Art is Life

Thursday is my day to open the door to creative thinking and doing; I've reverted to an earlier phase of my life, before painting and art school, when I was internally driven to Make Things, and they were varied and creative. But I'm also a different person now - as Grandma Earth Teacher I am led to make things that are a gift to the Earth in some way, sustainable, and with a message. 

Also, I need to prepare for the next week of Grandma Camps, with themes, projects, and field trips.

Agenda: 

1. Read "Tiny Habits"

2. Design a watercolor habit

3. Start a fire for watercolor

4. Camp preparedness

5. Projects for the week

1. Read "Tiny Habits":

I'm reading this book by BJ Fogg (2020), with the subtitle of "The Small Changes That Change Everything". This is the scripting process introduced in Sweet Spot, expanded on.

Chapter Two is Motivation; Focus on Matching. The gist is that motivation is unreliable and not the "true engine of behavior change".

To practice behavior matching:

1. Write an aspiration: Finish a watercolor painting. 
2. Write a swarm of behaviors - 10 or more - that will get me to my aspiration.
3. Star those that would be most effective, and circle any that are realistic and easy. Those with a star and circle are the Golden Behaviors.

Chapter Three is Ability; Easy Does It, all about choosing the tiniest thing. Motivation is unreliable, but ability is dependable. By choosing easy, tiny, and simple behaviors, I can bypass motivation and create a habit. Simplicity changes behavior, because even when motivation is low, if I repeat a simple behavior often enough, my ability will improve enough over time to be able to take the next tiny step forward. 

The first step in designing simple steps is to discover what exactly is making this behavior hard to do: Do I have enough time?, enough money? Am I physically able? Do I have enough mental or creative energy? Does it fit into my routine?

After answering these I should be able to zero in on the problem to solve!  

2. Design a watercolor habit:

My aspiration is to finish a watercolor painting. 

Golden behaviors:

• Make coffee-making a cue.
• Have an exciting project in mind, and a photo.
• Have steps listed out.
• Have clean water ready.
• Look through my watercolor books for inspiration.

The problems to solve: Not enough creative energy + no routine.

Here's my plan: I want to fit one tiny exploration of watercolor into every day.

Prep: List some possible simple next steps (Test all my yellows, or work on my drawing.)

12:00 - Make a cup of coffee, and fill a clean container with water.

-Announce "I'm going to the studio for a bit."

-Sit and look through watercolor books.

-Decide on a single, simple step to take and take it.

 

5. Start a fire for watercolor:

One of my intentions this month is to practice transformative habits - and anchor my everyday actions to my core values, because this is what will give me the power to change the world.

Today I'm writing a script for fire starting - for inner synergy - when your body, mind, spirit, and heart are all cooperating to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. I love the image of "an explosion of inner synergy," and I've experienced that passion spontaneously, and I know it's possible to harness that energy when you want it and need it.

Step one is to choose any project or task that is a priority, that connects to your values and principles, something you want to do soon; something a little challenging but within your abilities, such as Play with Watercolor. Today I will made this plan: 

1. Engage my mind: Create a vision of a finished watercolor painting, glued onto a canvas, hanging in my living room; make a list of tiny steps; write a script for arriving in my studio.
2. Engage my heart: Identify the love component - visualize my paintings going out on my substack, and all the happy eyes.
3. Engage my spirit: Choose a mantra that will remind me of the deepest reasons for the project: Art is Life - use this mantra every hour today.
4. Engage my body: Get prepared - set out 2 water containers. Make coffee.
5. Start a fire: At 12 noon, recite the mantra, remember the love, and dive into the studio.

4. Camp preparedness:

The theme next week is birds. Ideas:

• Books and videos
• Drawing, collage, painting, clay birds
• Binoculars - bird watching, listening to songs.

Preparations: F: Search ideas; S: Get books; M: Set out art supplies

5. Projects for the week:

My goals for Grandma Earth Artist is 

photos and project samples for nature-culture, painting explorations, and home beautification projects. This week:

• Th: Watercolor butterfly - practice skills
• F: Watercolor butterfly - practice skills
• Sat: Info cards for Clean Energy Fund: Create cards and decorate with Canva - print for Sunday
• Sun:
• M: Watercolor bird drawing
• T: Watercolor bird - practice skills + clay play

Preparations: Th: List some tiny steps; F: OR Art store for watercolor supplies: cold-pressed paper, thin pens, and a new brush or two

Doing the smallest thing is a great way to make courageous creative work less frightening; also finding the "minimum effective dose", the amount of work that keeps me challenged and joyful, and if I keep at it will get me to the finish line on time.