What if…. You Started?
Like so many other people in 2020 I decided to fill my house with plants. And now, four years later, 95% of them are still alive and thriving. I fell in love with proprgating, there is something so exiting about cutting a branch or a leaf, placing it water and seeing it sprout roots. It turns out I’m rather good at this, or maybe the plants are actually the ones that are good at it. Either way, I have plants to share.
When people come over for dinner, there is always an offer of free plants. Recently, I posted on Facebook that I had some Monestra cuttings to give away. If you’ve every shopped for a Monestra, you know that these plants aren’t cheap. I bought one four years ago and have lost count of how many plants it’s turned into. We now have three in our home, at least four friends have one, and I’ve started giving cuttings to anyone who knows me, and yes, that includes you. If you live nearby and want some plants, send me a message. I guess my parents mastered the art of teaching me how to share.
I was a high school art teacher for eight years. Well, I’m still one and have taught for almost two decades, but I taught in the most traditional sense in a public school for eight years. I loved the students, ten years later, I still miss high school students, they really are so wonderful.
So when a women, who was once a teen when I taught high school, reached out to claim some of the free plants, my heart swelled. I’m always happy for the plants to find a new home, but there is something even more wonderful about it taking me back to a time in life that carried great purpose.
I quit that job. I loved that job.
I didn’t quit because of the students. I quit because of everything else. It’s the reason that drives most great teachers to leave. They stay as long as they can because they love the kids.
It’s why I create and publish books, and mentor teens passionate about growing their ability to make art. I’m a teacher through and through, regardless of my official job title.
In all my years as a teacher and an artist, a challenge everyone shares is being able to start. It seems simple enough, but it’s the thing that so many people struggle with. Getting started. No judgment; I still struggle with it myself.
What if you don’t have a good idea?
What if you don’t know how to make the thing in your head?
What if you don’t have the supplies that you need?
What if?
What if ?
What if……?
What if you just got started?
What if you made something terrible? Think of how much fun it would be to collect all the horrible things you made and create a bonfire with friends. Wouldn’t that be so satisfying?
What if you started by following directions?
What if you copied something?
What if you started?
The Art of Paper Weaving isn’t just a book to teach you how to create patterns and weave. It’s not just a book filled with vibrant and colorful pages to spark your imagination. It’s filled with the magic of helping you to start creating, because that is the secret, getting started EVERYDAY.
Commit to creating for 15 minutes daily for one month and see where it leads you. Don’t worry if it’s good or bad. Don’t worry if it’s an original idea, you’re copying something, or you’re following directions. The magic comes in the process of making.
If you want to avoid using The Art of Paper Weaving, create your project with tight constraints, making it easy to start.
- Create a rubbing of a texture or object that you encounter each day.
- Observe the shadows around you, and trace a few in your sketchbook.
- Sketch the 5th object that you use each day.
- Use your sketchbook as a daily coaster, and see how many marks your cup or mug creates.
- Walk on a page in your sketchbook daily, then emphasize a few marks with your favorite pen or marker.
- Ask three friends to make a mark in your sketchbook daily, then see what you can turn it into in under 30 minutes.
- Look through the junk mail you get every day, cut out things that are blue, orange, and pink, and glue them in your sketchbook, creating patterns.
- Pick your favorite shape, and fill one page with it daily. Experiment with the size, layering, and color.
- Collect scraps of paper, cut them into strips, and create a 4″X4″ weaving every day.
- Grab a needle and thread and mend your clothes or embellish them with patterns.