Lez-New-Life

5 Tips to Managing Perfectionism in Art

I found this little gem in my stack of old drawings.  It’s from 8th grade.  It describes who I was so well, and what interests I still have.  They haven’t changed, and I find this a confirmation of my identity.  I used to think this drawing was terrible, but I am fond of it now.  It’s funny the things we think are awful and then later we realize that it wasn’t so bad for the place I was in at the…

Let’s talk again about fear of failure.  I gave some tips to overcoming these fears here.  But I’d like to revisit this topic as I have been taking a lot of risks lately and facing my fears.

I’m afraid of a lot of things.  I’m afraid that I’ll fail at everything I do.  This strong fear of failure sometimes cripples me into never starting a project or trying something completely new.

I’m afraid…

I’ve not seen many dreams come true for me.  I remember the first time I attended First Thursday art walk in Boise.  It was 2007, I had moved here for six months, and I had high hopes for me and my art career.  I remember thinking, wow, it would be awesome to be able to show my work at a First Thursday event.  I remember hearing that the art scene in Boise was pretty small (in comparison to…

The gypsies had arrived.  It was a warm, sunny day, just as summer poked its head out from the edge of spring.  Colors flew in reds, oranges and purples on tapestries of gold and silver.  Housewares of all kinds appeared from the deceptively large brightly colored wagons.  Shoes and jewelry were laid out on beautiful blankets upon the grass in the festival field.  The air was alive with the sound…

Hey All!  I’m a new Boise Artist trying to get a start, and I would really love to enter into the Art and Soul Magic Valley contest this April.  I hope to enter the juried portion of the contest as well, and I need the entry fee, sponsor money, and jury fee.  I would love any help that I can get!  I know it’s last minute, but I need the funds by Feb 8.

If you would like to be my sponsor, the fee…

As I create, I am learning that it’s better to do something badly than not at all.

Being a perfectionist, I used to be so afraid of failure that I wouldn’t even start a project if I thought I might fail.  I would be gripped with anxiety, with premonitions of looking a fool.

Well I am tired of being too nervous to do anything, and now I am doing a lot for the first time and even though it may be…

This past year has been an experiment to get myself out there creatively.  Blogging, sending my art to an organization asking if they could use it, putting my artwork online for people to see, starting a novel and posting excerpts.

I’ve been extremely happy creating.  I would love to make a living doing just that, but I know I’m just beginning and it could be a long ways away.  But this doesn’t…

Happy Saturday! It’s a gray and gloomy day, so here are some cute pics of our dog, because she’s just so adorable.  Everybody needs animal pictures in their life.

This little weirdo likes all human food in existence, including carrots and grapes.  She’ll even eat broccoli.  She is watching intently for me to give her some grapes.

She’s waiting for me to throw her grapes.

Still waiting for those…

Awhile back I talked about how coming out helped me heal from an abusive relationship.  It was the beginning of coming into myself as a person.  It breathed new life into me.  The more I accepted my true self, the less the past mattered. I came out to coworkers and acquaintances first, then slowly began telling my closer friends.  Almost all of the reactions were positive.  I came out to one of…

Hi All,

I wanted some place to document my portfolio, so I began another WordPress site to host my art.  You’ll be able to peruse my art in an easier fashion than from going through my blogroll bit by bit.  I don’t have my own host site yet, but I plan on making that happen soon.

If you’re interested, it’s at krdawsonart.wordpress.com

I also provide links to it on the sidebar of my blog, and I’ll…

Get Something Down – Thoughts on Creating

Today’s words of wisdom from The Artist’s Way Every Day by Julia Cameron is about learning to just get it written down rather than create something out of thin air.

Art is not about thinking something up.  It is about the opposite – getting something down.  If we are trying to think something up, we are straining to reach for something that’s just beyond our grasp, “up there, in the stratosphere,…

I’m just learning about my ADHD.  I took the questionnaire, turned it in to my doc, and soon she prescribed me a medication.  But I haven’t researched much on it.  I just thought it had something to do with an inability to focus.  And now my daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD, so I decided it’s high time to do some research on the subject.

So what are the symptoms of ADHD?

Symptoms of ADHD…

This past year was really difficult.  I had multiple challenges to overcome, but I learned a lot about myself and how to balance my life in the midst of chaos.  My life has been pretty chaotic until recently, but with some different tools I have learned I’ve come to develop great coping skills to handle my bipolar.  I hope some of these tools can help those of you struggling with similar symptoms.

How to Talk to a Friend with Mental Illness

It may be uncomfortable for you to know what to say to someone who is disabled because of a mental illness.  I don’t speak for everyone in my situation, but I can speak for myself.  Here are some guidelines of what is okay to ask me.  I won’t be offended, and in fact, I welcome such questions when asked in the spirit of caring.  I know it can seem intrusive to even mention my mental illness, but…

It's not over til you're down the mountain.

We all have mountains to climb.  Whether it’s recovery, working, writing, or just going about daily business, it’s all steps to the top where we can stop and look around, enjoy the high altitude and the panoramic view.  But that’s not the end.  We have to descend.  Just because you’ve conquered one feat doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges afterwards.  Sometimes I forget this, with my bipolar…

Bipolar Love – A Guest Post

The following is a guest post by my wife.  I’ve written about what it’s like for me, being married while bipolar, but she really wanted to write about her perspective, as the non-bipolar partner, so here she is.

What is it like to be married to someone with bipolar disorder?  Well, if you google that question you will find the term “bipolar marriage,” and article after article of utter nonsense. …

An art-cident happened recently.  Last year my daughter and I bonded a lot painting together.  She’s quite talented and I love encouraging her endeavors.  Well, a few months ago she asked if she could use my studio to paint.  I consented, quite pleased that she was going to make some art.

This was the first time I let her paint in my studio alone.  I set her up at my desk, placed the tabletop…