Skip to main content

Pressure, Art and Confidence

Image
By
This has ended up being a very personal post, but I'm publishing it anyway.

You know, I was reading Smidge Girl's blog the other day and I was so excited for her when she got the call to do furniture work for an upcoming HBO project. I daydreamed to myself that someday maybe I'd get that call and how I'd respond. My answer surprised me. I'd say no! I'd say I wasn't good enough yet and pass them on to one of the more talented 1/6th scale furniture makers. (I don't even make furniture, mind you.) It got me thinking about my other artistic talents. My cartoon girls that I refused to market and get out there on purses and tshirts and stuff. Why? Because it wasn't good enough. My writing? I stopped writing novels why? Because they weren't good enough.

I'm not into self deprication, but I am honest with myself. My doll work is just plain sloppy and I rush too much to get things done.

I put things out on a blog because not doing so is like keeping a really REALLY juicy secret.

You know for a while I was thinking of really working on my doll stuff to please all you people (the general doll collecting population) but that's not what this is about. It's about the rush and gush of love that I have when I see these dolls and how excited I get when their stories come to life for me.

My writing became about my audience and how to hustle and sell. The joy left it for me. I will not let this happen with dolls. This is how I find my peace.

Ah, now I can relax, let my Josephine Baker dining room project take 100 years (I put down the hardwood floors this weekend, got some awesome fabric scraps at Mom's for the chairs, so I didn't totally slack off) and not feel the pressure I put on myself to be an accomplished doll repainter/rerooter/dressmaker/furniture designer/set designer/photographer.

Look my photos are just going to suck for a while. I can live with that. But you'll giggle at the stories, that I can guarantee!

Life is always better when you don't take yourself too seriously.

Happy Monday,
dani
Labels:

Comments

  1. smidge girlJuly 12, 2010 at 7:56 PM

    You're so right, Dani-- taking yourself too seriously is just disastrous! If you can tell when you jump that track & start doing things to please other people instead of yourself-- well, you're ahead of the game, lol. Sometimes it's tough to make that distinction, especially when work & play are the same.

    I hope you're not selling yourself short on things! Everyone starts everything as a novice. But if you work long & hard enough, (or if you're one of those super annoying people with instant talent, lol) eventually you get good, even great-- you just have to be able to recognize that change when it comes. There's a difference between being a realist and being a pessimist, and constantly saying "I'm not good enough" can become a horrible, blinding habit. (Believe me, I know, I say it all the time, lol!) Make sure you give yourself credit for all your talent! :)

    Thanks for sharing something so personal. Hope we get to see some of your cartoon girls one day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. DaniJuly 13, 2010 at 8:01 AM

    That's Smidge! It's so awesome to have a colleague in this world. No one I know (in real life) does doll work.

    I will be better one day. I'm beginning to recognize what I need to learn and things I need to improve and that's a good first step!

    Thanks for the encouragement. Can't wait to see your HBO special! I'll post some cartoon girls for fun later.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zee Gypsies!

By
I'm home today, the kids are at school (half day), so I decided to take some pictures with my little window of time. I rarely show the gypsies and one of you guys requested it, so here they are! "Hello, I am Carmen Kirpachi. Welcome to our home." "This is my husband Milosh." "Hallo."  "This is my brother, Franco. While his gaje girlfriend Josephine is in Paris, he's spending a lot more time with us." "Excuse me, I have to put some more wood in the stove so I can get dinner started." "My goat stew is Milosh's favorite but we need to get the pot hot first." "This is my living area, also known as Franco's bedroom. But we don't mind. The Romany love having family around." "Milosh says I drive like a fugitive so he doesn't let me drive very often." "But sometimes I put a glamour on him and he forgets how much he hates my driving." ...
27 comments
Read more

New Goodies!

By
But first, some news: Projects: Still working on the studio space for Remi and Bailey. The Hubs came in and voiced what was in my head, "So where is that kid supposed to sleep? That's messed up. There's no room for him?"  The last thing I wanted in Grandville is a kid's room. I don't want this rated R world changing into something wholesome. Buuut, if there is to be a custody battle for Julian, I have to make the case, right? So on top of the studio space, I'll build a little room for the brat to use. Maybe I'll give it a fun theme or something. Space or sci-fi or something that doesn't involve sports. I'm also working on a space backdrop for Nymeria and her sister. Then I can finally introduce you. I decided to go with a sort of cheesy 60's sci fi movie thing. That's what inspired the Alurium Vaccarra anyway. So, a sort of intentionally cartoony backdrop. The last project for now is my high school. I wanted it to be a three-...
22 comments
Read more

Introducing Nymeria and the Alurium Vaccarra

By
Ever have a couple of days off Facebook and though you wonder what happened to your friends over the long weekend, you can help feeling a little peaceful? That's how I feel in my week of staying off the blogs and forums and various sites. But I missed a lot! So many cool posts! It's going to take a while to dig myself out. One must wonder, did my creative spurt have something to do with not being all over the web looking at what everyone else is doing? Anyway let's get to it. So on my birthday, my three Stardolls arrived! Aside from the outfit, that Paris one was not cute. I dunno, she's too boring looking. But Iris was THRILLED that she got a new, dressed doll. Well for a few minutes anyway. Did you know that they can't bend their legs? Like they can't sit down? Terrible. Anyway, the other two were great! Inspiring. Meet Valentina. A Columbiana who restores classic cars. She was very happy with a Liv body. She might be Nadia's next girlfriend, w...
23 comments
Read more