Finish things

I have a dream.
I dream that I will one day live off of my creativity.
I dream of working for myself.  Of filling my days doing what I love.  And getting paid for it.

I have another dream.
Of opening up an Etsy shop.

Now I know some of you are thinking, "Seriously?  It's not that hard.  Just do it."  Well, I'm here to tell you that it is that hard.  Maybe hard's not the right word.  But it certainly takes a lot of work, time & attention to detail.  Every little step seems to take a million other little steps.  I've come a long way, but I'm not quite there yet.

The other night, after a tireless day of prepping & organizing for my shop opening, I realized that it just Was Not Going To Happen that day.  So in an act of desperation & frustration, I decided to breathe.  (sigh)  And then I had a conversation with my wise self:

"Am I really meant to go down this path?  Am I really meant to live off of my creativity or am I just meant to live creatively?"

And my wise self said to me, "Yes, of course you are dear.  Live what you love and the money will follow."

"Well then, why does it seem so impossible?  Why does it seem so impossible?"

"Because it is.  If you make it so.  And besides, you wouldn't appreciate it so much if it came easy.  Now would you?"

"So what now?" I asked.

And my wise self wisely said,
"Finish things.
Start things.
Do things.
Make things.
But most importantly, FINISH THINGS."

And with that I went to bed.


Today’s post is part of a brave blogging link-up LIV LANE is hosting for the courageous students in her How To Build a Blog You Truly Love e-course.

I road a wild donkey today!

I road a wild donkey today!  And what does that mean?  It means, I had an idea...I started a project...and rather than doing part of it and finishing it later, I road the wild donkey until it was done.

Man, does it ever feel good to finish something!

I can't show you my finished piece just yet because it's a bit of a surprise.  But here's a glimpse at the encaustics that I was cooking up this afternoon:

For more on wild donkeys head over HERE.  

From the studio...baby owl

Completion, a photo by Kate Daniel on Flickr.

I finally finished one of my paintings that I started in the How to Paint an Owl class that I mentioned I was taking. The colours are a little intense in this shot because I took it on my phone...but I decided to just "let it go" & not be perfectionist Kate by retaking the picture. Proud of me? :) Wow, does it ever feel good to complete something. Two more to come...