Lilla here. Something else came up in a recent live Zoom event with my My Arty Book Pitch students that I wanted to share with you.
Here’s what I want you to know. I see how hard you’re working to get that project to happen, whatever it might be. For my My Arty Book Pitch students, it’s their illustrated book pitch, but it might be building a portfolio or setting up a new website or sending out kidlitart postcards or honing your style.
That new phase – learning new things, discovering new things you want to do – should never stop. Here I am, in my late 60s, and I’m still figuring out what floats my boat, how I can help, what makes me excited, and what I’m dying to do.
My first book, I just like to make things, for Quarry Books.
I want you to keep that passion. What else does passion bring with it, in the beginning? The I-don’t-know. The hard work. The fear. To give you hope, I do sometimes still feel fear now, but nothing like as much as I did in the beginning.
Some of my artwork. I love that I’ve been able to do so many different things in my life, and I’m still finding new things now that excite and scare me.
You’re so lucky if you have something that freaks you out! It means that you’re challenging yourself. If you’re willing to work hard for something and willing to be excited about it, then you will succeed.
I’ve got two mini exercises for you today, to help you get through whatever it is you’re working hard at at the moment.
Lilla’s mini exercise #1
This a journaling exercise for you, so grab your journal or sketchbook and your favorite pen or pencil. Think for a moment about whatever you’re working on at the moment and its sticking point, the bit that’s making it hard. You might ask yourself: why am I putting myself through this torture?!
Grab a pen or pencil and journal with me!
I want you to write down what you’re most excited about, what you enjoy most about this process, why you’re doing it – the end goal. Maybe it’s personal growth, the desire to create, because you need the thing you’re creating, it’s a lifelong dream, to inspire people, as a form of therapy, or because it’s your purpose in life.
And now write down what is fun for you in art-making, what you’re going to enjoy most either during the process or when you get to the end of it.
Lilla’s mini exercise #2
Make a postcard to yourself. Write whatever you’d like that will calm you or motivate you.
Here’s the postcard I mailed myself while I was writing my second book.
While I was writing my second book, I wrote this to myself:
“The book has its own plan, its own life. Let it be and do its own thing. Get out of its way.”
It doesn’t have to be very long, just a few sentences. Then mail it. That’s it! Try it: it’s a little bit of magic.
That’s all from me for today. I hope you found it useful.
If you’d love to hang out with me and get your questions answered, hear more of my stories, and maybe win a FREE place in our next live course, Bootcamp Special: Character Play, be sure to join me, Zoë Tucker and Riley Wilkinson for a FREE live Zoom event on Monday, July 10th. Pop it on your calendar now!
Mark your calendar:
- If you’re missing Assignment Bootcamp: Portfolio (or you’re kicking yourself for not signing up) then don’t miss Bootcamp Special: Character Play, which starts July 10th. Find out more here.
- Join Lilla, Zoë and Riley for a FREE live Zoom event on Monday, July 10th at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST. Set a reminder now!
- In our next newsletter: Get Part 1 of your FREE #MATSprep warm up exercise for Bootcamp Special: Character Play (and see the student who landed a cool paying job from last year’s Character Bootcamp prep!).
Your fearless art leader
