MATTERS OF INSPIRATION AND FEAR – Part 1

Last week, I shared some of my thoughts on faith and inspiration – you can view this post right here. This week, at the encouragement of my friend Lauren (who you will read about below) – I have interviewed a talented bunch of creatives whom I met through Instagram on matters of fear and inspiration. This post will be a two part series – I do hope their varied talents, knowledge and honesty inspires you just as much as they have me. I do love that inspiration can be a form of motivation and that goodness – that stuff is always catching! Would you too agree?

Speaking of shared goodness – pictured here in my office is an artwork created especially for this post by Lauren from Seeinteriors. It’s such a cute reminder… and it will also be available here in this post as free printable :-). There is also another cheekier version which will be available in next week’s post. Thank you sweet lady! Ok, enough chit chat from me – it’s over to the ladies now. Each were asked a few simple questions and here are their lovely answers.

[su_heading]SANGTHEBIRD[/su_heading]

noticing the little things… You can follow Leah on Instagram here

• My favorite image… I think what I love most about this image is the emotion it holds for me. The grubby hands of my almost 8 year old daughter holding a teeny egg in a teensy nest like it is the most precious thing in the world. I like that it is simple and in a way encapsulates our everyday. Simplicity and eggs (lots of eggs) everyday.

• Who am I most inspired by… This is a hard question…. There are so many people on IG who inspire me, and for lots of different reasons. I am inspired by people documenting their creative journey, by the people who are living their creative dream. By seeing how other people live – the little snapshots that are like peeking inside their world. And I am always, always inspired by the beautiful, heartfelt people that are my Instagram community. If I have to choose just a few Intagrammers who inspire me I would start with Satsuki Shibuya @satsukishibuya. She inspires me with her honest heart connected artwork and the pared down beauty in her everyday. Deborah @larksnest inspires me with the beauty and nature in all her images. Diviness in nature. I love the beautifully curated feed of Shiki Masuda @shikimasuda, I am drawn to and inspired by her minimalist yet warm images (there is no minimalist in my life, so I live vicariously through her), plus she has supported me from the beginning of my IG journey.I am also in love with Mariana’s @m2matiz images. Her urban inspired beauty feels a world away from my country living and I love that. And Christy @cjpics because her images fill my heart with joy.I could go on and on, there really are so many IGers that I love….

• How do you deal with fear and how do you not let it affect your work/consume your creativity… Fear does affect my work (if I let it in, and often I do). It affects my confidence and my belief in myself, and causes me to lose the ability to assess my work with heart and compassion. For as long as I can remember, I have been guilty of listening to, and believing the negative voice inside my head. If  I let these thoughts/beliefs go unchecked, that is when my self-doubt begins to take over. My fear: a fear of failure, of not being good enough, of not being creative enough. My fear/self-doubt arises out of my instinctive desire to protect myself, but what am I protecting myself from? Criticism? Judgement? Failure? Are any of these really that bad??? The best way for me to deal with fear when it visits is to sit with it and experience fear as a sensation in my body; without the mental drama (ie “oh my gosh, am I going to fail?…”). I often find that my mental chatter is so much worse than the reality. It also helps sharing my self-doubts and fears with friends and other creatives. I feel like I am able to get a fresh perspective. Talking about it seems to lessen the strangle-hold that fear has over me.& As an everyday practice  I remind myself to choose Love over Fear… again, and again, and again….

[su_heading]_DEBORAHBRANDON_[/su_heading]

little squares of a coffee coloured life/ light and shadow chaser / married mother of three. You can follow Deb here

• My favorite image… this images speaks of all of the things that inspire me, the fall of natural light resulting in shadow … sharing a moment from where I’m standing and the contemplation that results in a quiet afternoon coffee … it’s the little moments found in a day that bring calm and alow the mind some space to free up creativity. You can follow Deb on Instagram here!

• Who most inspires you on Instagram – I’m truly inspired by everyone I follow on instagram for many different reasons and would love to share that the person who most inspires me on instagram is the amazing and incredibly talented Tina Fox,  (BY_TINA_FOX) I first remember discovering Tina after entering an image in her fabulous Stringram Challenge just over a year ago and was so drawn to her creative feed & her wonderful pops of colour through her gallery and her inspiring use of light and shadow. I’ve been so inspired by her creativity and have really enjoyed getting hands on again with many crafts inspired by her gallery. Last year I was so excited that she got involved in our insta international crochet day after sharing a little conversation on insta and she made it such a fun day for everyone that got involved. I always enjoy her fabulous, fun comments and she has continued to be a strong presence in my insta world since first meeting her and she just so happens to blow my mind! I also love that she share little pics featuring her feet occasionally and there is also a pic of a coffee in her gallery … love her work
  

• How do you deal with fear and how do you not let it affect your work/consume your creativity… I have been so guilty over the years of letting fear take control over my pursuits. Starting my initial career as a visual merchandiser after receiving my diploma in my early twenties seemed really natural and I really enjoyed creating window and instore displays and also the travel. I then had my 3 boys all by age 28 and took a break from work and this had a huge impact on returning to my previous role as I felt confronted by being older (I have to laugh at that now as clearly I was still so young)  stemmed by fear of being viewed as older and not as youthful and current, prevent me from returning to the career that I had studied for and enjoyed so much. I then stepped out of a creative role in the workplace and took roles as a waitress/cleaner/sales assistant to help support our family but was always enrolling in after hours craft groups to nature a deep need to create, just for me. Eventually after years of what I call living daily Kodak moments (I had my boys when film was around) as I was so obsessed with documenting my boys lives that I eventually decided to return to studying photography and enrolled in evening classes at NMIT and also enrolled in some amazing workshops with international photographers as I wanted to turn my passion into a possible career. I did have a small newborn & family photography business for a short time and had created a website to grow the business and share my work but it all became unstuck as I wasn’t charging for the hours of work that I was doing during the sessions and all of the post editing that came later and I unfortunately undervalued myself due to a deep fear of feeling that people wouldn’t value what I had captured, even though I was getting loads of lovely compliments and referrals I had unfortunately allowed fear to take control and it was easier to return to work  in a non creative role as it was non confronting. After feeling a void due to being in an uncreative work environment I put myself back out there and have landed work in a role where there are many creative’s and opportunities to be creative and have regained my confidence through now avoiding fear and started believing in myself through feeling valued in what I contribute. Last year I was at a talk by Lucy Feagins ( The Design Files) at Cubed and she shared her thoughts on negative comments online, and spoke about the right we have to delete negativity from posts on social media, as so many of us have an online presence and I realised that I am really impacted by negativity both on line and in day to day life and this conversation helped me immensely as I now have a new way of managing fear through the negative imprint that I have allowed from others and I can now avoid the chance of  self doubt and fear creeping in by managing negativity that I come across and has resulted in a wonderful balance and feeling of confidence in all aspects of my life. Since joining instagram two years ago I have felt a strong support through sharing and have surrounded myself in both my online and outside life, my home, work and hobbies with positive people, but mostly I have discovered a new inner peace that comes with creating without fear of what others think and am now embarking on some exciting projects that I couldn’t have done if I hadn’t dealt with the feelings that I’ve battled with previously in my life.

[su_heading]SEEINTERIORS[/su_heading]

Artmaker / Stylist. Lover of interiors, Food, DIY, Fashion & Nature. You can follow Lauren on Instagram here

• My favorite image… because with some simple research and general photography knowledge it became a pivotal moment where I began to take my Iphone photography more seriously.

• Who am I most inspired by… I find everyone I follow on Instagram to be inspiring to me through their own unique way of styling, story telling & photography which is why it is such a wonderful platform for daily eye candy. I really admire those who have an opinion and are passionate but most of all that they place their own originality in to their work and hobbies and are not just copying what the latest magazines are saying is hot or not.

I especially find creatives such as Jai Vasicek (@jaivasicek) so motivating as his talent and art has evolved from his upbringing and life experiences. Jai’s pieces are respected and admired for the beautiful objects that they are and not because of the certified studies he has or has not achieved nor the awards or exhibitions he has or hasn’t accomplished. It is what it is !

I love that the Instagram community share inspiring quotes about the process of creativity and also how and where they have learnt skills on how to evolve. On Instagram Karina (@karina_jean_sharpe) some time earlier this year shared that she had read a book by Todd Henry that had influenced her work and gave her a new direction; how generous and thoughtful of her to give that information for others to improve rather than keep it to herself ! I am now subscribed to Todd’s weekly email named the Accidental Creative where he shares a tonne of information on how to stay motivated and progress with what you are doing. I highly recommend subscribing as well. www.ToddHenry.com 

How do you deal with fear and how do you not let it affect your work/consume your creativity… I fight with fear all of the time & this fear often leads to frustration and then disappointment and again frustration and then a glimmer of hope. I am so lucky to have a supportive life Partner who I can discuss my creative ups and downs with and how it is effecting me emotionally. My Partner is very encouraging and always reminds me to just keep continuing doing what I am doing as I can only learn and improve from my mistakes and my achievements. It is easier to give up then to push on-wards and upwards so take the option that requires your strength rather than your weaknesses. 

At other times I can simply voice my frustration on Instagram knowing that I am surrounded by such kind, generous and understanding creatives who will pick me up and nudge me toward another brighter day. Likewise it is refreshing to read that fellow “IGers” such as Leah (@sangthebird), Ellie (@petalplum) and Anna (@iamannathomas) are honest with sharing their creative slumps or simply life’s downs. In-turn I can sympathise with them but also know that we are all human beings experiencing negative emotions at times that we would rather not have to.

Lauren has kindly donated this artwork as a FREE PRINTABLE for us to print or share. The only clause is that it cannot be used for commercial use or gain. * Please also credit her as the original artist. Thankyou x 

I am really looking forward to sharing part two of this post with you next week with another gorgeous tribe of creatives to inspire you.

Rachael x

 

 

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