Slowly drifting into the new year, my studio set up shifted as furniture fell into new spaces. I spent time culling through the old and situating collected pieces intentionally — that included the artwork I displayed, the furniture I held onto, and the books that have enlightened me. I created a space that I am excited to belong and continue to work through the stories of my materials. How do you find that warmth in your own studio?

Outside of busy happenings in your day to day life, you get to divulge in an artistic practice daily. In this practice, you give yourself permission to be who you know you really are. You free your mind and let your imagination come to the forefront. This is your opportunity to step into life for yourself where you are your most amazing self and you suppress fear and inadequacy.

Stepping into your studio should wake something inside of you. You should feel energized, motivated, inspired, curious, joyful, and peaceful. You should effortlessly move throughout your creative practice without question or hesitation. Working in this manner is the definition of creating a studio — habitual — ritual and when this happens these emotions come in abundance.

Do you every create and get completely immersed the process? I’m referencing those moments that you realize you are completely in tune with yourself as the outside world becomes quiet. I refer to these as my slow studio moments and I believe that you can cultivate a practice where these moments are in abundance.

I read a lot of books in 2018 about personal development. A few of them really stood out to me as they related 100% to my creative lifestyle. They left me feeling inspired, refreshed, and motivated. As I moved into 2019, they sparked a lot of honest creative conversations with myself which in turn has helped me gain clarity and write killer goals for 2019. They are as follows:

Creativity is something that can be fed, nourished, and rejuvenated. Oftentimes, through seasons where inspiration falls short, practicing creativity becomes distant. It’s hard to bring back, challenging us to abuse inspiration. But what if you could call upon creativity and inspiration when you wanted? This is discipline, and it’s often a lost skill that every creative should have.

I recently read something in a book that stuck with me…

“— to keep your hand in your craft, to stay close to it.”

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert.

This resonated with me. I knew exactly why I started the 100 day project, but this summed it up in a perfect sentence.