motivation – Page 7

October 11, 2011October 19, 2011

Flow~~~

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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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…) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How To Get Outside Yourself (everydayintensity.com)

October 7, 2011October 11, 2011

Family Fridays–“Goals–Disappointment or Motivation?”

This 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!

Goals…Discouragement or Motivation? (jonibeach.com)
Playing @…In the Studio! (jonibeach.com)

October 6, 2011October 7, 2011

Playing @…In the Studio!

After posting about goals, discouragement, and motivation, I want to keep you posted of my time in the studio–playing @ with new ideas, experimenting with different methods, and a push to create, create, create.…

Here is a finished wall-hanging that is a gift for someone special:

I liked the style and colors of these squares that were found at a favorite quilt shop…The three were joined together with sashing and gold corner squares. After layering with a backing and batting, I quilted in-the-ditch around and with-in each block, and then used free-motion quilting to add motifs in the gold squares and sign my name & the date. Then, threadpainting was used to highlight the steam, whipped cream, and a few other details…

I’m centering and attaching this small art quilt by the top corners to an stretched canvas. It is Sea Images #1, which usually hangs in my husband’s office. This will give it a stage of sorts and more presence in the room as visual art.

Also, Lifeweaving #3 is coming along!–Layering the backing and batting and then basting the strips in place…more to come soon on that.

*FYI!! A great book for creative motivation is Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day, by SARK… For Fun & Inspiration visit her at www.planetsark.com.

~Hope you are enjoying your time this week as you strive towards your goals–don’t forget to have fun with the process!~