Creative Manifesto

Welcome to the Kutiefly Cafe!!!

Based on Writing Prompts for Creatives by Aguja y Clavo Jewelry.

Hello there! Welcome to my first ever blog. My favorite thing to do (besides art) is meeting up with someone for cafecito and having a good chat. To keep me from being nervous, I'm just gonna pretend this is a little virtual cafe, and my friend and I were finally able to get together. So grab your fave cup, pour yourself something yummy, and let's catch up.

I tend to shy away from writing (even though I like to do it), because I worry that I will have too many thoughts, or overshare, or leave something important out... However, my good friend Caitlin is providing writing prompts for creatives, and as it's the start to a new year, I felt it was time to jump in. Recently in my creative journey I have been trying to identify my self-imposed road blocks and begin to find ways to maneuver around them (or destroy them completely if necessary).

A brief introduction for what I do currently before I consider where I want to be. My main focus these days is freelance design. This includes a range of creative endeavors such as t-shirt designs for community events, logo creation for small businesses, miscellaneous formatting assistance, website development, marketing materials, to name a few. Because I also have a background in finance, the scope of my projects sometimes extends beyond purely design work and leads to designing forms and spreadsheets, or helping to streamline work flows. This varied field I live in can be explained by my need to problem solve. I love a good puzzle. I also dabble in surface pattern design, take part in drawing challenges, make time to sketch, and like to learn many different crafts.

Obviously, the above chaos leads to a serious lack of routine. Which is not necessarily a negative thing, but I would like to be more cognizant of how I spend my time. I believe outlining some goals in this Creative Manifesto will give me a direction to go when I am in between projects, and also guide how I will approach them in the future.

Ok, ok. Here we go.

Create more often.

This is not coming from a desire to be more productive, but more-so to practice my current skills, learn new ones, see my own progress... I spend more time than I'd like playing silly games on my phone. While it is sometimes relaxing to do something mindless after a busy day, I want to practice reaching for my sketchbook, a craft, a new art supply, a design book, instead. My house if filled with interesting things that I never use. My roadblock here tends to be "I only have a half hour, that's not enough time to do anything." But that is a lie. Putting myself on blast because it literally only takes 2 minutes to get out my watercolors, and then I can play with colors for the other 28 minutes. Trying to normalize quick art sessions without overthinking what the outcome needs to be.

Be mindful of the content I consume.

This also ties into how much time I spend on my phone. I mostly follow artists on my instagram account, and so if I spend hours scrolling, I justify the time because it is mostly positive content. But it contributes to my road block of not starting new projects. I can easily become intimidated by beautiful images, and spiral into the abyss of comparing my art to others. I think my overconsumption also inhibits me from trying new styles, experimenting, learning. So I'd like to continue to interact with social media in the communities I am in, but reduce the amount of time I spend scrolling.

Keep on learning.

This might be mostly because I miss architecture. And I tend to collect hobbies. I want to be more intentional with the books I read. I have many design books that I have never read. I also found out that many museums and libraries offer online access to volumes of information. I'd love to jump into the world of art nouveau first, and then see where that interest takes me. Also in this category of learning, is crafting. I sew, crochet, make simple jewelry... I'd like to continue trying crafts. Maybe a weaving course or a refresher calligraphy class. Simply, I want to keep my mind open to new things, and allow myself to be a beginner. Letting go of perfectionism.

How do I start?

I believe these are my main ideas for the year. I am going to take a few minutes to think of ways I can foster these goals. Maybe put a timer on my phone for social media. Try to always carry a sketch book with me and keep other art supplies visible. Perhaps set a book on my desk so I can read a few pages while my slow internet loads. A few things to build momentum.

Thank you for taking the time to read my manifesto. I hope you find a quiet moment to think about where you'd like to put your energy this year.

Sending good vibes peeps. Choose kindness and take naps.

ps --- I was going to publish at a normal business time, but I think it's more authentic to post at the time that I wrote it. Do you also get your creative ideas after midnight?

pss --- I still haven't published it because I am overthinking everything. Ok ok, publishing now.