The Power of Asking!

Have you found yourself in a similar situation?

I was trying to move something a little heavy and a bit awkward. I could do it. It was a struggle, but I could get it into the other room by myself.

I am noticing people around me, wondering why they aren’t giving me a hand. Can’t they see me sweating over here?!

I think about asking them, but when I look around, they all look busy and I don’t want to interrupt.

Then I hear a voice inside that says, “Just ask! They can say no!”

So, I ask and five people are suddenly at my side happy to help and it gets moved with so little effort and so much more fun!

One of them even says, “I’m so glad you asked! You help me all the time. It’s nice when I can help you.”

We could all use a little help moving things, even when they aren’t physical things.

Today, I was noticing that my excitement for the Creative Community Circle membership was all mixed up with a sense of struggle.

I could get it out there by myself. It might be a bit of a struggle, but I can do it.

As I sat with that awareness in a doodle meditation, a voice said, “Just ask! They can say no!”

So, I have an ask for you, dear supporter.

I am asking you to join me in celebrating the launch of the Creative Community Circle membership on either September 17th or October 13th. The link to register for these free events is here.

I really do think you will have fun with the creative activities I have planned and I really do want to share this thing I have been dreaming about and creating with you!

If you feel so moved, I am also asking you to share my event in your circles. If you have participated in any of my events or worked with me, it is so effective to post the event link with a few words speaking to why you feel compelled to share it with people.

Lastly, I would love to focus my marketing time and energy by interacting with others. If you know of people either in your social or business circles that could use an activity to get their creative juices flowing, I would love to do this in exchange for sharing about the Creative Community Circle.

I thank you for this kind of support. This endeavor is all about doing things together creatively which is way more fun and joyful than struggling alone!

I also don’t want you to struggle alone. So here’s your chance. If there is something I can support you with, just ask! Or maybe there are others in your life that it is time to ask for something! The worst that could happen is you get a no. But what if you get a YES?!

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In addition to joining us for a free CCC Launch Celebration and Tour event, you can also learn more about the Creative Community Circle here!

Author Tip: Your Book Means Business!

The truth is, usually when I illustrate someone's book, I get pretty attached to it. I fall in love with the characters and the message and I want others to fall in love with them too.

That’s why helping authors look at their books as a business has become an incredibly important part of our work here at Studio Light Illustration.

Whether you have already produced and published a book or whether you are just thinking about starting the process, it is never too late to start treating your book like the business it is!

For many people this might be a comfortable thought, in which case, perhaps it is just time to look into some new ideas and learn from others who are experiencing the success you want! Perhaps it is time to follow some good hashtags on Instagram or join groups full of self-publishing authors making their dreams come true.

For others, this may be a scary idea. Business doesn’t sound nearly as fun as the creative process of writing and making your book a reality…

But the truth is, as much fun as it is to hold that book in your hands, you will not be satisfied if you cannot get it in the hands of others! So it is equally important that your pour your creative juices into how to share what you love in a way that you love. And business can be just that - full of creativity in service of sharing messages from your heart!

For those who find the idea of being in the book business a little intimidating or those who need to freshen it up a little bit, it is time to explore your relationship with business.

Here are some self-reflection questions to get you started:

• How can you make it a healthy, positive one?

• How do you make your business something that feels exciting, creative, nurturing, and reflective of the message in your book?

• What new business skills and practical tools would help you to be more successful with your book?

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At Studio Light Illustration, we help authors investigate questions like this and more. Check out our process at studiolightillustration.com/author-dreamers.

Getting to the Heart of It

As I was guided to check in with the heart of my creative business today, its heart showed up as a child. She asked me to remember the most powerful lesson I learned as a teacher which is that the child needs to lead the way. Children are to be enjoyed and their aliveness is to be protected. My job as the teacher is to nurture this aliveness as I guide them.

Reflecting on this in terms of my creativity and my business, I started seeing how easy it was to be a drill sergeant. “I need this result and I need it done in this way and I need it to happen now!” No wonder some days I just feel tired. Demanding things is exhausting and I miss all the good, juicy stuff that creating things has to offer.

On the days where I approach my work with more curiosity, more openness to what it wants to show me in the moment as I hold the long-term vision, the energy is electric, the ideas are plentiful, things seem to happen all by themselves. Work becomes a playful adventure with fun surprises at every turn.

So, as you engage with your day, take a minute to breathe. Check in with the heart of what it is your are doing - your art, your business, your work - and see what it has to say today. How can you put what you hear into practice?

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Let’s keep growing creatively together! We are excited to announce our new Creative Community Circle membership for busy creatives who don’t want to be alone in the process of finding creative joy and satisfaction. This membership will be open for new members Sept 1 - Oct 31, 2020! But before you enroll, you can learn more at our CCC Launch Celebration and Tour events which are free, fun, and informative.

Doodle Reflection: How Much Are You Being?

How much are you doing?

It’s such a competition out there. It goes a little something like this:

“I have to take the dog for a walk.”

“Well, I have to take my dog for a 5 mile run while answering emails and practicing my breath work!”

Even meditation and mindfulness are added to the to-do list and multi-tasked away! Our value, our worth seems to hinge on all of our doings.

I certainly get caught up riding the doing-ness train right alongside everyone else. And sometimes this leads to major blocks to my creativity and joy.

Just this morning, I found myself scrolling on Instagram wondering why some people have so many more followers than me. I started spinning in what I could do and getting a little upset that what I have done hasn’t really paid off. And a voice said, “Step off the doing-ness train.”

I shot back, “But this is what people DO!”

And the voice said, “But in this moment it is not supporting who you want to BE.”

Sigh. Yes. I’m once again too focused on how much I am doing instead of asking myself, “How much am I BEING?”

Well, today, I want to be creative. I want to be joyful. I want to be kind to myself and others. I want to be inspired. I want to be rooted in my vision.

When I make this tiny shift, when I take a tiny moment to think about my being, I am reminded of what is truly satisfying and enlivening in life.

It feels like a much softer place to land. I feel my stress filter though the clouds, leaving me free and open to explore and intentionally build the creative path I am on, centered by my BEING.

How much are you being today?

If finding and removing blocks along your creative path is important to you, you will be excited to know that in September we will be launching a creative community that you can join! It will provide regular community interaction, creativity jump-starts, and lots of tools to help you on your creative journey. Stay tuned!

Tips for Building a Supportive and Thriving Following

Reflection and Artwork by Sebila Kratovac

We don’t need anyone to give us permission to be an artist, and we don’t even have to show our work to anyone. But what if we want to create art that is seen by others, art that helps us engage and connect with other people? I have always felt that the relationship between our self-worth and how we see ourselves in the world is closely related to how we connect with others. The journey that we take to become confident enough as creatives - to even feel worthy to have a loyal and paying audience - is essential to establishing a solid ground on which we can build our creative community and a business. A lot of us expect ourselves to follow a certain protocol toward success in order to establish a steady fan base and continuous income. Although some people are able to accomplish this, most of us have failed many times to learn important lessons in relationship building. But this journey is so valuable because it helps us cultivates confidence in who we are and freedom from caring about what the naysayers think.

In a fascinating Creative Pep Talk podcast 6 Tips on How to Build Your Following + 4 Fan Favorites CPT Ideas of all Time!, the host Andy J. Pizza talks about his own experience in building his creative community and enlists his patrons from Patreon and artist friends to talk about what helped them connect to their audience. The first challenge for us creatives is to develop courage to express our unique selves, no matter how strange and out there our creations seem to be. What comes up for me here is the concept of self-worth or value that we have to offer to the world. I believe that having courage to let our work be seen with confidence is directly proportional to how we see ourselves. Too many creatives have been rejected time and time again for different reasons. Add to it the fact that many of us are very sensitive people, it is truly marvelous that any of us make it through this step. The question to ask is: What will I give up for not having courage/initiative/stamina to show myself as I really am? Of course, taking action to expose ourselves to strangers might be a slow process for some of us but it is a necessary step on our journey.

One way for us to gain confidence is to experiment with different ways of expression and start sharing these experiments with other people until we find something that resonates with a specific audience. Guest Diana Rodriguez, an illustrator focused on body-positivity, suggests that what we put out there has to relate in some way to a specific audience through our unique style and our interests (identity, struggles, belief systems, philosophy, core values, guilty pleasures etc.). This is, in essence, our niche. Let’s say that you are really into astrology, herbalism, colorful magical art, and vegan food. You can build your art and business around these subjects with your unique twist. Personally, what I look for in an artist I want to support is uniqueness and passion for their art (and life!) and their ability to inspire me to do my thing and be my authentic self. One such artist for me is Shayna Klee (aka The Purple Palace) who truly lives a full, magical, and exuberant artist’s life and inspires me to do the same.

As we attract our specific audience, how do we stay connected without trying too hard to please our supporters? What kind of relationship or energy exchange is desirable or even appropriate with our audience? Because this is not an employee/employer relationship, there is a potential to form authentic friendship-based relationships. For me, this step is probably the most difficult one because it demands of me to get out of my comfort zone as an introvert and to risk trusting strangers. It also could be overwhelming to put in the energy needed to form deep and meaningful friendships with strangers I may never meet in person. One way to build trust with people who are supporting us is to be consistent with the quality and frequency of the creations we put out. Of course, sometimes we will not be able to accomplish this but, since we have developed a relationship based on trust, our audience is very likely to be understanding if we slip up sometimes, especially if we explain what is going on. If we think of our audience as collaborators or “climbing partners” as Andy calls them in the podcast, we can view the relationship from a less uptight perspective. We can see that actually we are supporting our audience as well, that we are helping our patrons achieve their dreams.

I am coming back again to what I feel is essential in creating authentic relationships: vulnerability and trust. Another podcast guest, expressive character illustrator Fran Meneses, points out that honesty and vulnerability is the key to building a creative following, even if it means risking negative feedback. It takes this openness to put ourselves out there on Patreon, GoFundMe, YouTube, or any other social media platform to potentially see great rewards. Many creatives struggle to break through this exposure barrier. What has helped me on my journey is to take small steps and work on myself first, to really understand my resistance to opening up to strangers online. It is truly inner work and, if not pursued, can be something that can keep us away from wonderful experiences in life. The biggest lesson I learned is that trust attracts trust. There are exceptions but the risk is worth the effort! For me, patience for myself while allowing myself to make important changes in my life rather than forcing myself to do something I am not comfortable with is a priority. But, maybe it is about not taking ourselves too seriously and committing to having more fun in our lives. As our vibration rises, being able to trust could just be a side effect of living an authentic and joyful life - and then abundance follows.

If you are looking for a boost of creative community in these isolated times: LISTEN TO THIS NOW!!! This episode gave me some serious feelings and I can not wait for you to hear it!! This episode is made up from 3 tips from me, 3 special guests and YOU our patreon backers!!