Lauren Lately vol 1

*L A U R E N    L A T E L Y *

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v o l   1: C R E A T I V I T Y

Hello, friends! Today I am starting a new series on the blog. In this series I want to share one thing I have been inspired by lately, major life events, fun new online finds, or really anything I feel like sharing:)

Today I would like to talk about the topic of creativity. I’ll share a few of my own thoughts and then share a YouTube channel on this topic that I recently found that I have been loving.

I’m not going to lie, sometimes I feel like my art is garbage. I will sit down to draw something or hand letter something, and it doesn’t turn out like I was picturing in my head. Whenever this happens it makes me SO GRUMPY, and I start questioning why I even tried in the first place.

Let’s discuss those feelings . . .

Um, hello, Lauren [or insert your name here]. If you don’t try and fail, how will you learn??

You cannot expect every little piece of art you create to be a masterpiece. It is an unrealistic and unhealthy expectation.

If you forget #2, you are likely to quit in frustration and anger, before you give yourself a chance to really bloom as an artist.

When you produce something that you don’t love, analyze it. Figure out exactly what it is that you didn’t like about it. 

1. Sometimes I even ask someone else for some feedback. Usually this is Kaleb, but I’ll talk to my sisters for ideas as well. This can make me feel very vulnerable, and I don’t always do this. But true collaboration done with love can work wonders.

 TRY AGAIN. It can be so tempting to put the paintbrush away when you have produced garbage art, but if you do that, you are letting your frustration win. Work through that anger with your pencil, and try fixing the things you did not like. Start on a new, fresh page. Take a quick walk and come back to it.

1. Sometimes when I’m not loving my art, I will literally write the word “garbage” about 100 x on the page, and suddenly I’m writing it a little more creatively, finding new places to add flourishes and other little tweeks. Then I look at the page, see the word garbage written 100 x and giggle! All of a sudden:Yay, I’m back!

Just so you know, this happened to me literally yesterday. I was trying to write “Keep Provo Awkward” (because I live in the weirdest town ever) and my flourish would not work. I tried reworking it so many times and it just wouldn’t come together. I was so mad! So I took my own advice. I analyzed exactly what it was that wasn’t working. I grabbed a fresh page and tried again. And voila! It finally came together. You can see it on my instagram account

This is something that I am still working on. It is a continual journey. I recently found M.D. Cambell’s YouTube channel, and I feel so inspired when I listen to him. He basically produces a podcast while you watch him doodle. I wanted to share my favorite video that he has produced. It is all about doing art when you are feeling low:

I love a lot of his other videos as well. He has a way of talking about art in a really honest way that I can understand and learn from. (This isn’t a sponsored post, by the way. I really do like his stuff and wanted to share!)

Is fighting this feeling something that you also encounter? What are some ways you have found success in overcoming the artsy blues? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Have a lovely little day,

Lauren