A little while back, I wrote my most popular post to date: The Top 17 Reasons Why the World Needs You to be an Artist. I decided I would expand more on the items on the list to give you a deeper understanding of what I was feeling, meaning, and intending when I wrote that list. In this short video, I share with you more about #10 on the list: The world doesn't need any more crud. If you like this Art Nurture goodness, please share it with others & join the Art Nurture newlsetter!
If you have thoughts on crud and quality and living life with the soul of an artist, please leave them in the comments below! As always, the world needs you to live life with the soul of an artist; with passion, intention, and purpose! Keep nurturing your creativity, Court
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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel to the West Coast for the first time! I attended Chris Guillebeau's (author of The Art of Non-Conformity) World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon. In Chris' words, "WDS is a worldwide gathering of creative, unconventional people. Every summer, the group descends on Portland for several days of speakers, workshops, meetups, and fun." The gathering is based on the principles of service, community, and adventure. Not only did I love my first every visit to Portland and the West Coast, but I loved every inspiring moment of WDS. The beautiful people I met from all over the world encouraged me and inspired me in ways I couldn't have imagined! Here is a video of speaker, Jia Jiang, sharing about his relationship with rejection and how changing that relationship with rejection opened up a new world of possibilities he had never imagined! Sometimes in our art and creativity, we hold back...mostly out of fear of failure or rejection. I am just as guilty of this as the next person. Which is why changing that relationship with the idea of rejection is one of the most powerful things we can do in breaking through to our big and beautiful stuff! Proud to be able to share this video with you! Take some time to listen to Jia and reconsider your relationship with rejection. Jia Jiang from Chris Guillebeau on Vimeo. Any thoughts on rejection? Please, share them in the comments below!
Are you feeling inspired to overcome your fear of rejection? If you are diggin' this Art Nurture goodness, please do join the list! Do something today (I know I am about to!) that will help you face your fear of rejection! You (and I) maybe surprised at the response you receive! If you want more information about WDS, please check out Keep nurturing your creativity, Court McCracken This week I was featured on Shana LaFore's FASCINATE Summer Spotlight Series. The topic of our conversation: What to do when your creative well runs dry. Check it out! It was an honor to be featured and I was glad to be able to pass on the words of wisdom that my professor shared with us while studying art, "Trust the Process."
It has become one of those phrases I say to literally EVERYONE! It is the truth and the process is where the magic happens. We can't get anywhere unless we engage fully. That doesn't mean there will not be challenges and there wont be pain. The tough stuff usually happens because we are engaged in the process. But when we learn to continue to engage and to fully trust....well, that is where we gain traction, insight, sustenance, longevity, understanding...that is where we are truly nurturing our art. Hope you enjoy this episode of FASCINATE! If you do, then please share it with those who you feel will benefit from it! If you want more updates on nurturing your creativity, then get on the Art Nurture list by joining here! As always, the world needs you to live life with the soul of an artist, so keep nurturing your creativity! Happy July! -Court Many of us are faced with the green eyed monster of envy... ...creative comparison. When we are nurturing our art, often times we are looking at someone else who is "better" or "ahead of us" and feeling jealous of them and their talents, abilities, and creative accomplishments. In this short video I talk about a productive way to handle that old jealous feeling. Do you have any positive ways to work with those jealous feelings? If so, share them in the comments below! If you are digging this Art Nurture goodness, join the Art Nurture Newsletter here. Warmest Regards, Court I am working in the studio today and I realized...
... there is so much going on! I just had to give you the run down of all of the Art Nurture Happenings & Upcoming Events! Sunday June 23rd, 2:30-4:30 An Afternoon of Nurturing Your Creativity Decatur, GA Monday June 24th, 6:30-8:30 Ladies Evening of Nurturing Your Creativity in my studio Hatchery Studios #141 Asheville, NC Saturday June 29th & Sunday June 30th 10:30-3:30 (1hr break for lunch) both days Mix It Up! Color Study Painting Workshop 2 spaces left Hatchery Studios #141 Asheville, NC Pre-order your copy of Art Nurture: The Simple Guide to Cultivating Your Creativity All those who are Kickstarter backers & Pre-orders for the book will be receiving some special Art Nurture love. You will be invited to the book release party as well as be invited to participate in a live Q&A call with me coming up in August, where I will answer your creativity cultivating questions! I will also send you a recording of the call to keep! Check out this page if you would like to reserve a spot with me for 1-on-1 Creativity Cultivation Sessions & Private Art lessons! Whew! That was a lot! But I seriously cannot wait! This summer is going to be amazing and I sincerely hope you decide to join up, connect with your creativity, and take part in all this sweet Art Nurture goodness! Warmest Regards on this beautiful Sunday evening, Court In this short video (it is less than 4 minutes!) I share with you the biggest myth about creativity. We have all likely believed this myth and lived it out at one time or another, some of us chronically. Until we bust the myth we can't get in touch with our creativity and find our own unique art to nurture. Check it out! If you are digging this Art Nurture goodness, please share it with others via the Facebook, the Twitter or whatever else you love to share with!
If you would like to receive special updates from me, please join the Art Nurture newsletter! If you have special tips on how you bust through this Myth about Creativity, please share them in the comments below! Keep nurturing your unique self, Court Have you been feeling stuck in the doldrums? Do you feel like every day is the same? Have you lost that creative spark? Are you wondering if you can get that inspiration back? Well, here is a short video where I share with you three simple ways to live a life of daily inspiration. It is less than 5 minutes and is sure to leave you hopeful and inspired, so check it out! If you like this video, please share it!
If you want some more Art Nurture goodness, please subscribe to the Art Nurture newsletter! If you have any special ways you get that inspirational spark back, please share them in the comments below! Keep nurturing your creativity, Court "If you hear a voice within you say, 'you cannot paint', then by all means paint, Coming up on Saturday & Sunday, June 29th & 30th I will be hosting a Color Study Painting Workshop in my studio here in Asheville, NC. If you have been seriously wanting to get your paint on but did not know how to Mix It Up... this is the two days for you! Not only will the two days be ridiculously fun and encouraging, but you will leave knowing with confidence how to mix any color you like! Click here for more details! Registration ends June 21st and there are currently two spots available, so come on down to the studio and get your paint on! I hope you decide to join! Check out what some others have said about coming to the studio and working with me! Warmest Regards, Court McCracken Last month I wrote a post that really seemed to resonate with you. The post was entitled "The Top 17 Reasons Why the World Needs You to be an Artist".
I wanted to dive a little more deeply into those reasons... so let's start with #1.... Reason #1 Why the World Needs You to be an Artist The world needs people who live with passion, intention, and purpose. Yes, it is true. We all need more people living with passion. The world needs people who care. People who care will go to great lengths to get things accomplished. People who are not ok with just the status quo are the world changers. The world needs people who live life with a purpose. People with a purpose are those who are totally and completely jazzed about waking up in the morning. They know they have something to give and they know that their unique voice and their remarkable selves meet up in places where the world has great needs. The world needs people who live with intention. People who are intentional don't just dream, they do. They don't just think, they act. They don't just wonder and wish, they make it happen. Intentional people accomplish specific things. They accomplish that which they set out to accomplish (not without the bumps along the way, but they have passion and purpose to keep them going through that!). When you live life with the soul of an artist, you see that unique knitting together of all of your skills, desires, loves and you meet the world with passion, intention, and purpose. The world needs you to do that. We need more people jazzed about waking up in the morning, passionate about what they will spend their time on.... Yep, this is Reason #1 Why the World Needs You to be an Artist. How can you live with more passion, intention and purpose? Let me know in the comments below. Keep nurturing your creativity, Court p.s. If you like this post, please share it with someone who may feel the same! If you want to receive more on nurturing your creativity, please join the Art Nurture Newsletter by clicking here. "I must be myself. That will provoke anxiety, and I will deal with it." Last week I shared about that feeling of vulnerability when we begin to step out in our creativity. I shared that instead of feeling naked and vulnerable, what if we took some cues from classical art and instead viewed that 'naked' feeling as moment of strength, beauty, and freedom! In my Friday Newsletter I wrote about My 8 Step Process for how I move through my creative anxiety so that I can experience the freedom of sharing my art with the world. I received a great deal of positive responses and thus wanted to share it here! Here is my 8 Step process for how I move through my Creative Anxiety When met with an opportunity to share your creativity...
1.Stop. Pay attention & be aware. 2.Do not simply react in the same old ways. Take note of your previous reactions and realize you do not need to make the same choices again. 3.Pay attention to what is happening in the present moment. 4.If you are anxious, give attention to those feelings. 5.Take a breath. 6.Ask yourself, 'What is the worst that could happen?' Usually, when we think about this, it is not all that bad. Like the worst that could happen is that someone doesn't like your stuff and you just keep doing exactly what you are doing. 7.Ask yourself, 'What is the best possible outcome?' Sometimes this can reveal why we are so dang scared. When we realize our attachment to our secret hopes and dreams that something good could happen, therein lies the root of the fear. We fear those hopeful doors being closed in our faces and so to stay safe, we don't step out. Entertain the possibility that good stuff CAN happen to you & that it definitely wont happen if you don't put yourself out there! 8.Make an informed decision. Not a decision from fear or vulnerability or old knee-jerk reactions, but a decision where you recognize you are making a choice. You are responsible and you can choose. You can choose to step out or you can choose to hold off. Even if this is you alone with your creative work. You have the opportunity to show up to it in the fullness that you truly desire. It is much more empowering when we realize we have a choice. So, when you get a chance to show up to your unique art or to step out with it in some way, go through these 8 Steps first and let me know if you noticed a difference! As always, if you enjoyed this post, please share it! If you would like to receive more Art Nurture goodness, please join the list! If you have special methods of moving through Creative Anxiety, please leave a comment below! Talk with you soon and keep nurturing your creativity, Court |
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