Lifeweaving #3
A Studio Goal: Lifeweavings #3, Quilt the Top, Finish Details and Photograph...Enter Into a Juried Exhibit.

As my week begins there are previous projects to finish and new tasks to begin. I plan to turn on music (instrumental, no vocals), focus, and quilt Lifeweaving #3. For awhile I need to push myself to create many art pieces of various sizes, experiment with techniques, and play around with ideas–with less concern about the end goals. Some research shows that this approach results in more creative outcomes than working very slowly on only a few pieces. Perhaps it frees the creative, right-brain processes or just allows for a break and new motivation to continue.

Though disappointing at times, I need to continue working and realize that perhaps not all goals are meant to be met…

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