It amuses me when people say they are bored, or that they would never quit their day job or retire because they would have nothing to do. I'm pretty sure I have enough ideas to keep myself busy until I DIE.
Amen. The only legitimate excuse for being bored is being stuck in a boring event/meeting that you can't get away from. Heck, when I was in hospital lying on a gurney waiting for surgery, I occupied myself composing haiku about the ceiling tiles. Boredom is an attitude; change your attitude.
This is SO helpful. I always think "I already have so many projects that aren't finished. I can't start a new one until those get done." It's so liberating to hear you guys say "Why NOT?" Thanks!
Mine is a game of discovery. I write down the idea on an index card or post-it note and then toss it into the clutter. Days, months, or years later I will stumble across it and have the thrill of "OMG I forgot about this!! This is such a good idea! Why did I never do this!?" Then it is either the right time for it and it gets tackled or it goes back on top of the clutter to slowly sink back into obscurity only to be discovered again in a fit of excitement some time in the future.
I'm starting to put ideas on cards. I realized I have so many things that need attention in different areas of my life or I keep having ideas to work on creatively, I needed a way to keep track of them. I start with a piece of paper folded in 8 parts and I label each area or medium and I start to list everything. If I need to expand on one item, it goes on an index card.
"Jack of all trades but master of none, is often times better than master of one" is the full saying. Also "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back" I love the analogy of the hamster on a wheel in your brain, because that's totally how it feels!
You are absolutely correct - if you're a creative, you will never 'run out of creativity'. Normies do that. And for the record: having too many creative ideas all at once? I call that Tuesday.
Oh yes the dilemma that’s a lot of fun LOL! I write down a lot of my ideas so they can be saved for later! It’s honestly so hard to pick between drawing things sometimes though haha! Knowing that I will get to so and so eventually helps with the issue
Yeeee, I have maybe 20 or more canvases and I paint them as and when I want to. I've learned that if one or other isn't currently inspired, soon it will be the turn of that piece. And I always come back to them fresh. I have certain days when I need to use certain colours for my mood, so I'll pick out the work. In progress according to that. 😜
Me too. It's Hamsterville here. What helps me: notebooks, Trello, low budget white boards (bristol board with large, clear plastic garbage bag covering), index cards, phone notes, audio notes, sticky notes right in my face - stuck on the computer, and a cork board (I miss having that one),...
Ideas happen all the time and keep having idea babies. I use post -it notes and page margins a lot, especially when in the midst of another project. Then I stick them into my current or convenient sketchbook. I also run a ‘baby’ sketchbook which is hard bound and small enough to fit in a coat or cargo pant pocket. It carries notes, wordplay, doodles, compositions, house measurements, shopping lists, and poems- very non-fussy, but precious.
@delwyn klassen Omg! I have a book like that, but I always felt like it wasn't really allowed... like I'm misusing my "workbook" when I keep writing shopping lists and other to-do lists in it... but it's the one that's always near me, so it's really the most practical one to write things I need to remember down in, whether it is creative ideas, business goals, or lists of housekeeping stuff I need to remember... But now I suddenly feel that I'm allowed. (Hmm...might have to look into my need for validstion again 🤣) Anyways: Thank you 😊😊
it's hilarious that this is your topic for the day. Today I have put gilding on some of my resin Dragon hearts, Needle felted a pink dragon, sealed in resin my green abstract Dragon heart painting, shipped out glass dragon eyes. I move from Project to project constantly it's actually the only way that I can work without it feeling like work. I'm definitely a Jill of many trades and a master of a few.😁
I’m a watercolor artist, but I’ve done a bit of everything. Different mediums, pastels, oils , colored pencils, graphite, a lot of journal making, art dolls, quilts, etc. Right now I have the bug to create art dolls. Then I think “ you should be painting”. Well I want to create with fabric right now. So thanks to you two, that’s what I’m gonna do. . 🤪 I always kept a book of ideas . Tallahassee
A while back I stopped using the word deadline and instead started calling it a finish line. That helped me keep a more positive attitude toward completing work. I keep an idea file for the little embers and sparks that I jot down, and then revisit them when I have down time from work. If the idea is really strong I'll stop what I'm doing to tinker on it until I get the blaze under control. Usually takes a couple hours, but then it doesn't eat my brain or make me hate what I was working on before it ignited.
This is a topic near and dear. I need to keep a notebook for ideas, but what I actually do is write stuff down on post-its and index cards. I call them SBIs - Scathingly Brilliant Ideas. 😁. Luckily I do eventually get to most of them.
I keep mini notebooks in my purse, under my pillow, in my kitchen, in my car, in my drawer ay work because ideas just come flying through unexpectedly... plus I’m a day dreamer☺️
I clicked on this as soon as I saw it. That is totally me. In have a king sketchbook where I write and sketch all these ideas. Many will never come to life because I focus on the things that bring in money like some crappy roll-up design for a doctor's office. Plus my time is limited having a family and 2 little kids and online school and cooking and grocery shopping and all those things. However, some of those ideas end up coming to life and then I'm happy about it.
Hands down one of my most favorite videos y’all have ever made. I needed to hear this so bad you have no idea. ITS OK TO BE ME .......and I will not conform to others thoughts of what they think I am or what I am not or what I should be. 🎩🤎🍷
Above my drawing board are a couple of hooks with a few dozen sketches for future drawings and paintings. When I am looking for the next thing to do, I spread them out on the living-room floor, and stand on a chair. Looking down on all of them I reconnect with them, and find the right one to work on at that moment.
One thing I do when I am caught in decision-making paralysis is to toss a coin and go with whichever one wins. If that coin-toss points you towards something you find yourself less happy in doing, congratulations, you've just discovered which thing you'd *really* rather be doing, so go do that one instead. If the coin-toss gives you an outcome you're fine with, then good, go do the one which won the coin toss. The point is, if you're caught in decision-paralysis, then obviously the things must be of equal merit, so it *doesn't matter* which one you choose right then. The other one will still be there when you come back (if you wrote it down, that is). The coin-toss breaks the deadlock.
What do I do when I have too many creative hamsters running around in my head? Easy!! Call off work and be creative! Seriously, I do carry an art journal and I jot down drawings, notes, addresses and such. It is a traveler's style notebook by Dyan Reaveley that has heavy card stock instead of paper so I can even watercolor in it if I want. I can take a signature out of it and it will fit in a pocket if need be. Truly an artist's friend.
Over time, I tend to forget the original inspiration so I'm going to try to keep a link/copy of whatever it was that gave me the idea in the first place. Sometimes a quick thumbnail or a note is enough, but like writing a dream onto a notepad in the dark just means I've got an illegible, nonsense puzzle to work out in the morning. or as they say, the wheel's turning but the hamster's dead
I've started to do a top 10-20 list in the morning, stream of conscious- As I'm overwhelmed almost every day! That way the brain is freed up and then I pick one that strikes me the most on the list and start on that. It's not a to-do list to finish, it's listening to my chaos-self and saying "ok you'll do all that at some point, dear. What do you want to do first?" It's like my anxious inner child chills out then (for a while).
I've had ideas that seemed great, felt bad, sat in the idea book for ages and then I'm looking back at them and think up new better ways. I have a pocket sketch book for ideas and any projects that need materials or planning gets copied into the bullet journal. Idea book gets to be super random and anything because the thought of structuring or categorizing kills the excitement.
SUPER GREAT QUESTION! As a Multimedia Artist, THIS HAPPENS TO ME 24/7 !! My tag line used to be "My Imagination Never Sleeps" I started keeping an Idea Journal about 3 years ago and it really helped me a lot. By writing my ideas down, it removes that feeling of being "overwhelmed" from too many ideas or backed into a corner. Then I can return to them later, modify them, begin gathering materials, or dismiss the idea. Not EVERY idea I have on Monday might make it to Thursday as a viable idea. I find that by deferring action on an idea it also allows it to either "sink or swim" in my imagination. That said - there ARE ideas that I simply MUST DO when I am seized by them. This usually happens when I hear a piece of music and SEE the object or film clearly in my mind's eye in its finished state. So I vote YES! Keep an idea Journal for optimum Happy Happy Joy Joy!
Like Rafi and Klee said, Oh if you are serious about being creative, you absolutely must have a sketch book or note pad. Then you can look back and evaluate. As well, it lets you concentrate on what you are trying to finish NOW. Discipline. Bring that project to the end, whatever it is and then go back to your notes. A lot of times you will look back and think, "Was I possessed?" - "Honey, I think I was possessed!" HOWEVER, in that thing you captured in your sketch or note there is a seed of inspiration, an idea. This was a gift to you, a spark you captured out of the emptiness of the cosmos. Something to explore or at least understand. "Why did I think I should make a stained glass window of peonies the size of a barn door?" I don't do that, don't know how to do it, have no supplies, no place to do that work and expensive. But what inspired me? Work to understand. ALSO, a note book is the place to put those dark and black or negative things to get them out of your head, and of course you don't need to look at that stuff again.
I write down bits, create Pinterest folders, get some painted backgrounds on the go with my idea scribbled on the back of what I'm painting. Similar for my textile stuff but will go through my stash and select the base fabric to use and a note attached with the idea. I may not get back to these things for some time (sometimes years with the textiles) but having little scribbles and bundles partially created work well as place markers for all my ideas.
Hampster Farm! 😅 Make purses one day. Make jewelry on another. Design skirts on another. Enjoy the processes! Capture lightening in the bottle by jotting the idea down when it strikes! 👍🏾
Most of inspirations comes when driving. I jot down on a note pad. Sometimes I have dreams or visions. They keep repeating until I create it. 😬 If only artists can live longer just to create. 😆
Great video. I often used to feel some guilt when that thought to start a new project alongside what I already had begun to work on presents itself. Suddenly, I got all excited, full of charge and ready to dive in, but then that overly-critical voice interferes and be like: "You need to be a serious artist. Let that impulse go and stick to one project at a time." Of course, following that 'all serious attitude' only ends up in making me feel chained to an invisible pillar where I'm supposed to do what I'm dictated to. No freedom, no enjoyment of what I do. So yeah, it's important to try new things, shift the nature of the projects you work on throughout the day. It's very refreshing. :)
I just write everything down when my brain gets flooded with ideas. Then I put it aside and finish something I already started that needs to be done... by the time I get back to it I’ve had time to think and I know which ones to reject and which ones are worth putting more into... I could do this repeatedly to decide which ones I’m happiest about!!! On the other side of the coin, of course, is a singular obsession to do something from start to finish 😅
Love this topic. I agree with both things of if you’re able to, to start right away. I did this recently before the holidays on a painting I created for my brother based on Eddie Van Halen. I literally ignored any other artwork I was wanting to do because I felt so passionate doing that for him. It took over month but was so worth it. I also write things down too (sometimes I forget to and of course never remember it completely). I have to write the colors I want to use and style of painting too. It helps me so much.
I feel so happy I have discovered your channel guys, you are wonderful! it seems you have a video for every single question I am dealing with regarding my art career! so thank you! and answering to the theme... when I get overwhelmed with to many ideas or tasks I go and eat chocolates! hahaha... or read a book or do some of the household chores. It might sound like giving up but sometimes stepping back and doing something that isn't related to my work can help.
Wow! I was just talking about thus with one of my daughters, my mind is constantly filled with like yada, yada, yada , you have hit the point.YEAAAA😂🎉🎉
Great advice Klee and Rafi. Absolutely all of this resonates with me. I can be all over the map, and at 47, am only just really starting catch the odd 'hamster'. Great analogy too. Writing notes... I still jot notes, so many notes... but started using a MindMap app 'MiMind' for sorting ideas and for notes I use Google Drive's Docs so I can update 'on the run' on my phone and it updates on a cloud so my pc is updated too. Cya!
I must write my ideas down, because I can't keep up with them. However, I use acrylics because they actually dry fast enough to keep up with my train of imagination. But sometimes I have so many ideas I can't just go and do them.
Great topic. Definitely need to get in the habit of writing down ideas. Since I started painting, my sleep has dropped to about five hours a night. Ideas come to me at night usually, so my hamsters work overtime on the night shift. 😂 Angel Coleman
You guys really helped my unusual bout of anxiety. I’ve reached my limit of keeping myself same during isolation due to the pandemic. It’s getting to me. Seeing and hearing you two, rational, empathetic, self accepting, progress oriented lovelies has calmed and strengthened so I can get up and continue.
I appreciate you two so much! This year, I started writing down my first (reasonable) thought of the day, with the Intent of creating *something* in the future. I've been fachunking life, and most especially anything that impacts the rest of the family, like the state of the kitchen, for example. I fachunk/reward in a way that seems to have recently gelled into a workable situation that is helping keep anxiety about unfinished projects to a moderate level. Though I haven't done anything particularly 'arty' lately, I have finished a few projects in my mending basket, which has helped keep me going.
Klee should check out Rite In The Rain weatherproof notebooks. (Found them on Amazon.) They come in a variety of sizes and work with a regular pencil or crayon when the paper's wet. They also have their own pens that'll work when wet, too. Saw good reviews from police officers and military, so it must be good! I was about to get some for my newspaper job, but then covid came and I didn't have that job anymore. When I get ideas, they immediately go on post-its so I can refer to them later. There are always multiple projects going on so I can jump from one to another when inspiration strikes. I have to have variety. It's just part of who I am. I love photography, drawing, acrylic painting, sculpting, and making cosplays (which entails a bunch of skills, even many that I have yet to learn). Last year, I made my first mini canvas painting of a winter landscape with a train going by for my cousin. Had to follow a tutorial and translate it to fit a tiny canvas. It was a challenge, but turned out pretty good! Also made a yarn wig, clay sculptures, dyed rope and leather eye patches, and started a large painting. If you do a little at a time on various projects, you'll definitely make progress, as you guys were saying. Thanks for the talk!
Wow, I just watched your other stream but this seems to be right on point with kinda what I was asking about before so now I'm going to finish watching thank you Raffi and Klee I love your hairstyle, Klee,
8:16 that’s exactly how I work, whatever the mood is right for. Blog post, painting, sketch, small painting, website update, photographing art , it’s whatever I feel like doing in the moment or what is nagging at my to do list mind the most and is the easiest to tick off :) finding my password book became the priority so I could find my tax info for the business, after three hours of a audio book causing mess found it in the safe place I had put it . New safe place - the first place I looked, so should be easier next time but so good to have that ticked off the to do list. Now onto the next thing that I feel capable of .
I had. An idea many years ago to invent a device to write ideas down in the shower for that very moment when an idea comes mid shower, cause I get loads of ideas in the shower and you’d be surprised how many I lose even directly after the shower. When my kids were small we had these soap crayons they could draw on the bath. So I’m thinking washable crayons for adults to write on the shower tiles? Lol it’s a money maker I’m sure of it lol 😉
This resonates so hard with me right now, well forever actually. I'm frequently overwhelmed into a doing nothing corner, we've kinda become friends now. Although saying that I'm actually on my first art project for over a year and I'm loving it. Sooooo many ideas for this one area but I'm, for some reason, just keeping in making. It's fab 😍 Thank you guys 🥰
I am so guilty of not writing down ideas and have regretted it later. For some reason I struggle with it. This is great advise and I'm hoping to get better at writing things down.
My place is swarming with hamsters. I use sketchbooks with notes because I scribble a lot. They are beginning to make sense to me though and I see themes. I then have to choose the version of that theme that works best.
You guys are so awesome! Thank you si much. I have so many ideas and just get nothing done. But I also have important immediate responsibilities that must be done. So doing things like child might just work out for me. 😃🤪😂
I have notebooks & paper near me wherever I am so I can throw a net of writing/sketching over those ideas, to capture them before they scurry off. Currently at my desk- 5 notebooks, a sketchbook, index cards, 4 piles of scrap papers with notes, sketches, ideas, calculations, etc., post-it notes stuck to most vertical surfaces. Apparently I'm building nests for all the hamsters! (I'm also picturing Klee walking around with her bag overflowing with hamsters. Possibly felted.) Maybe give out numbers so they can line up in some kind of order?
Nice bag! This is why I have several WIPs hanging around. I also have a scribble book where the images are clear enough for me to remember but not full on drawings. With note its the scribbles are too scribbly.
Must be Tuesday. Too many ideas happening at once....which actually works well with my adhd. Several projects at once so I can move when the one thing needs to dry....or I'm needing a minute to debate design principles...or whatever.... n now it's suddenly freedom!
My ideas basically come in 3 ways. 1. I am just living life and something gives me a thought. I think to myself, “That is absolutely genius! “ andand I go to write it down immediately! 2. I’m sitting in front of a blank canvas and can’t think of anything, so I go on the Internet, looking for prompts. A pretty cool idea occurs to me and I start trying to get it down on the canvas. 3. I’m living life and an idea occurs to me! The kind of idea like Klee would have, that would make her jump out of the shower! But these ideas are not something I can write down! They require me to stop and address them right then! For example, it might be the words to a poem or song, and I will literally start scribbling or typing as fast as my hands can go! It might be for a beautiful piece of art, and I have to start sketching as quickly as possible! The reason for the urgency is because I feel like the idea isn’t coming from me, but more through me! It is as if the idea is being sent from some divine source through my body as a message of communication and I have to get that message down before the signal is lost!
Sometimes I write down an idea on a piece of paper (notebook and I are not friends.... I don't know why). Over time, those pieces accumulate and I put them in the recycle bin. I mainly let those ideas go. There's always another one coming my way. I know, it's kind'a disappointing tip and trick LOL In the end, if an idea is so good, it's going to stick and develop itself in the background (hamster's job). If it's not that good, it'll wilt away.
very informative indeed I always glean from your perspectives and ideas it truly is a blessing. I pray you both are doing well God bless you and thank you for what you do and all that you do Rafi in klee. Thank you for just simple ideas and things to help in life!
As I only do art as a hobby I often find myself pushing away my inspiration. I think ill try giving in for 5-10 min when i have it. Maybe ill get inspired to finish all the little ideas over time
One thing I'm upset over is that I've painted over some other work, then a few weeks later, I've realised I shouldn't have. I could have done such and such with it. I should have left it alone for a while and waited for that little extra bit of inspiration to happen naturally, instead of erasing it. Cheers from Australia
Or not putting ideas down. Write, sketch,... thumbnail whatever put it on a memo in the phone....whatever. just make something to jog your brain....years later when you're frozen it might be a spark.
Hey Rafi! Just a quick question to ask your opinion about best means of shipping prints or originals. I have pending orders for prints to go to Australia, And two clients in Greece! Previously, farthest shipping was UK...And that cost me $165.00 Canadian to ship...snail mail!! Any tips would be MOST APPRECIATED!! Thank You! 🙏🔥
It's weird. For me, I can keep inspiration for paintings in my head indefinitely, no matter the amount of ideas swimming around in there. But when I am inspired to write a poem, Iike KIees jewelery inspirations, I'II jump out the shower to start writing it down or eIse it's gone for ever. I have thousands of painting ideas just bouncing off of each other in my head and I can freeIy sit down at any time, pick one and draw it or paint it. Not so with a poem, it must be written the moment the inspiration for it comes.
Write all your ideas down and put them in a hat and draw one. Are you excited about the one Paul? Or, are you disappointed.? If you’re disappointed, then maybe you should try again.
There layered into condense expressions thematic of the body concentrically with writing on Snip - its for mice, cataloging subjective Views compacting SOUND intensity to saturated intense color up from the subtilty of silenced Hues.
It amuses me when people say they are bored, or that they would never quit their day job or retire because
they would have nothing to do. I'm pretty sure I have enough ideas to keep myself busy until I DIE.
Yup!
Amen. The only legitimate excuse for being bored is being stuck in a boring event/meeting that you can't get away from. Heck, when I was in hospital lying on a gurney waiting for surgery, I occupied myself composing haiku about the ceiling tiles. Boredom is an attitude; change your attitude.
This is SO helpful. I always think "I already have so many projects that aren't finished. I can't start a new one until those get done." It's so liberating to hear you guys say "Why NOT?" Thanks!
Mine is a game of discovery. I write down the idea on an index card or post-it note and then toss it into the clutter. Days, months, or years later I will stumble across it and have the thrill of "OMG I forgot about this!! This is such a good idea! Why did I never do this!?" Then it is either the right time for it and it gets tackled or it goes back on top of the clutter to slowly sink back into obscurity only to be discovered again in a fit of excitement some time in the future.
I like this so much more than just a sketchbook, which I never really look at again. But a little pile of cards would be great!
There would be so much clutter I'd drown lol
I'm starting to put ideas on cards. I realized I have so many things that need attention in different areas of my life or I keep having ideas to work on creatively, I needed a way to keep track of them. I start with a piece of paper folded in 8 parts and I label each area or medium and I start to list everything. If I need to expand on one item, it goes on an index card.
“We’re artists, we aren’t supposed to be responsible!” 😂🤣 Love you two.
"Jack of all trades but master of none, is often times better than master of one" is the full saying. Also "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back" I love the analogy of the hamster on a wheel in your brain, because that's totally how it feels!
Thanks so much for your help with my hamster problem. Wait, that sounds weird when i read back over it but I really appreciate. This is super helpful.
You are absolutely correct - if you're a creative, you will never 'run out of creativity'. Normies do that. And for the record: having too many creative ideas all at once? I call that Tuesday.
LOL! YES!
Love this! I think that's another shirt... Be irresponsible, embrace the artist within!😆
Oh yes the dilemma that’s a lot of fun LOL! I write down a lot of my ideas so they can be saved for later! It’s honestly so hard to pick between drawing things sometimes though haha! Knowing that I will get to so and so eventually helps with the issue
Yeeee, I have maybe 20 or more canvases and I paint them as and when I want to. I've learned that if one or other isn't currently inspired, soon it will be the turn of that piece. And I always come back to them fresh. I have certain days when I need to use certain colours for my mood, so I'll pick out the work. In progress according to that. 😜
Love that analogy with the hamsters. So true and is just me too! Love the journal idea Rafi & Klee.
Me too. It's Hamsterville here. What helps me: notebooks, Trello, low budget white boards (bristol board with large, clear plastic garbage bag covering), index cards, phone notes, audio notes, sticky notes right in my face - stuck on the computer, and a cork board (I miss having that one),...
Ideas happen all the time and keep having idea babies.
I use post -it notes and page margins a lot, especially when in the midst of another project. Then I stick them into my current or convenient sketchbook.
I also run a ‘baby’ sketchbook which is hard bound and small enough to fit in a coat or cargo pant pocket. It carries notes, wordplay, doodles, compositions, house measurements, shopping lists, and poems- very non-fussy, but precious.
@delwyn klassen Omg! I have a book like that, but I always felt like it wasn't really allowed... like I'm misusing my "workbook" when I keep writing shopping lists and other to-do lists in it... but it's the one that's always near me, so it's really the most practical one to write things I need to remember down in, whether it is creative ideas, business goals, or lists of housekeeping stuff I need to remember... But now I suddenly feel that I'm allowed. (Hmm...might have to look into my need for validstion again 🤣)
Anyways: Thank you 😊😊
it's hilarious that this is your topic for the day. Today I have put gilding on some of my resin Dragon hearts, Needle felted a pink dragon, sealed in resin my green abstract Dragon heart painting, shipped out glass dragon eyes. I move from Project to project constantly it's actually the only way that I can work without it feeling like work. I'm definitely a Jill of many trades and a master of a few.😁
I’m a watercolor artist, but I’ve done a bit of everything. Different mediums, pastels, oils , colored pencils, graphite, a lot of journal making, art dolls, quilts, etc. Right now I have the bug to create art dolls. Then I think “ you should be painting”. Well I want to create with fabric right now. So thanks to you two, that’s what I’m gonna do. . 🤪
I always kept a book of ideas . Tallahassee
A while back I stopped using the word deadline and instead started calling it a finish line. That helped me keep a more positive attitude toward completing work. I keep an idea file for the little embers and sparks that I jot down, and then revisit them when I have down time from work. If the idea is really strong I'll stop what I'm doing to tinker on it until I get the blaze under control. Usually takes a couple hours, but then it doesn't eat my brain or make me hate what I was working on before it ignited.
This is a topic near and dear. I need to keep a notebook for ideas, but what I actually do is write stuff down on post-its and index cards. I call them SBIs - Scathingly Brilliant Ideas. 😁. Luckily I do eventually get to most of them.
I keep mini notebooks in my purse, under my pillow, in my kitchen, in my car, in my drawer ay work because ideas just come flying through unexpectedly... plus I’m a day dreamer☺️
Awee you look so cute in your brown outfit and glasses Klee 💕 and the bag is beautiful and goes perfect with it!
I clicked on this as soon as I saw it. That is totally me. In have a king sketchbook where I write and sketch all these ideas. Many will never come to life because I focus on the things that bring in money like some crappy roll-up design for a doctor's office. Plus my time is limited having a family and 2 little kids and online school and cooking and grocery shopping and all those things. However, some of those ideas end up coming to life and then I'm happy about it.
Hands down one of my most favorite videos y’all have ever made. I needed to hear this so bad you have no idea. ITS OK TO BE ME .......and I will not conform to others thoughts of what they think I am or what I am not or what I should be. 🎩🤎🍷
Above my drawing board are a couple of hooks with a few dozen sketches for future drawings and paintings. When I am looking for the next thing to do, I spread them out on the living-room floor, and stand on a chair. Looking down on all of them I reconnect with them, and find the right one to work on at that moment.
One thing I do when I am caught in decision-making paralysis is to toss a coin and go with whichever one wins. If that coin-toss points you towards something you find yourself less happy in doing, congratulations, you've just discovered which thing you'd *really* rather be doing, so go do that one instead. If the coin-toss gives you an outcome you're fine with, then good, go do the one which won the coin toss. The point is, if you're caught in decision-paralysis, then obviously the things must be of equal merit, so it *doesn't matter* which one you choose right then. The other one will still be there when you come back (if you wrote it down, that is). The coin-toss breaks the deadlock.
What do I do when I have too many creative hamsters running around in my head? Easy!! Call off work and be creative!
Seriously, I do carry an art journal and I jot down drawings, notes, addresses and such. It is a traveler's style notebook by Dyan Reaveley that has heavy card stock instead of paper so I can even watercolor in it if I want. I can take a signature out of it and it will fit in a pocket if need be. Truly an artist's friend.
Over time, I tend to forget the original inspiration so I'm going to try to keep a link/copy of whatever it was that gave me the idea in the first place. Sometimes a quick thumbnail or a note is enough, but like writing a dream onto a notepad in the dark just means I've got an illegible, nonsense puzzle to work out in the morning. or as they say, the wheel's turning but the hamster's dead
I've started to do a top 10-20 list in the morning, stream of conscious- As I'm overwhelmed almost every day! That way the brain is freed up and then I pick one that strikes me the most on the list and start on that. It's not a to-do list to finish, it's listening to my chaos-self and saying "ok you'll do all that at some point, dear. What do you want to do first?" It's like my anxious inner child chills out then (for a while).
Thank you so much for sharing this!
This!!! Oh my stars the hamsters drive me crazy! Thank you for this!
I've had ideas that seemed great, felt bad, sat in the idea book for ages and then I'm looking back at them and think up new better ways. I have a pocket sketch book for ideas and any projects that need materials or planning gets copied into the bullet journal. Idea book gets to be super random and anything because the thought of structuring or categorizing kills the excitement.
I'm glad my squirrel squirrel is ok!!
SUPER GREAT QUESTION! As a Multimedia Artist, THIS HAPPENS TO ME 24/7 !! My tag line used to be "My Imagination Never Sleeps" I started keeping an Idea Journal about 3 years ago and it really helped me a lot. By writing my ideas down, it removes that feeling of being "overwhelmed" from too many ideas or backed into a corner. Then I can return to them later, modify them, begin gathering materials, or dismiss the idea. Not EVERY idea I have on Monday might make it to Thursday as a viable idea. I find that by deferring action on an idea it also allows it to either "sink or swim" in my imagination. That said - there ARE ideas that I simply MUST DO when I am seized by them. This usually happens when I hear a piece of music and SEE the object or film clearly in my mind's eye in its finished state. So I vote YES! Keep an idea Journal for optimum Happy Happy Joy Joy!
Like Rafi and Klee said, Oh if you are serious about being creative, you absolutely must have a sketch book or note pad. Then you can look back and evaluate. As well, it lets you concentrate on what you are trying to finish NOW. Discipline. Bring that project to the end, whatever it is and then go back to your notes. A lot of times you will look back and think, "Was I possessed?" - "Honey, I think I was possessed!" HOWEVER, in that thing you captured in your sketch or note there is a seed of inspiration, an idea. This was a gift to you, a spark you captured out of the emptiness of the cosmos. Something to explore or at least understand. "Why did I think I should make a stained glass window of peonies the size of a barn door?" I don't do that, don't know how to do it, have no supplies, no place to do that work and expensive. But what inspired me? Work to understand. ALSO, a note book is the place to put those dark and black or negative things to get them out of your head, and of course you don't need to look at that stuff again.
It can be overwhelming but I write it down in my notes app and take time to be grateful that I have an abundance of ideas instead of art block!
I write down bits, create Pinterest folders, get some painted backgrounds on the go with my idea scribbled on the back of what I'm painting. Similar for my textile stuff but will go through my stash and select the base fabric to use and a note attached with the idea. I may not get back to these things for some time (sometimes years with the textiles) but having little scribbles and bundles partially created work well as place markers for all my ideas.
Hampster Farm! 😅
Make purses one day. Make jewelry on another. Design skirts on another. Enjoy the processes! Capture lightening in the bottle by jotting the idea down when it strikes! 👍🏾
Someone get Klee one of those sketch pads that you can write under water with. So she can jot down notes and not risk life or limb 🤣👍🏻
🤪
Most of inspirations comes when driving. I jot down on a note pad. Sometimes I have dreams or visions. They keep repeating until I create it. 😬 If only artists can live longer just to create. 😆
Write it down!!! I always have ideas and I write them down in Notes on my phone for later. I have a huge list!!!
Great video. I often used to feel some guilt when that thought to start a new project alongside what I already had begun to work on presents itself. Suddenly, I got all excited, full of charge and ready to dive in, but then that overly-critical voice interferes and be like: "You need to be a serious artist. Let that impulse go and stick to one project at a time."
Of course, following that 'all serious attitude' only ends up in making me feel chained to an invisible pillar where I'm supposed to do what I'm dictated to. No freedom, no enjoyment of what I do.
So yeah, it's important to try new things, shift the nature of the projects you work on throughout the day. It's very refreshing. :)
Love this question! And the discussion! And beautiful purse!
Thanks Again for sharing Rafi! Look foreword to that shipping vid👌💥🙏
I just write everything down when my brain gets flooded with ideas. Then I put it aside and finish something I already started that needs to be done... by the time I get back to it I’ve had time to think and I know which ones to reject and which ones are worth putting more into... I could do this repeatedly to decide which ones I’m happiest about!!! On the other side of the coin, of course, is a singular obsession to do something from start to finish 😅
Love this topic. I agree with both things of if you’re able to, to start right away. I did this recently before the holidays on a painting I created for my brother based on Eddie Van Halen. I literally ignored any other artwork I was wanting to do because I felt so passionate doing that for him. It took over month but was so worth it. I also write things down too (sometimes I forget to and of course never remember it completely). I have to write the colors I want to use and style of painting too. It helps me so much.
Thanks for your feedback.You made me laugh and feel better about myself.
I carry a sketch book with me in my man bag everywhere.
I feel so happy I have discovered your channel guys, you are wonderful! it seems you have a video for every single question I am dealing with regarding my art career! so thank you! and answering to the theme... when I get overwhelmed with to many ideas or tasks I go and eat chocolates! hahaha... or read a book or do some of the household chores. It might sound like giving up but sometimes stepping back and doing something that isn't related to my work can help.
Wow! I was just talking about thus with one of my daughters, my mind is constantly filled with like yada, yada, yada , you have hit the point.YEAAAA😂🎉🎉
Great advice Klee and Rafi. Absolutely all of this resonates with me. I can be all over the map, and at 47, am only just really starting catch the odd 'hamster'. Great analogy too. Writing notes... I still jot notes, so many notes... but started using a MindMap app 'MiMind' for sorting ideas and for notes I use Google Drive's Docs so I can update 'on the run' on my phone and it updates on a cloud so my pc is updated too. Cya!
I must write my ideas down, because I can't keep up with them. However, I use acrylics because they actually dry fast enough to keep up with my train of imagination. But sometimes I have so many ideas I can't just go and do them.
Me too!
I’m always sketching, outlining, or jotting down ideas so I don’t forget them.
I have a problem with this too. I like what you said, just choose one!
Great topic. Definitely need to get in the habit of writing down ideas. Since I started painting, my sleep has dropped to about five hours a night. Ideas come to me at night usually, so my hamsters work overtime on the night shift. 😂 Angel Coleman
Such a timely video. Tonight I wrote down my next eight jewellery collections and I'm so excited that I want to make them all now 😂😂
You guys really helped my unusual bout of anxiety. I’ve reached my limit of keeping myself same during isolation due to the pandemic. It’s getting to me. Seeing and hearing you two, rational, empathetic, self accepting, progress oriented lovelies has calmed and strengthened so I can get up and continue.
This talk is so helpful for me right now. Thanks so much ☺️🙏
I appreciate you two so much! This year, I started writing down my first (reasonable) thought of the day, with the Intent of creating *something* in the future. I've been fachunking life, and most especially anything that impacts the rest of the family, like the state of the kitchen, for example. I fachunk/reward in a way that seems to have recently gelled into a workable situation that is helping keep anxiety about unfinished projects to a moderate level. Though I haven't done anything particularly 'arty' lately, I have finished a few projects in my mending basket, which has helped keep me going.
You guys are the BEST! 😍🙌🎨
Klee should check out Rite In The Rain weatherproof notebooks. (Found them on Amazon.) They come in a variety of sizes and work with a regular pencil or crayon when the paper's wet. They also have their own pens that'll work when wet, too. Saw good reviews from police officers and military, so it must be good! I was about to get some for my newspaper job, but then covid came and I didn't have that job anymore.
When I get ideas, they immediately go on post-its so I can refer to them later. There are always multiple projects going on so I can jump from one to another when inspiration strikes. I have to have variety. It's just part of who I am. I love photography, drawing, acrylic painting, sculpting, and making cosplays (which entails a bunch of skills, even many that I have yet to learn). Last year, I made my first mini canvas painting of a winter landscape with a train going by for my cousin. Had to follow a tutorial and translate it to fit a tiny canvas. It was a challenge, but turned out pretty good! Also made a yarn wig, clay sculptures, dyed rope and leather eye patches, and started a large painting. If you do a little at a time on various projects, you'll definitely make progress, as you guys were saying. Thanks for the talk!
Once again...THANKYOU 🌞
Wow, I just watched your other stream but this seems to be right on point with kinda what I was asking about before so now I'm going to finish watching thank you Raffi and Klee I love your hairstyle, Klee,
Let's be little wild children!!!
8:16 that’s exactly how I work, whatever the mood is right for. Blog post, painting, sketch, small painting, website update, photographing art , it’s whatever I feel like doing in the moment or what is nagging at my to do list mind the most and is the easiest to tick off :) finding my password book became the priority so I could find my tax info for the business, after three hours of a audio book causing mess found it in the safe place I had put it . New safe place - the first place I looked, so should be easier next time but so good to have that ticked off the to do list. Now onto the next thing that I feel capable of .
Great question.... and good thoughts and tips.
I have this issue all the time.
Thank you so much! 💖 I need to write everything down. I have no idea why I keep resisting this step. 🙃 I'm having too many hamsters up there 🤪
You got this!
I had. An idea many years ago to invent a device to write ideas down in the shower for that very moment when an idea comes mid shower, cause I get loads of ideas in the shower and you’d be surprised how many I lose even directly after the shower. When my kids were small we had these soap crayons they could draw on the bath. So I’m thinking washable crayons for adults to write on the shower tiles? Lol it’s a money maker I’m sure of it lol 😉
This resonates so hard with me right now, well forever actually. I'm frequently overwhelmed into a doing nothing corner, we've kinda become friends now. Although saying that I'm actually on my first art project for over a year and I'm loving it. Sooooo many ideas for this one area but I'm, for some reason, just keeping in making. It's fab 😍
Thank you guys 🥰
I am so guilty of not writing down ideas and have regretted it later. For some reason I struggle with it. This is great advise and I'm hoping to get better at writing things down.
You guys rock!💜💜💜🙏🙏🙏
My place is swarming with hamsters. I use sketchbooks with notes because I scribble a lot. They are beginning to make sense to me though and I see themes. I then have to choose the version of that theme that works best.
you can do it Shawan!! 🙌
i really needed this right now. Thank you guys! :-)
Good day. Thanks!
You guys are so awesome! Thank you si much. I have so many ideas and just get nothing done. But I also have important immediate responsibilities that must be done. So doing things like child might just work out for me. 😃🤪😂
Cool I jam too. Great video.
Going through this right now. Thanks for the great video 🙏🏼
I have notebooks & paper near me wherever I am so I can throw a net of writing/sketching over those ideas, to capture them before they scurry off. Currently at my desk- 5 notebooks, a sketchbook, index cards, 4 piles of scrap papers with notes, sketches, ideas, calculations, etc., post-it notes stuck to most vertical surfaces. Apparently I'm building nests for all the hamsters! (I'm also picturing Klee walking around with her bag overflowing with hamsters. Possibly felted.) Maybe give out numbers so they can line up in some kind of order?
Nice bag!
This is why I have several WIPs hanging around. I also have a scribble book where the images are clear enough for me to remember but not full on drawings. With note its the scribbles are too scribbly.
Must be Tuesday. Too many ideas happening at once....which actually works well with my adhd. Several projects at once so I can move when the one thing needs to dry....or I'm needing a minute to debate design principles...or whatever.... n now it's suddenly freedom!
That was great!! Thanks!
My ideas basically come in 3 ways. 1. I am just living life and something gives me a thought. I think to myself, “That is absolutely genius! “ andand I go to write it down immediately! 2. I’m sitting in front of a blank canvas and can’t think of anything, so I go on the Internet, looking for prompts. A pretty cool idea occurs to me and I start trying to get it down on the canvas. 3. I’m living life and an idea occurs to me! The kind of idea like Klee would have, that would make her jump out of the shower! But these ideas are not something I can write down! They require me to stop and address them right then! For example, it might be the words to a poem or song, and I will literally start scribbling or typing as fast as my hands can go! It might be for a beautiful piece of art, and I have to start sketching as quickly as possible! The reason for the urgency is because I feel like the idea isn’t coming from me, but more through me! It is as if the idea is being sent from some divine source through my body as a message of communication and I have to get that message down before the signal is lost!
👍👍
James 😁
Sometimes I write down an idea on a piece of paper (notebook and I are not friends.... I don't know why). Over time, those pieces accumulate and I put them in the recycle bin. I mainly let those ideas go. There's always another one coming my way. I know, it's kind'a disappointing tip and trick LOL
In the end, if an idea is so good, it's going to stick and develop itself in the background (hamster's job). If it's not that good, it'll wilt away.
I usually write it, and start the project on the right moment.
very informative indeed I always glean from your perspectives and ideas it truly is a blessing. I pray you both are doing well God bless you and thank you for what you do and all that you do Rafi in klee. Thank you for just simple ideas and things to help in life!
Good advice!😎🖖🏽💙
I missed you guys!!!
Yep. All the time.
As I only do art as a hobby I often find myself pushing away my inspiration. I think ill try giving in for 5-10 min when i have it. Maybe ill get inspired to finish all the little ideas over time
What happens when the hamsters turn into squirels 🐿️? Oh-O! That could be bad it can drive you nuts 🥜ha ha ha....😋
Or f-ing ferrets? XD
One thing I'm upset over is that I've painted over some other work, then a few weeks later, I've realised I shouldn't have. I could have done such and such with it. I should have left it alone for a while and waited for that little extra bit of inspiration to happen naturally, instead of erasing it. Cheers from Australia
When this happens to me, I write all the ideas down, sketch them, and then just pick one and go back to the list when I need to.
I surely understand being paralyzed by too much inspiration. I am experiencing this right now, actually....
Or not putting ideas down. Write, sketch,... thumbnail whatever put it on a memo in the phone....whatever. just make something to jog your brain....years later when you're frozen it might be a spark.
I run it through the brain and do a concept sketch until I work out details.
We must remember: hamsters don't live long. Write the idea on the steamy bathroom mirror because before you know it, the hamster is dead!
Hey Rafi! Just a quick question to ask your opinion about best means of shipping prints or originals. I have pending orders for prints to go to Australia, And two clients in Greece! Previously, farthest shipping was UK...And that cost me $165.00 Canadian to ship...snail mail!! Any tips would be MOST APPRECIATED!! Thank You! 🙏🔥
I'm awful with this. Especially going into art stores lol my brain will start firing off ideas and it's overwhelming
Jack of all trades has a full phrase that makes using it as an insult silly.
It's weird. For me, I can keep inspiration for paintings in my head indefinitely, no matter the amount of ideas swimming around in there. But when I am inspired to write a poem, Iike KIees jewelery inspirations, I'II jump out the shower to start writing it down or eIse it's gone for ever. I have thousands of painting ideas just bouncing off of each other in my head and I can freeIy sit down at any time, pick one and draw it or paint it. Not so with a poem, it must be written the moment the inspiration for it comes.
Write all your ideas down and put them in a hat and draw one. Are you excited about the one Paul? Or, are you disappointed.? If you’re disappointed, then maybe you should try again.
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There layered into condense expressions thematic of the body concentrically with writing on Snip - its for mice, cataloging subjective Views compacting SOUND intensity to saturated intense color up from the subtilty of silenced Hues.
This is what I call idea block...