What Inspires You?

So my dear Quirksters, I have recently acquired a little book called, "Show Your Work!" by Austin Kleon,  www.austinkleon.com. You can check out his other stuff on his site. But the basic idea behind this particular book is to share what inspires you.

Wonderful artwork inspires me to try my hand at different mediums or create a new character.





So here is a short list of some inspiring artists and how you can get your hands on their stuff, and maybe they'll spark something in  YOUR head too. You're welcome.

1. http://www.bkartonline.com
This guy can turn a phrase and draw the most outrageous steampunk illustrations. Yessssss. Very inspiring. 

Walking your Octopus: A guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod by Brian Kensinger



2. Gris Grimly. The most amazing creative genius.
Check out some of his characters.
Enter his website at your own risk;) https://www.madcreator.com/

3. Edward Gorey. Brilliant writer and lovely line drawings.
FYI: His writing and humor are very dark, but if you're up for it? Quite delightful:)

So these are a few of my favorite things...they get the old creative spices spicing, and juices juicing. There are so many more artists, writers, musicians, poets, entrepreneurs, that serve to inspire others, but I thought I'd whet your appetite and begin the sharing. Won't you share with the rest of us too?
What (who, where, when) inspires you?
Talk soon my quirky friends,
xoxo robyn

3 ways to put some OOMPH in your life:)

Putting some "oomph" in your life may sound like some random sound? But I'm betting that just about all of us relate to fresh starts and looking forward to "somethings". Well, here at Quirkified we are all about jump starting creativity and just plain old enjoying life. So what CAN we do this year to add a little "oomph".

1. Prioritize. I find it interesting that the phrase "Mind, Body, Spirit" puts the "spirit" at the end of the train. Personally, I think that maybe our spirit, the part that God speaks through and to, should probably be running the show. Make room to listen to His voice and I'm pretty sure the rest will follow along, and it doesn't get more "oomph"-like than that. Really give Him a genuine opportunity to speak to you, you will be more than pleasantly surprised.

2. Give it a "GOal". Set small goals that you are drawn to accomplish. We ALL have them. Those things that tickle at the back of our brains? Those tickles are another way that God is talking to us, that tiny whisper is His voice.
Some personal goals? Organizing my crafty ways. Learning new ukulele songs. Creating new illustrations that resonate kind words. How will I do any or all of these this year? One small step at a time. Probably through sticky notes that I can rip up one at a time. I LOVE that:)

3. Challenge yourself every.single.day. This doesn't have to be something huge, but the smallest tweak to your routine can snap you out of the doldrums and put that spring in your step. Hence, the "oomph". For me? I want to try things that maybe I wouldn't normally do. True confession: As old as I am, I STILL have never eaten in a restaurant by myself, not even fast-food. So, it may not be a big deal to someone else? but to me it's a challenge.

So what do you think Quirksters? Is this your year to: Prioritize, Set GOals, and Challenge yourself?
Is this the year you will look back on and realize it's when you actually began?
OR even better, you found your finish line:)

Talk soon my friends, xoxo

Free Your Mind:)

So when you think of the phrase, "free your mind" maybe it evokes daydreams, magic mushrooms or endorphins. Something that comes easily and requires little effort or the effort required seems more like a pleasure than any type of work.  This week I tasked all of you quirksters with write.it.down, but maybe you have a different way of doing that. Maybe, just maybe, your way of writing things down and leaving a new space to be occupied in your head is by creating some type of art. So what IS your type of art?

In my creative endeavors I find for myself that time grows lovely wings and my brain starts freewheeling when I just simply. Begin. Gearing up to actually begin can take an awful lot of effort, but once it has begun? yikes! time certainly does fly and the world with all of its worries turns into possibilities.

So how have you "begun" recently? Did you write something down? draw it? doodle it? sing it or dance it? Did you read a book that inspired you? How have you begun to free your mind?

Let's encourage each other! We have a whole weekend ahead of us. Let's use it:)

Thinkertoys:)

What do YOU see???

I recently have started reading a creativity jump start book called, "Thinkertoys" by Michael Michalko. It has lovely assignments and is a great motivational read...if you're into that... which, personally I am:) But I know that not everyone is, and here at Quirkified, we're all about the small steps. So I will be more than happy to share some of the more "do-able" ideas in this truly incredible book.

First of all, how do YOU see things? what do you see when you look at the graphic on the left of this page? There is absolutely no "right" answer. You see what you see. But since we all experience the world around us in different ways, maybe if we tweak things a bit we can tap into our creativity and make being creative a part of our daily lives.

The other thing I love about reading books like this, is it usually inspires me to make lists of ideas. I use my Iphone "note" app to keep track of the ideas that pop into my brain during the day.  Some I'm working on, and some are so out there that I know I would need to get professional advice in order to see the concept into fruition. But that's okay... every day it is such fun to be able to take the unique gifts that God has given us and see what we can come up with:)...

Sooooooo... here's our assignment for the next week:  Explore your world; through the people you meet, places you go, shows that you watch, books that you read, music you listen to... the list is endless of all the input that you have in your life. Then, either at night or in the morning write 3 ideas that have popped into your head, use post-it's, a designated notebook, your own Iphone "note" app and jot away! You will probably find that there's a trend of ideas; mine usually go towards children's stories and illustrations, but there might be a sight, smell, taste that sparks your next note. Write.it.down. Try to let these special moments count and who knows, when you're looking for "something to do" or your thinking of doing something "different", you'll have the basis for some great creative stuff.

By the way? I'm going to talk up my creative mom over at "He Leadeth Me" on Face Book. The page is just now coming together, but she has some very creative ideas to spark your interest in her book and you'll have the opportunity to interact with this lovely author (I am completely unbiased here...)

Until the next time Quirksters, (I will try to be much more diligent about writing)... keep noticing and filing away those experiences, you never know what you'll create next!

just try!

I would love to know how many of us struggle with not even trying or attempting something because we're afraid it won't be what we've imagined in our heads. Well, I'm here to share with you that no matter WHAT we do, we have room for tweaking, adjusting, changing and improving. If we don't give things a shot, how will we know if we're getting it right or not?

A couple of suggestions? Look back on something that you've done that inside of your head and heart you have a bit of a satisfied smile. This is not bragging or being full of yourself, it's just allowing you to move forward with a little bit of success and use that as a stepping stone to your next attempt at something that has been nudging at the corners of your creative little mind.  Now, think about that thing that you've been wanting to do, but you keep stopping yourself because you can't seem to motivate past the concept that you might fail. But who's going to know if you fail? Why not take a class, or ask someone that you respect their ability, and just be brave and go for it a little bit. It's actually kind of an adrenaline rush when we take a peek outside of our comfortable shell and look around a little to see our creative world with a fresh vision.

Okay, I'll share...recently I took a caricature class. The teacher was motivating and comforting in the fact that he mentioned that it would take, "practice, practice, practice." As an individual who has been doing some sort of drawing ever since I can remember, this was a new type of discipline for me...draw something, critique it, learn from it, then rip it up. You don't have to get it "right", you just have to get used to seeing with a new set of eyes. The first couple of days after class I attempted some caricature's and I promptly critiqued them and tore them up. But I don't think I want to give up yet. I've decided that the "trying" is just part of the process and that I want to "try",  as much as I want to be successful at this new discipline, it's the trying part that I want to emphasize.

Soooooo, maybe it's something new? that you're really not very good at right now? or maybe it's something you've done for close to forever, but you've never put it out there. Bottom line? just try.

it's not the end:)

I'm pretty sure the whole world is thinking about the end of 2014... maybe it's with relish, "phew, that year's finally over, it really STUNK!"or maybe it's with a bit of a "meh" there was good, there was not so good, but I'm looking forward to that fresh start. Maybe, just maybe, this was the year of success, change, motivation and exciting journeys, maybe all of the good that happened FAR outweighs any inconvenience, sadness or depression.

As with every year, there are always ups and downs, (understatement, I know) some of those downs can be overwhelmingly life changing and so challenging that we don't know how to maneuver to the "up". But I want to go back to my roots when I think of being down and getting stuck there, my mom always told me to "do something for someone else". No, I have not had a lot of personal experience with extreme struggles, trials and tragedy, but my mom has! and frankly she truly walks the walk and talks the talk of how to crawl out of those dark places in life. (shameless plug here). She recently finished a book called, "He Leadeth Me", by Charlotte Halsell Bradshaw (you can find it on Amazon, wink, wink). This little book chronicles how God has led her through some mighty fine times, but also how His voice guided her through some trials that would make the strongest soul crumble if they didn't have the Creator of the Universe talking them through it.

My point here is, and as usual I DO have one, we have 365 days within a year. But who says that December 31, 2014 at 12 midnight has to denote "the end". Yes, it is the actual end of 2014, (thank you to any doubters out there about my "point"), but it is NOT the end of trying, striving and attempting to make a difference. We definitely have to start with ourselves and what daily attitude we will put on, but if our circumstances are less than stellar, sometimes the circumstances may win. So what do we do? Choose our attitude, choose to step outside of our circumstances, choose to see the glass half full, choose to forget about ourselves for awhile and do something for someone else. There are 8,760 hours in a year and they can begin at any point, there really is only one "end". So until that day comes? Maybe you can make some conscious choices to move forward, it may be inch by inch, but
 you'll get where you want to go eventually. Because it's really not the end.

Let's continue this conversation in the next several days with some practical "how-to's"
Hope all is well with you my quirksters
Talk to y'all soon
xoxo
r

Holiday Humbuggers;)

"Hello Mr. Humbug, Hello Mr. Grimm"
God Bless us Everyone;)

Perhaps you're one of those that is comPLETEly overwhelmed with the holidays. Be it Christmas, New Years, Winter Solstice or any other winterized event that is worth raving about. Maybe the thought of family, friends, gatherings and all the frivolity involved just sounds like a big old energy drain and you don't know what you can do to ease into any of these moments or what you can officially "bring to the party", so to speak. I have a few suggestions, in particular, ones that focus on bringing back the fun in your Christmas and maybe letting go of some expectations of Martha Stewart-like buffets, decorations and home-made (aka thousands of man hours) gifts that are meticulously prepared, made and wrapped or served with unique flair and intention. Some of these have actually been tested by myself (or ones close to me), others just sounded like fun. So here goes:

1. Let it GO! There is a reason why this "Frozen" anthem rings true with so many listener's, we all need to attempt to let some things go, particularly at this time of year... maybe it's shoving things into a closet or closing a door on a less than perfect room in order to throw together an impromptu hot chocolate party. Maybe it's putting aside our differences with family members or seasonal friends (those people that always attend your family parties that you have nothing in common with...) and trying to find something that you can share. Needless to say, maybe this shouldn't necessarily be a "Frozen" anthem? maybe we would all be a lot less stressed in our lives if we could just let.it.go.

2. Gifts of time. Never underestimate the fact that your time can be given as a gift. You don't have to give a $50.00 gift card to someone that already has absolutely everything they need. Maybe it can be an interactive gift, making something with someone, a craft project or some kind of memory that they can keep forever. My mother-in-law loves when we jot a note and wrap it saying, "we will bring a tea party to YOUR house!" or any other gift of time. It's special for everyone and memories don't get thrown into the Salvation Army curbside give away bag.

3. Take a walk and take it all in. Slow down a bit and check out the lights in your neighborhood. Slow down is the key here, I know everything seems to be first on the scale of importance? But if you're exhausted then no fun will be had and your moments will be fuzzy and a blur of busyness.

4. Prioritize. What needs to come first? In appreciation of a season of wonder and love, perhaps acknowledging why we have this season in the first place. Taking more than just a perfunctory moment to bow our heads and thank God for saving us through His son Jesus. What an amazing, loving and thoughtful God to have created a way that we can be with him. This is where my thoughts become overrun, because as a human being I cannot even fathom the sacrifice that He made for us. So take time to thank Him, for humbling himself and coming to earth as a helpless baby, and experiencing everything that we experience...painful humanity, and living life on this earth with us and then allowing himself to be sacrificed in the most excruciating way possible... but THEN overcoming death... yes, this is a part of Christmas, CHRISTmas and acknowledgement of Him will help gain perspective on what is important in our lives. We might all be surprised by the peace that He provides within us when we put the one who created us first in our lives.

5. Give! Do something for a stranger, a distant relative, a frenemy, a neighbor that you never see except when you back out of your driveway at the same time.  See #2 for "gifts of time" there is a lot to be said for taking a moment and dropping a note to someone, calling, texting, waving, hugging, shaking a hand, put a posy in someone's mailbox, sing some Christmas Carols at the mall, hospital or rest home.

I'm pretty sure you mightlook at this list and think AAACK I can't do any of these things, I'm just overwhelmed looking at this post. But maybe you can start with #4 and see where your priorities lie and listen for sweet gentle guidance on what you can do to have a lovely, peaceful holiday season.

So blessings on all of your heads, talk to y'all soon,
xoxo
r