Task Management

Growing up and learning to drive in an area of the country that has severe winters, I learned to keep the fuel levels in my car at least a quarter of a tank full. It’s better for the engine in winter. And if you get stuck needing heat, you’re covered for as long as the tank lasts!

Just simply keeping the tank from running empty was a habit that continued until I started working from home. Then it seemed I was always running to town and a deadline was involved. The habit of always having a quarter of a tank began to slip away.

Just the other day I was leaving home to go into town and realized that my gas tank was almost empty. I had to get gas. It could not wait! As I pumped gas I contacted my appointment and communicated that I would be a few minutes late.

The urgency of gas caught up to me. I stopped managing gas on my timeline and my car inserted itself into my schedule. Now that I have noticed, I can return to getting gas before it is needed.

In life there are a lot of little things like getting gas that manage us instead of us managing them, aren’t there? If we put off going to the grocery store, cleaning up, paying the bills… before long we’ve procrastinated our whole to-do list and now we are run by our tasks, leaving no room for the things we WANT to do, like create. Spend a little time managing all these small things well on the front end, so they don’t overrun you eventually.

Life as a Lesson in Mastery

When I go to write my name, I write my name – Nysha, N Y S H A. I no longer think about how each letter is constructed. I don't think about the up stroke, down stroke, and upstroke to make the N. I make the curve stroke and up then the stem stroke down of the Y without considering I'm making specific strokes. I have written my name so many times that I don't think about writing my name. I just write my name.

As an adult, writing is like that for everyone. Once we master something we can perform the task mindlessly. And our thoughts focus on other things. Most of the time I'm usually focused on how the heck do you spell this particular word. I have made the 26 letters of the alphabet so many times that I don't think about it anymore. I just make them.

Have you ever watched a child who is just newly learning to walk and there is a hesitance about their steps? Their arms reach out to balance themselves. Their feet are planted firmly before they take the next step. And yet they always start running with glee on their faces. As an adult I don't think about my balance, my feet, or the mechanics of walking. I just walk. Because I have done it so much.

So what I want you to consider about free-motion machine quilting is that when you start it feels awkward. It's new! If you focus on practice, focus on making marks, gain the muscle memory with each mark, and at some point you won't have to think about making the marks… you can think about quilting.

This is how you're going to learn to quilt. We're going to learn one mark at a time. We're going to practice making it over and over again. Once we get a handle on that one, we're going to move on to an adjacent mark and keep working until we have learned all of the basic marks. Then we will start putting the marks together and making forms from which we can quilt anything.

Time management

It’s no secret in today’s world that time is a lot like money, you never have enough anymore. At this stage in my life the time factor is even more true. Between my personal life and family, the studio and classes, the video project, and the book manuscripts… it’s a wonder I feel like I am accomplishing anything anymore.

This recently came up when talking to a friend, too. Usually the topic brings up priorities, values, responsibility, and strategies. The first thing I thought of was managing technology. Everyone has their head in a smart phone or tablet now. And seriously, we used to function just fine without them. How much more efficiently could you manage your time if you weren’t constantly responding to social media or staying caught up on your news feeds?For example, another friend of mine went on a three day trip. After returning home, she had an inbox full of messages. I asked her if they were notification emails or actual messages that needed responding to. In her case the majority of the emails were the notification kind for likes, comments, etc. on social media. She had no idea there was a way to manage her settings to stop this from wasting her time on a regular basis.

I have certain email addresses tagged as important so messages come up first on my phone. Those get answered. Everything else gets prioritized until I can deal with it. I do the same with texts and phone calls by assigning certain ring tones. When my ears hear these tones, I know I can ignore or listen. It’s been very freeing and helped to manage technology and distractions that cause me to lose lots of my previous time.

I’ve put a boundary on my time when it comes to managing the outside distractions that prevent me from being productive. This is how I’m able to successfully manage my time and have technology working FOR me rather than against me!

The Mastery of Mindset for Successful Quilting

Remember the last time you went on vacation? Those few days before you left when you anticipated the trip and everything was exciting and made everything you were doing to prepare fun and enjoyable, right? Life seemed brighter, funnier, easier, and probably more interesting. You weren’t even on vacation yet, but the mindset of being at the beach, on the cruise, or wherever you were going coloured all the experiences with the wonderful time you knew you were going to have.

That is the very idea we need to focus on before we begin working on a project. Any frame of mind we have at the beginning will affect the work we create. The experience of working will mirror that throughout the completion of the piece. If we are tense, the work will be stilted and difficult to execute. Fearful? It will take longer and reflect the tentative nature that comes with fear and not wanting to screw up. Even too much excitement can cause a lack of attention, and have you wanting to jump to the next thing instead of focusing on the step you are on.

Preparing to quilt I create a calm, focused, and at ease mindset. I look for music that keeps me calm yet suits the movement I will be making; feathers = flowing or classical music, angles = a prominent and steady beat, or pebbles = audio book. I spend about fifteen minutes with my Zentangle® practice where I use a marker and create patterns on a 3.5 inch square of paper. I focus on just the mark I am making at the time and push all other thoughts and distractions out of my mind.

When I’m done, I can begin quilting with a clear mindset because I’ve left behind all the other things that are going on around me causing distractions. As I work I focus on the mark I am currently making. If I finish a movement and am not happy with it, I take a moment and either choose to accept it and move on, or to stop and remove it. Once I have chosen, I again focus on the movement I am making. If I get caught up on the next movement ahead, I take a deep breath and focus again on the movement I am making.


Remember! You can stop the machine at any time! If you’re distracted by — whatever, then stop your machine for a minute and deal with that distraction. The result will be more controlled, intentional quilting and a better frame of mind. The finished piece will be a testament to discipline, skill, focus, and follow through of your vision-a whole work of art.

Until next time… Get tangled!

Creating a Vision of Your Own

When you speak English you don’t try to imitate Shakespeare, Whitman, or Wolf, right?  You have your own unique way of speaking.  You use the same words, sure.  But you have your own diction that’s just as special as you are as a person.  The same is true for your quilting skill.

As a beginning quilter, I first looked to traditional patterns.  I made log cabin blocks, snail’s trails, square in a square, hand quilted lines, machine quilted feathers, etc.  I kept trying to create these patterns to learn the basic skills needed to create art in this medium called quilting.  Do you know what I learned?

Quilting isn’t really about the replicating of a pattern.  It’s about creating a vision of your own.  But when you’re first starting out, you can’t see that, let alone DO that.  Right?

Feathers - Before

Feathers - After

It takes time to learn to quilt.  There are many, many hours of work that go into practicing to gain control to be able to take an idea from your head and execute it in stitch.  You will fail many times. That’s ok.  I still fail.  At every roadblock, return to the creators that came before us to look for inspiration and solutions.

You have to remind yourself, “I am where I am.”  Don’t compare where you are now to where someone else is or was in their skill level.  The more you practice, the more experience you gain, the stronger skill you create, and the more freedom of ideas that will begin to emerge in your quilting-not just to recreate, but create anew!

The Lost Art of the Personal Touch

Remember the days when the mailbox held a funny card? A thoughtful note? Or a letter catching up over the miles? Today we stay so connected electronically that there are rarely cards and notes to keep in the boxes and trunks of our lives. No mementos or keepsakes to treasure as time passes…

I recently went to the mail and retrieved an unexpected thank you card, a beautiful, tiny fan with peach blossoms on one side and a hand written note on the other. It was beautiful. It was thoughtful. The whole gesture really made me feel special and appreciated. I’d like to get back to the place where we express our appreciation to those that matter to us. It seems society has a mindset now that everything is disposable, and not worthy of value. Let’s challenge that trend.

Until next time... Get tangled!

Increasing Creativity and Productivity with Sketchbooks

For the longest time I thought that sketchbooks were something sacred that needed to be beautiful from beginning to end.  Then I went for years having several sketchbooks — one for continuous line quilting patterns, one for play, one for geometric and/or piecing designs, and one I carried with me to museums to sketch and jot notes in… and that was a mess.

Many artists use just one sketchbook at a time and work from front to back until it is filled — then they move on to the next sketchbook.  This is more the idea I am going with now, except I keep two — one is for Zentangle and the other is for everything else.

I keep my tangles separate because these I actively use as a reference. Referring to them for tangles as I work, either in a book or on a tile, etc. 

The other sketchbook is for anything else. If I am trying to figure out something, I pull out that sketchbook and work there. If there is a tangle I am unsure about, I work there. If I am jotting notes about an artist or a quote, that is where I put it. It is far less messy; and because it is in one place, I can find things easier than when I had five sketchbooks going at once.

That’s the beauty of being an artist, I guess.  Finding your pattern in the chaos, where you fit and can express your vision the best.  I want to help get you to a place that increases your focus and creativity, helping you create some of your best work.  Anything is possible one stroke at a time, right?  Until next time... Get tangled!

What a bit of shading can do

How often do you think things are boring? Visually, something isn’t interesting, doesn’t captivate your attention. An event fails to wow? You can’t relate to what a speaker is saying because there is too much technical jargon and not enough life…

Drawings can be like that. Great contrasts of values, black and white that pop from a distance yet don’t hold the eye longer than the few seconds it takes to disseminate the image. One way I have seen that adds interest to hold the viewer is shading to add depth. A tile tangled with good value contrast can be nice. That same tile with shading can be truly stunning.

If we can add interest to a tile with a little graphite — what can we add to life with a little grey by way of inclusion, acceptance, breathing…?

Conference in Santa Fe

Hanging out with like-minded people is something that is always worthwhile. Realizing Santa Fe, New Mexico is a favorite destination spot for many people, I never had a desire to go. In 2013, Studio Art Quilt Associates had their annual conference in Santa Fe. The conference was great — hanging out with like-minded people, listening to speakers who engaged and inspired. When I heard that Tangle U, a conference for Certified Zentangle Teachers, was going to Santa Fe in 2015 I knew I would be going too!

The high desert holds little appeal aesthetically to me; brown earth, adobe, terra-cotta, few trees… The mountains in the distance are pretty. The shopping, the art, the whole spirit is amazing. I loved wandering the section of Old Town near the hotel and conference center. Shops of the handmade or artisan made each spectacular versions of its kind.

The conference held equal attention. [Classes about products, teaching methods, new approaches to projects. Each class sparked ideas and stimulated the creative monster.]

One class took the traditional idea of tangles and talked about refining lines and adding shading in a unique way that creates even more dimensionality. I also was introduced to the idea that tiles can be ‘intimate’ or have less value contrast (less to look at from a distance) and yet have smaller detail or more change in sheen (using a clear pen with white glitter on white paper) that you can only see as you move around the tile. More a sense of wonder than wow.

Another class introduced me to TomBow markers. A product I knew of and had not tried. Trying it for the first time in a guided manner was great. Who knew a marker could be blended?!

There were also opportunities to meet other Certified Zentangle Teachers who came from all over the world. I met Laura Liu from Taipei, Taiwan. Japan Diamond is her pattern. It is one of my favorites! Even a fellow Tennessean, Amy Brody who shared tales of her tangles.

It was a great trip. I look forward to next year in Maine.

Quilting Arts TV

If you have seen the recent issue of Quilting Arts Magazine you will have seen the article on my Zentangle Book in a Box. (April/May 2015) It was quite an experience to submit, write, ship, wait and wait for the whole process.

The whole thing came about because of Margarita Korioth. She moved to the Memphis area almost two years ago and we became friends. She has written many articles for Quilting Arts Magazine (including an article in the same issue!) and other publications and encouraged me to submit.

Last May I finally got it all together and submitted proposals for articles. In September they asked me to do the Artist Spotlight featuring my Zentangle Book in a Box. I wrote the article. In November I shipped my book and waited. Finally a few weeks ago the issue was released and almost a year of waiting was over.

Meanwhile — in November Susan Brubaker Knapp was the national teacher for Uncommon Threads Quilt Guild. I took some classes from her and got a chance to chat with her. We talked about her job hosting Quilting Arts TV and what it was like to be on the show.

Bolstered by my article success I submitted a proposal and was asked to join the team in Solon, Ohio to tape three segments for Quilting Arts TV.

The first segment was about applying colour after quilting. I love this topic! I started first with paint atop quilting when I first started quilting in 2006. A class with Lura Schwarz Smith opened the world of ink. Then I discovered using coloured pencil set with medium, and finally the magic of Inktense Pencils by Derwent. NOW — you’ve got nine minutes. GO!

The second segment was a little longer at 13 minutes and was all about my two sided quilts and how I frame them. The hours of preparing the project sample was well worth the work as things went smoothly (or so they seemed on my side of the camera) and we seemed to cover a lot of ground.

Finally there was a segment about the Zentangle Book in a Box and showing how I made the paged of the book and how I quilt. Only a few minutes, but it was exhilarating! Possibly best of all was meeting so many great people; the production staff, the Quilting Arts people, the lady from Bernina, and many other artist there to tape as well. You will have to watch season 1600 to see us all!


*Note - Quilting Arts TV is aired on many PBS stations. If you are not in one of the viewing areas you can purchase the series on DVD or view an episode or series on line.

Sentiments to Society

What is there to do when you are feeling down trodden and are trying to 

procrastinate --  not get down to work?

What else but practice some calligraphy 

and write out some sentiments from the heart!

above is a blend of Walnut Ink and 

Dr. Ph. Martin's Spectralite liquid acrylic ink in 51K Brass 

plus a little graphite shading.

Here the attempt is using watercolor and blending from one colour to another

plus a little shading with Prismacolor Pencils

Sumi Vermillion ink for the lettering and 

Sumi Vermillion blended with Walnut Ink 

and ever increasing amounts of white watercolor.

Each page was done entirely with pointed pen. All the decoration, while inspired by Zentangle was done with pointed pen and an intention to play with the thick and thin lines created by a pointed pen calligraphy nib.

I used Canson Calligraphy Parchment for the first page (8.5 x 11 / 24lb.) and Paper and Ink Arts brand Diploma Parchment (8.5 x 11 / 47lb.) for the other two. The nib was a Brause Steno used throughout. I did intend to try several nibs, but this nib was very nice and holds a lot of ink -- so I just kept using it!

Legibility and Sincerity

If you know me or regularly read my irregular blog posts then you know that I am at the end of taking my second calligraphy class this year. And I love it!
Writing is an important thing. Calligraphy is beautiful and also strives to be legible. How words are strung together is also important though much writing is typed and the legibility comes from the font and not from the hand. The mind however is important to both processes and can convey much more than the sequence of words convey or the look denotes.

Which leads me to the point of this post...
Thank You messages. Especially from businesses.
Perhaps you are a business person or simply someone who is mindful of sending 'Thank You' notes to others when you feel it appropriate. Many businesses  do this as part of their regular marketing champaign. And it can be a good idea.
However!
In the past few weeks I have gotten three such messages from three various businesses I patronize. The first was a hand addressed envelope with a custom printed card, the front of the card had an etched image of the business, housed in an attractive old house in Memphis. Nice. When I opened it out fell a business card and a small card printed with 10% off... Nothing personal. No salutation. No signature. All just stuck in the envelope.
Another was an e-mail message that said in many words to tell me "I was appreciated." There was a nice quote from Gertrude Stein and it was 'signed' from the person at the business that I deal with. Upon closer inspection I noticed several things. My name was no where to be seen. It was sent from his assistants e-mail address and his name was in the 'To:' line meaning that it was a generic e-mail sent to all his clients by his assistant. Not personal at all.
The second note was from a retail business I frequent. In the mail yesterday was a smallish white envelope with no return address. It was hand addressed. Not fancy, yet nicely written. Inside was a flat card with a hand written note saying I was appreciated and there was a sale going on and then signed. Just a nice, legible hand written note from the store and sales person.
Which experience do you think I liked the most and said to me I was appreciated?
See you are very smart and know how to create a great impression. So how do so many miss the point?
And doesn't the assistant know there are mail programs that will place a name into the message to personalize it? From a list?
And if you are hand addressing an envelope can't you write "Thanks" and sign your name? Because if you want to tell me that you care about me the customer... try pretending for a moment that I really do matter and make the effort personal.
Or just forget it all together!

Say!

If you would like to learn more about making cards so You can send someone you appreciate a note I am having a ZenTangle Project Class on Card Making May 20th from 7 - 9pm at Studio Nysha. leave me a comment here on by mail if you would like more information. Or visit my Studio Nysha

Practice, practice, practice!

I have been taking a calligraphy class. To get the most out of that class I have been doing the suggested homework 

(Here an practicing capitals by creating an alphabetic list of something -- I choose fabric

and yes Jacquard has a 'u'!)

 as well as some other things like creating cards

recreating my logo and tag line 

and addressing a letter to CBS News Sunday Morning along with a ZenTangle. The idea is that a bunch of Certified ZenTangle Teachers are sending letters and ZenTangles in on April 1st to try and get Rick and Maria on to talk about ZenTangles.

It is such a great thing, ZenTangles and has done so much for so many that creating a greater awareness of it would be even better!

 And I had another excuse to practice my calligraphy!

Cause I am having a challenge finding excuses...

Improvement and Inspiration

A friend recently asked me

"How do you work at improving yourself as an artist?  Reading art books?  Classes?  Making more art and experimenting as you go?"

Excited, I replied;
     This is a passion -- self improvement! Some of what I do for self improvement and furthering my art involves on line video content.

     Lynda.com - especially the documentaries. Marianne Bantjes is one of my favorites along with one on Jerry Uelsmann.

     Ted Talks (Ted.com) -- hard to find a talk that is not inspiring or challenging.

     ZenTangle -- really the meditative part of it.

     Trying new things. Perhaps adjacent to my art work, perhaps not, but interesting and new. This year some are calligraphy and  enameling.

     Reading - bios of successful artists and decorators, philosophy, metaphysics. One of the most significant things I have read in the past was "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron: a book and workbook that takes you through a process of uncovering your inner creativity. A must for everyone currently breathing! 

As an artist it is especially important to look and really see. Always looking with the help of;  tumblr, pintrest, keeping up with ThisIsColossal.com (Amazing!) finding new artists on line and in print, looking at the beautiful detail shots on 1stDibs.com 

     [a great tool I learned of last year is SnagIt. You can try a free trial. It is a screen capture tool - great to snag an image for your visual file...]

snagged for my personal use - sorry I have no idea where it is from or whom the artist is... bad record keeping!

One of the things that I find extremely valuable: keeping my word -- making commitments  and then following through. A group fellow CZT's (Certified ZenTangle Teachers) from a training last fall have stayed in contact and once a month we touch base about what we are doing with the business of ZenTangle. We make commitments about what we intend to accomplish for the month and then we report on how we did them or not. This is a very powerful practice to make yourself accountable to another. I find it keeps me focused and on task. I can not believe (when I do this) how much I actually get accomplished.

Simple as it sounds "hanging out" -- lunch artist friends (the local ones), calls with working artist friends (not local ones via Skype or for a group Google HangOuts). Regular contact with working artists. Have you ever noticed how successful and/or powerful people run in pacts? Hang with the people who are doing it and by association you will begin to do it as well.

And in the world of Doing It -- I also follow several blogs by artists who are doing... the chief among them Maria Shell who is one of the most disciplined and hard working artists creating beautiful work that I know.

     Some other blogs I love for beauty and content; Pattern Print Journal, Art In Progress, Aestheticus Rex (If you just want the beautiful imagery from the net distilled for you this is your blog!)

A chair from a rare Louis Comfort Tiffany (before Tiffany Studios) suite.
One of the blog entries at Aestheticus Rex

     She also asked about "making more art and experimenting as you go" Oh BOY! I love making art. Experimenting is the pinnacle of excitement for me. While I rarely have a concrete plan when I begin to work I DO experiment and sample a ton! I get an idea and try and see if I can make it a reality or how suitable to work I can make it... many times they have not gone anywhere, but they are motivating and exciting to me. I sample colours of thread on different fabrics before beginning many times, I try smaller versions of things - much like the Kemshalls use sketchbooks to explore ideas and refine.

     I sample so much that after a suggestion that I put my samples together into one piece of work I cam up with a plan that I will be unveiling at the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show  March 6, 7, and 8th where I am the Featured Artist as well as the Artist in Residence. I will be there with a body of work and demonstrating during the show with a special ZenTangle class on Friday night. (Sorry the class is full!) If you are in the area come and see me.

     I hope that you find inspiration and ways to improve yourself -- please share what you do to improve yourself and inspire your own work.

Mandala How To!

A little earlier than the usual Mandala Monday
I just finished doing a one minute presentation showing a mandala being created -- one line at a time...
If you are in the area come join me at Mid-South Doodlers, Tuesday September 3, 2013. We meet from 7pm - 9pm at StudioNysha in Bartlett.
I will be doing a full demo this month. Then you can try. No need for supplies I will have some you can use!

Questions. Just ask!

Mid-South Doodlers meets the 1st Tuesday of each month. Join US!

from this

to this

Connection

014
6 x 6
Mixed media on paper

Somedays I think I am connected to those around me and other days I feel alone.
I start with an intention and most days I feel I have met my intention and have connected.
Then I listen to peoples' response and find that they are having an all together different experience.
And how many times do you have to hear the same thing before you are confronted with the truth of it?
"When we try to describe the truth with words, we distort it and it's no longer truth -- it's out story. The story may be true for us, but that doesn't mean it's try for anyone else." Miguel Ruiz

What does it mean to connect?

How do you try and connect with others?

What gives you the sense that you have been successful connecting with others?

Moving Days

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6 x 6
Mixed media on paper

So Mandala Mondays look like they will be relocated to Tuesdays.
Monday will be my new Sunday - the second day of my weekend.
A consistent day off is a good thing. Something you can plan around, count on.
I foresee that Saturdays will be busy at StudioNysha. And while not specifically a day in the studio it is a day spent doing quilt related things as there are three bees that meet on Saturdays.
It is also a popular class day.
While I relish routine there is something to say for flexibility. I am working on that one!

Whaaat?

Ever have one of those days? The kind where nothing seems to go according to plan. They are not always bad -- sometimes the unexpected is better then what we planned. Too often we are so attached to what we want to happen that we fail to see the miracle in the present that IS happening.
This has been my week. Work crews scheduled then not coming one day and showing up another time. Plans for one day moved to another due to those schedule changes. And time being made for the  forgotten...
Except that I forgot to post the Monday Mandala yesterday, Monday! Although Tuesday is not Monday is it not Friday either.
Enjoy the miracle that comes unexpectedly to your life!

012
Mixed media on paper
6 x 6

Endurance

011
6 x 6
Mixed media on paper

Sometimes the only way to finish a chore it to plow ahead and how for the best. Dividing up the tasks into more manageable bites can be a good approach.
So many times when a mandala is underway it seems to be going the wrong direction; those colours don't look good together, that pattern is [dull, too dark, too similar...]. I find that if I keep going that the end result is always better than I expected at that moment of doubt. More often that not the problem area is no longer offensive.
Keep working and the result might surprise you!

Mandala Monday Could By Yours

Bullet Mandala
SAQA Auction Square
12 x 12

SAQA, Studio Art Quilt Associates is a great organization devoted to promoting the fiber and quilted mediums in the Art world and the general public around the globe. Each fall they have an auction event and hundreds of 12 inch by 12 inch quilts made by SAQA members are auctioned. This is the biggest fundraiser of the year for SAQA.
Check it out.