Kathryn  Uster Collage Art Studio
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Plant an Act, Harvest a Habit

6/2/2017

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  • Hello Artistic Friends,
In updating my website, I decided to delete my Blogger account
and conveniently attach it here to my website. Perhaps, my old followers
will find me, if I don't find them first. If life is good, my Facebook
friends and others will follow.

Today I tried to move myself in the direction of my studio but the blog
was nagging at me. It had to be done and with inspiration waning a
bit in the business of creating, what better way to think about new
creations than to write about art and creativity!

If you have been to my "About" page, I won't bore you with a repeat,
but as an artist living in Southwest, the desert can be as desolate as an island in many respects.
When your roots are in the hustle of the Northeast U.S., one misses the seasons, the culture,
the craziness, and of course, and the inspiration that goes with it. The beauty and solitude of a
desert scene has its upside in creating pieces with the colors I miss, while giving a dimension not
seen in a palette of beige rocky area. It's all in the imaginings of what you want and choose to see.

Today's focus is motivation. Many who work in the various arts, are what psychologists refer to
Type B personalities. The "It'll get done when it gets done. No big deal. I'll worry about it later.
Oh, this looks like fun..." types. We all know them, or we are them! Some artists are Type A's who are
highly organized and motivated, set their goals daily and precisely, perfectionists, deadline oriented." I
call them heart attacks waiting to happen, but Type B's can learn from them, and many Type B's
are very perfectionist oriented. Each has the tendency toward "good intentions" and tries hard to
focus in on what needs to be done. But a Type B's focus and can scatter in a NY minute! Type B
brains can be plump with too many ideas at once, rendering motivation on any one, useless,
because there are just too many things to dabble in when they should be focusing in on just one to
the finish. Do you recognize this? I do. And as a woman artist it is too easy to get sidetracked with
a half finished piece that is calling us from a corner. We'll tell ourselves, as we look at an
over abundance of materials, "Hmmm. I should use this for that." Or we'll skim through art magazines, looking at fresh ideas, but we're already filled with ideas! Then it's laundry, cleaning, dishes or
cooking dinner! At a point, we recognize intuitively that we must get busy. But then...decide to
organize our art cabinet instead!

What I do know is whether we are inspired or motivated, we must push on. The best way I've
found is to take a page from the Type A personality handbook! Set a few goals for the day
and write them down, even if it's only one or two. Do this every day! Make it a habit through
practicing daily and accomplishing them. A daily journal writing can help. Today's plan: Start my
new Blog. Done. Complete a few unfinished mixed media wearable art pieces. Almost done.

How do you motivate yourself, get inspired? Please share your methods in the comments. And I hope
you will follow and share with others. Peace all...



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    Kathryn Uster

    Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States

         Being an artist my entire life, I can identify as one striving to be a life long learner as an artist, student of the arts, and teacher. As an educator, I’ve taught from Pre-school to college level, and lively senior citizens. Idealism with making the world a bit cleaner, I thought repurposing paper in a “throwaway” world was something meaningful that I could incorporate into my art. Doing my own little part for Mother Nature, I could create beautiful art from what we toss away. I was Green before it was the buzz.

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