If you asked my friends what I "am", among other things you would hear the terms "artist" or "artistic" used at least a couple times. But, I have a confession to make.
I AM A FRAUD!!!!
Yes, I love art. I love painting and drawing and reading about/looking at other artists' works. And yes I majored in Studio Art. And yes I have drawers and drawers full of artistic supplies and boxes upon boxes of possibly useful "what if" crap.
But the truth is, besides the cast I painted last year (they wouldn't give me the fun colors, so I had to spice up the boring white cast on my own) I have not completed a work of art since my last assignment in school. I don't really "doodle". You know those people that you just know are artists, cuz they're always carrying around a note book and when you look through it your jaw drops open because of all the cool sketches and half-finished ideas that make this book a work of art all by itself? I'm not like that. I've tried. It just doesn't work. In past art classes we've been assigned a notebook that would get checked at the beginning of each class. We were supposed to carry it with us at all times and jot down any ideas we had or sketch our surroundings when we were bored or lacking inspiration. And I found myself hurriedly sketching 5 random objects on my way to class each time in order to have something to turn in. I don't know if the objects around me don't inspire me enough, or if I'm just too darn lazy to pick up a pencil or paintbrush and do something about it when I am inspired. It's probably a bit of both. It seems that most of the time when I really am hit with an idea, it's when I'm driving down the road, or somehow otherwise unable to jot down my thoughts.
I have a couple small sketches of ideas lying around my place. And one unfinished painting that I haven't touched since the first layer I put down over a year ago. I kept it up on my easel for months and months. Meant to either inspire or shame me into getting back to it. Then I took down the easel to make way for my Christmas tree, which has yet to come down. And now I'm not sure whether I should put my art stuff back there when I do finally take it down. I've even taken requests from friends, hoping that the sense of an "assignment" might spur me into action. But so far? Nothing.
Another contributing factor is a slight lack of funds. I'm not sure exactly what the idea of a starving artist puts into people's minds. (Whether they think all the person's $$ went into art supplies and that's why they're starving, or if they were broke in the first place and art supplies just aren't that expensive, and therefore the only thing the person can afford.) But I'll tell you truth. Art supplies are EXPENSIVE. Yeah, I guess I could be some sort of sculptor that uses found objects. I've considered that idea before (hence the boxes of junk lying around my place). Or I could glean the dye from Skittles and M&Ms and mix it with toothpaste in order to create my own pigments (some guy in prison in the book I'm reading currently does that). But really, that Skittle idea just sounds like waaaaaay too much work, and in order to have enough pigment, I'd probly have to cough up just as much $$ for candy as I would on a paint set anyway. And the materials and work space needed to put all that found junk together into a sculpture is also just as expensive.
All of that to say, I only have so much paint, and so many canvases, and I am TERRIFIED of the idea that I'll start a project, hate it, and have wasted all those materials in the end. But I'm also a pack-rat that is inevitably wondering "what if" and I would be completely incapable of just gessoing over a "bad" piece for fear that I'd later think of the perfect way to fix it, or decide that I did, in fact, like it.
So, with all of that out there, I am now going to add to my list of personal improvements I want to make this year. As Joey said in the ever-brilliant-and-relevant 90's hit Friends, "Those special skills I have listed on my resume? I would love if one of those was true." Not the exact same situation, but I sure would like to actually feel like an artist when my friends next describe me that way.
And thanks to Groupon, I took the first step in that direction today with a coupon for $50 worth of stuff at Binders Art Supplies. I went and got 7 new canvases. The thinking there is that the more canvases I have, the more OK it will be to start a painting- and possibly screw up- on one of them. I won't feel like anything I put down on precious canvas will have to be a masterpiece. I also got a new brush set complete with rolling carrier bag, and a closing palette/storage container for my paints. These are going to be part of the supplies that I'm taking up to my boyfriend's place, with the hope that by having supplies at hand in both locations, I'll be reminded/inspired more often to work.
In addition to getting supplies, I did a little looking around online to see about ways to overcome artistic block. I was also looking for at-home assignments I could give myself in order to get past my inability to just doodle and inspire myself. I ended up at a great site that I think is really going to help me out. I've run across About.com in previous searches, but never really paid it any mind or stopped to really find out what it was, but the About.com:Painting site is really really great! Not only are there forums for everything under the sun related to painting, including tons of suggestions for overcoming artistic block, but there is a project page where a separate project is assigned every month! There are tutorial videos and people that will critique pieces that you submit. I'm super excited about sitting down for a few hours this weekend and just sorting through all the great resources!
I will admit that I'm hesitant to put too many parameters around this new resolution. I have so many other things on my plate, and I don't want to take on so much that I can't live up to any of my new goals. So right now I'm going to start with VERY TINY steps and set myself a goal of completing 2 pieces this year. I know it doesn't seem like much, but since that one piece has been sitting untouched for over a year now, it would definitely be an improvement. I might actually try some of these online projects and submit my final pieces. Or I might just look through the submissions and get inspired there. We'll see. And if I hit the 2 piece mark sooner than I thought possible, hopefully I'll keep right on going!
I'll be sure to upload pictures of any progress I make in coming months!
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Day 7- Ready, Set, Don't Eat
So here I am just a few hours from the end of Day 2 of the fast. It hasn't been too bad. 3 chocolate meal replacement drinks a day, with a couple glasses of water in between. I mostly just had to stay busy in order to keep my mind off food. I have a bad habit of eating when I get bored. So I hung out with my boyfriend. We ran to Tanger to exchange some Christmas gifts and watched some movies and played with the kitties. Today I went to see the Blind Side with my friend. (Good movie. But then again I am a sucker for football flicks.) I tidied up my apartment, and my biggest accomplishment of the weekend:
I started prepping my meals for the coming week! :)
Anything that isn't easy to measure out a serving (as in takes 30 seconds or less) I measured out and packaged into single serving portions. So I chopped up my cheese blocks into 1oz portions. I measured out my grapes and sliced up my strawberries and watermelon and measured those out in to 1 cup portions. I opened up my deli ham and wrapped that up into 3oz servings. I cubed and cooked up a package of boneless chicken breasts and measured that also in 3oz servings. I even went as far as to measure out a couple 3tbsp portions of ketchup (I gotta have my ketchup!)
Then I planned tomorrow's meals. Since they suggest you eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day, and I have to get in 5 servings of protein a day according to my meal plan, I just planned 5 meals, each with a protein. Until I go back to the store and get a few more items I either forgot or couldn't find last time, some items are going to get a little repetitive, but it shouldn't be too bad. Tomorrow's schedule:
Meal 1- Yogurt, Strawberries, Ham
Meal 2- Chicken, V8 drink
Meal 3- Chicken, Peas, English Muffin
Meal 4- Ham, Mini Rice Cakes
Meal 5- Egg-white Omelet with Low-fat Cheese, English Muffin
I'm pretty excited about this. Hoping I can keep it up. Plus, it was another good way to keep my mind off of eating. You'd think prepping all this food would make me hungrier, but somehow that wasn't the case.
Anyways, it's time for my last meal replacement drink of the weekend :) Think I'm gonna pop in a movie and then call it a night.
I started prepping my meals for the coming week! :)
Anything that isn't easy to measure out a serving (as in takes 30 seconds or less) I measured out and packaged into single serving portions. So I chopped up my cheese blocks into 1oz portions. I measured out my grapes and sliced up my strawberries and watermelon and measured those out in to 1 cup portions. I opened up my deli ham and wrapped that up into 3oz servings. I cubed and cooked up a package of boneless chicken breasts and measured that also in 3oz servings. I even went as far as to measure out a couple 3tbsp portions of ketchup (I gotta have my ketchup!)
Then I planned tomorrow's meals. Since they suggest you eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day, and I have to get in 5 servings of protein a day according to my meal plan, I just planned 5 meals, each with a protein. Until I go back to the store and get a few more items I either forgot or couldn't find last time, some items are going to get a little repetitive, but it shouldn't be too bad. Tomorrow's schedule:
Meal 1- Yogurt, Strawberries, Ham
Meal 2- Chicken, V8 drink
Meal 3- Chicken, Peas, English Muffin
Meal 4- Ham, Mini Rice Cakes
Meal 5- Egg-white Omelet with Low-fat Cheese, English Muffin
I'm pretty excited about this. Hoping I can keep it up. Plus, it was another good way to keep my mind off of eating. You'd think prepping all this food would make me hungrier, but somehow that wasn't the case.
Anyways, it's time for my last meal replacement drink of the weekend :) Think I'm gonna pop in a movie and then call it a night.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Day 6- Afterburn
Well I was definitely burnt out Friday by the time I hopped in bed.
First of all, I have never really gone shopping before for "quality" running clothes, so when I showed up at Dick's all I knew was that I wanted some running tights/pants, some long sleeve shirts, some gloves, and that it all needed to be Dri-Fit. Wow- was I unprepared! Things were organized more by brand than type of garment, so I spent an hour wondering around trying to sort out who had what for how much, what the difference was between cold-compression and hot-compression, whether I needed relaxed or regular fit, and a million other choices I didn't know I had until then. I tried calling my friends that are more experienced runners, but didn't reach anyone. In the end I dropped quite a bit on a pair of Nike regular fit Dri-Fit running pants that were "specifically designed to keep me warm," 2 Reebok Dri-Fit long sleeve shirts, Under Armour gloves and ear warmers, as well as various new undergarments. Hopefully that's all I'll need for a while!
After running by Publix and stocking up on healthy options for the coming weeks, I got home and got right to that day's workout. The cardio routine turned out to be much more enjoyable than the core workout the day before, if for no other reason than I was actually able to perform all of the moves, and therefore felt like I was getting more out it. My supplements were waiting on my doorstep when I got home, so I had my first P90X Recovery drink after that workout. It was better than I expected! Tasted just like those Flintstones orange flavored push-up pops I used to get from the ice cream truck when I was younger.
I was in bed by about 10 to try and get a good night's sleep before my first run in the morning. I had started feeling a little sore earlier in the day (a good sign that I actually did get more out of the core workout that I had thought) but that night every time I went to roll over I was in agony. lol. Hopefully my body will get used to it fairly quickly.
Yesterday turn out well. Got up at 7 and threw on my new running gear. Grabbed a protein bar, banana and water for after my run and was out the door by 7:30. The first several minutes at our meeting spot were spent introducing all the leads and going through a brief overview of the program. We broke down into pace groups ranging from 10-15 minutes (we're talking about 10K mile times). My friends and I decided to be ambitious and joined the small number of people in the 10 minute group. Our first day's run was only a mile, and I made it to end ok, if a little winded by the last hill. But I'll have to seriously think about whether that's a realistic goal for me long term. We're allowed to move up or down a group depending on if we're having a good or off day each weekend, but I'm assuming I'll make more consistent progress if I pick a target time and stick to it. Each group did a run/walk ratio depending on their training target. Our group was 3min/1min. I'd love to have a 10min mile for a 10K by the end of this program. That'd have me finished with the full thing in a little over an hour. I'll keep yall updated once I decide what I really want to aim for. Unfortunately I'll be missing next week's "magic mile" cuz I'll be out of town. This is a timed mile run that they use to help you decide what you should be aiming for. I'll see if I can time myself where I'll be and talk to them about it afterward.
They gave us a schedule of the program, and we work up to a full 6.2 mile run eventually. It also included our homework runs. We're expected to run/walk for 30 min every Mon-Thursday, with Sundays and Fridays off. Like I expected, I'm going to be busy these next 3 months!
(By the way- my new running gear worked out well. I was wondering when I first showed up if I needed a second layer, but by the end I was glad I wasn't wearing one!)
Next I headed over to my parent's place. We've been trying to see Avatar in the 3-D IMAX version for a few weekends now and keep having bad luck. First time it was sold out, the next time my mom was too sick to go, and Friday night when they tried to get tickets the IMAX machine was broken! But they fixed it and we were the first people to show up for the 11:30 showing yesterday, so we got the best seats in the house! And for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, I agree with my friends- it's definitely worth seeing in that format. The new 3-D image was very cool. And again- like my friends told me, the plot's pretty predictable, but it's still very enjoyable and the visual effects are well worth it, in my opinion.
After all that I headed up to my boyfriend's place. Got in a short nap on the couch before doing my Saturday P90X- Arms/Shoulders and Ab Ripper X. Though I didn't sweat as much during this workout, I could definitely feel it in my muscles. Still waiting to see when I'm going to start feeling the after effects!
Today I start my 2-day fast. Had my first chocolate shake this morning. That and water's all I get for the next 48 hours, and hopefully that will help kick start my weight loss goals! The instructions for the fast suggest you take it easy while on the program. No exercising, or at least be prepared to stop when you feel your blood sugar level running too low. So I'm going to attempt today's Yoga X later this evening and see how it goes. Luckily I've got tomorrow off for MLK day, so I'll be able to take it easy through the end of the fast. Might try and go see another movie- Mom said 2012 was worth seeing on the big screen, so if it's still playing anywhere I might try for that.
Welp- that's all caught up. I'll check in later and let you know how the fast went!
First of all, I have never really gone shopping before for "quality" running clothes, so when I showed up at Dick's all I knew was that I wanted some running tights/pants, some long sleeve shirts, some gloves, and that it all needed to be Dri-Fit. Wow- was I unprepared! Things were organized more by brand than type of garment, so I spent an hour wondering around trying to sort out who had what for how much, what the difference was between cold-compression and hot-compression, whether I needed relaxed or regular fit, and a million other choices I didn't know I had until then. I tried calling my friends that are more experienced runners, but didn't reach anyone. In the end I dropped quite a bit on a pair of Nike regular fit Dri-Fit running pants that were "specifically designed to keep me warm," 2 Reebok Dri-Fit long sleeve shirts, Under Armour gloves and ear warmers, as well as various new undergarments. Hopefully that's all I'll need for a while!
After running by Publix and stocking up on healthy options for the coming weeks, I got home and got right to that day's workout. The cardio routine turned out to be much more enjoyable than the core workout the day before, if for no other reason than I was actually able to perform all of the moves, and therefore felt like I was getting more out it. My supplements were waiting on my doorstep when I got home, so I had my first P90X Recovery drink after that workout. It was better than I expected! Tasted just like those Flintstones orange flavored push-up pops I used to get from the ice cream truck when I was younger.
I was in bed by about 10 to try and get a good night's sleep before my first run in the morning. I had started feeling a little sore earlier in the day (a good sign that I actually did get more out of the core workout that I had thought) but that night every time I went to roll over I was in agony. lol. Hopefully my body will get used to it fairly quickly.
Yesterday turn out well. Got up at 7 and threw on my new running gear. Grabbed a protein bar, banana and water for after my run and was out the door by 7:30. The first several minutes at our meeting spot were spent introducing all the leads and going through a brief overview of the program. We broke down into pace groups ranging from 10-15 minutes (we're talking about 10K mile times). My friends and I decided to be ambitious and joined the small number of people in the 10 minute group. Our first day's run was only a mile, and I made it to end ok, if a little winded by the last hill. But I'll have to seriously think about whether that's a realistic goal for me long term. We're allowed to move up or down a group depending on if we're having a good or off day each weekend, but I'm assuming I'll make more consistent progress if I pick a target time and stick to it. Each group did a run/walk ratio depending on their training target. Our group was 3min/1min. I'd love to have a 10min mile for a 10K by the end of this program. That'd have me finished with the full thing in a little over an hour. I'll keep yall updated once I decide what I really want to aim for. Unfortunately I'll be missing next week's "magic mile" cuz I'll be out of town. This is a timed mile run that they use to help you decide what you should be aiming for. I'll see if I can time myself where I'll be and talk to them about it afterward.
They gave us a schedule of the program, and we work up to a full 6.2 mile run eventually. It also included our homework runs. We're expected to run/walk for 30 min every Mon-Thursday, with Sundays and Fridays off. Like I expected, I'm going to be busy these next 3 months!
(By the way- my new running gear worked out well. I was wondering when I first showed up if I needed a second layer, but by the end I was glad I wasn't wearing one!)
Next I headed over to my parent's place. We've been trying to see Avatar in the 3-D IMAX version for a few weekends now and keep having bad luck. First time it was sold out, the next time my mom was too sick to go, and Friday night when they tried to get tickets the IMAX machine was broken! But they fixed it and we were the first people to show up for the 11:30 showing yesterday, so we got the best seats in the house! And for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, I agree with my friends- it's definitely worth seeing in that format. The new 3-D image was very cool. And again- like my friends told me, the plot's pretty predictable, but it's still very enjoyable and the visual effects are well worth it, in my opinion.
After all that I headed up to my boyfriend's place. Got in a short nap on the couch before doing my Saturday P90X- Arms/Shoulders and Ab Ripper X. Though I didn't sweat as much during this workout, I could definitely feel it in my muscles. Still waiting to see when I'm going to start feeling the after effects!
Today I start my 2-day fast. Had my first chocolate shake this morning. That and water's all I get for the next 48 hours, and hopefully that will help kick start my weight loss goals! The instructions for the fast suggest you take it easy while on the program. No exercising, or at least be prepared to stop when you feel your blood sugar level running too low. So I'm going to attempt today's Yoga X later this evening and see how it goes. Luckily I've got tomorrow off for MLK day, so I'll be able to take it easy through the end of the fast. Might try and go see another movie- Mom said 2012 was worth seeing on the big screen, so if it's still playing anywhere I might try for that.
Welp- that's all caught up. I'll check in later and let you know how the fast went!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day 4- Supplies
I have a very full schedule for the rest of today, so I'm going to check in now in case I don't get around to it later. Here's what the rest of my day looks like:
- Get off work at 4:15 (work work work until then)
- Go pick up some cold-weather gear for tomorrow's 8am run (eek!)
- Head to the grocery store armed with my P90X list of acceptable foods
- Go home and unpack all of my new stuff
- Pop in today's P90X workout (Cardio X)
- Shower and get in bed early in order to rest up for tomorrow!
Then tomorrow I'll have my first 10K training run ALONG WITH my P90X workout! Crazy huh? I guess I better get used to it. I'll let you know what all this training program is going to entail tomorrow after I find out myself!
VUMR6NNDEMTK
- Get off work at 4:15 (work work work until then)
- Go pick up some cold-weather gear for tomorrow's 8am run (eek!)
- Head to the grocery store armed with my P90X list of acceptable foods
- Go home and unpack all of my new stuff
- Pop in today's P90X workout (Cardio X)
- Shower and get in bed early in order to rest up for tomorrow!
Then tomorrow I'll have my first 10K training run ALONG WITH my P90X workout! Crazy huh? I guess I better get used to it. I'll let you know what all this training program is going to entail tomorrow after I find out myself!
VUMR6NNDEMTK
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