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Tiff’s Tips: Do Not Be Afraid To Change

by tiffanyTiff's Tips November 3, 2020August 18, 2020No Comments

Some say that, the one constant thing in life is change. That is true. Change is chosen or forced on you, either way it will happen. Life is full of fresh adventures and pivots in your plans. Adjust to these redirections. You can either resist and fear the change or accept the new normal and adjust to it. If you resist and fear the change, that may cause more issues though. Not accepting the different way of life can stunt your creative or your general growth. You should not fear change, but embrace it and adjust to the new chapter in your life or creative career. Most changes are a new chapter in your story. They can be you turning down an alternative path on your life’s journey.

This tip goes along with another one; Try different things. Do not be afraid to allow life’s changes to move your creativity into another direction. When you embrace the changes, instead of fighting or fearing them you can grow from them.

Yes, it will be hard. It’s difficult to adjust to adjusting. There will be times when you need to focus on transitioning into this new chapter of your life, whether it is an enormous change or a small one. Transitioning into the new normal will be even harder if you resist or fear it though.

It is easier, in the long run, to go with the flow so to say or at least accepting the needed change. You’ll also save emotional energy when you don’t fear or resist the change. When you allow the changes to happen, you can even learn from the events that brought on the changes into your life or creative career.

Want More?

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

Come Easy (A Poem)

by tiffanyPoetry October 13, 2020July 31, 2020No Comments

Come easy please
with no pain or alarm.
Be at peace when you come,
a hopeful meoldy
one filled with joy.
Come to me easy please
with no struggle or strife.
Calmly enter
and be with me.
It's all I want
all I desire.
Come easy please.

Come Easy is a poem about how I would like things to come easy to me. This can relate to both successes in my art business and love life.

Want More?

If you would like to read more of my poetry please take a look at my portfolio. You can also watch a few of my poetry readings.

Tiff’s Tips: Have Creative Friends

by tiffanyTiff's Tips, Uncategorized October 7, 2020September 29, 2020No Comments

The creative life can be hard and lonely. You will get stuck on ideas and take criticism for your work. This life will be hard, which is why having friends that are creative and a creative community is so important. They’ll be able to lift you up or get you unstuck. They’ll show you you’re not in it alone. There are other artists and creatives in the world going through similar stuff in their lives.

Yes, you will work alone if you are a painter, writer, or sculptor. You must practice alone if you are a musician or actor. There will be alone time while you create. Your creative friends will show you that others are doing the same thing. Everyone will get stuck or come up against an unfamiliar obstacle. That is part of growing and improving. All artists and creatives will have to deal with criticism for their work. Also, every creative person can improve with the help of others.

It may take time to cultivate a friendship that focuses on mutual creative trust and a feedback cycle. It is worth the work. You can find these opportunities in already established groups or events. There may take time and work to find the right fit, but you’ll be able to grow in your creativity when you do.

You will learn a lot from others and they will learn from you. You will improve your art with their help and they’ll improve with your help. These types of relationships should be beneficial to all parties.

Want More?

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

Tiff’s Tips: Regularly Reflect On Your Journey

by tiffanyTiff's Tips September 1, 2020July 31, 2020No Comments

Regularly reflect on your journey Tiff's tips series

As you take risks, embrace change, and achieve your goals, reflect regularly on your journey.

Some times it’s hard to be aware of your progress and track valuable milestones. Creating goals often and assessing the goals may not be enough. It is easy to lose track of your overall progress and forget how far you’ve come in your art journey.

We all start somewhere with our creative life and we can get caught up in creating that we forget that we’re making progress. I started with art and writing as a passionate hobby. It would rub me the wrong way when someone called it a hobby, but that is what it was. My desire was for my creativity to be more. However, at the start of my journey it was only something I did in my free time.

My Journey

I then took actions and plan more time around my writing and painting. The act of planning my time around my creative was the first actual step in my artistic career. It was not my last step, though. I shifted my life more and more so I could make it a business and my career. I’m still working on making it a successful business, but I have been meeting wonderful milestones.

One way I track my milestones is to write achievements in a notebook. This way when I’m unaware of my progress, I can look back at all the wonderful stuff I’ve done. Some milestones are things I can control, like publishing “To Love.” Other milestones are outside my control, like making $100 from “To Love”. It is a wonderful practice to track both what your actions and the actions of your audience.

In the recent past, I’ve also used time tracking apps to see how I’ve increased in my time spent on different projects and on my art business.

My personal journal also has notes on my artist journey. When I journal, I do reflect on how my art has changed and looking at how I feel my goals and dreams are going.

I do also have an art business notebook where I take notes on ideas, research, and plan out my business and career. I can go back and examine how my business has morphed and changed over time, which is helpful in keeping me moving forward.

All this regular reflection has kept me motivated and recharges my inspiration. I have evidence written down that I’m already making progress, so I want to keep going.

Want More?

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

Let Me Be (A Poem)

by tiffanyPoetry August 18, 2020July 31, 2020No Comments

Let me be
in the warm summer air
hugged by loved ones
with their children near.
Let me be
in the lovign garden 
without a single care
with smiles on the faces of those I hold dear.
Let us be
together for now and always.

I wrote “Let Me Be” in July 2020 while I waited for my delayed summer vacation. I was missing my family and longing for our annual summer vacation, which is always a time to relax and be surrounded by love.

Want More?

If you would like to read more of my poetry please take a look at my portfolio. You can also watch a few of my poetry readings.

Tiff’s Tips: Try Different Things

by tiffanyTiff's Tips August 4, 2020July 17, 2020No Comments

It is important in your creative life to try different things. You should experiment with different mediums, styles, and subjects. As you explore unique aspects of art or creating, you’ll find what you enjoy and also your own style. You will learn what does and doesn’t work for you. As you try unfamiliar things, you’ll also grow in your understanding of art and as an artist.

Trying new things is also good in life. With each unknown experience, you can learn more about who you are and life. Do not shy away from what is new or foreign to you. It’ll grow you as a person and artist if you let it.

I have many experiences where I tried unfamiliar things. A lot of them had to do with jobs I had. I tried out 9-12 jobs that could become a career. Funny enough, besides the ones I have now, I would only go back to cleaning dog kennels or theater carpentry. I just didn’t fit well with the others. Trying the different jobs I realized being creative was an important aspect in my career path.

I also experimented in my writing as you can tell if you look at my older writings. I’ve done short stories, poetry, articles, and even my memoir called To Love. In doing all this exploration I learned I am a fiction writer, poet, and love sharing what I’ve learned throughout my life.

In my visual art life I have drawn, sculpted, painted, and do digital art. I have done more than just those few things, but that has been my main focuses. In doing all that I learned that it is easiest and highly fulfilling for me to do digital art, but I also love painting. There is almost a need for me to paint. That is why I sculpt and draw less. My focus is on painting and digital art.

I have noticed recently that as you experiment and try new things, certain elements will remain. I will always be me, and my art will always reflect who I am. An example is that long before I focused on hearts as a series I have put or painted hearts in most of my visual art pieces. This is most likely because I focus my art and core on spreading love, happiness, and sharing my heart. I shared this focus of my life before I even realized it or spoke it.

Learning about your core and more about yourself are the 2 primary values of trying new things.

Want More?

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

Tiff’s Tips: Assess and Have Goals

by tiffanyTiff's Tips, Uncategorized June 9, 2020June 4, 2020No Comments

It is important to set goals for yourself and your creative life. I find the more often I write my goals down, the more focused I become in achieving them. Once you have your goals set, you must also assess your progress.

It will not be very helpful to you if you only write the same goals repeatedly and not assess your progress. Perhaps you’re setting goals that you’re not achieving. If you do that, it will add undue stress and pressure on you. Maybe it’s too easy for you to meet your goals. If your goals are too easy than your not challenging your self or improving. If you don’t assess them, you may not progress at the correct speed for you.

Goal setting is a balance and a dance. Some weeks or months you may achieve more than you thought, while other months you may not achieve that much. This is just the way of life. You shouldn’t expect success to be a straight line or even expect you will meet all your goals on the first try. The key is to not beat yourself up on the slow goal for months and accept that you can learn from failures too. This is a lesson I remind myself of often.

The best way I’ve found to use goals is as a marker on your journey. This is easier said than done, at least for me. When I set goals, I want to achieve them with flying marks, but sometimes life gets in the way. Other times I set my goals too high. There are times I meet my goals or surpass them, but often those times are few and far apart. The goal with goals is to see the progress over time and to keep you focus on the main path you’re on. You may have to adjust your goals while you are assessing your progress. If you do it for a long enough amount of time, you’ll see that your progress can motivate you further down your path. I know it has pushed me along my path.

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

Tiff’s Tips: Start where you are

by tiffanyTiff's Tips May 5, 2020June 4, 2020No Comments

This post may seem out of place, since he first 3 posts in this series dealt with where you are going. However, you first need a map before you can start your journey. Now that you know where you are going it is time to figure out where you are. Just like any other journey you can’t start from a different position. You need to start where you are.

You may say I need to start my journey across the street you still need to get across the street. Once you start walking across the street you start your journey to where you need to be. The journey starts when you start working or walking towards your goals.

This is the same with your creative life and creative goals. If you already answered the questions about where you want to go, you already started the journey.

Another point you need to be aware of is that you cannot expect to run if you are still crawling. Let me go back to the street analogy. If the bus stop is on the other side of the street you still need to cross the street before the bus can pick you up. That does not mean the bus will never pick you up, you just have to do something to get to the bus stop.

This may seem obvious and maybe realizing where you are in your creative life will be easy for you. Others may have difficulty with this.

My start

I know figuring out where I was and my first steps were not easy. Each time I looked around I was expecting to be in a different place in my creative journey. I thought I knew everything I needed to know, but when I stopped to assess I realized I was still at the beginning.

My end goal was and still is to become a full time artist, but it takes more than just doing art to make that happen. I needed to be research marketing strategies, audience growth plans, and just basic business stuff.

Once I had a rough map I needed to start actually working towards my goal and walking my journey. I needed to cross the street get on the bus, get off the first bus, hike a mountain, and do a little dance. I’m still on journey, but can see my start and how far I’ve gone. That is a good feeling.

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

I Believed (A Poem)

by tiffanyPoetry, Poetry Portfolio April 21, 2020January 5, 2021No Comments

“I Believed” is a poem about my relationship with theater and my beliefs. They have changed over the year, but one thing remains true the stage is part of me.

I don't think I ever truly believed;
not in what was given to me,
not in what I once chose.
No I don't think I ever truly believed
in Wicca, in paganism.

No I didn't believe
in the magic of nature;
not fully,
not until I saw a creator.

What I truly believe in was the stage.
The lights and sound.
I truly and fully believed
in the magic of theatre,
the constructed fantasies.

I truly believed in 
standing tall and giving it my all,
shedding reality showing my soul
with words written, but not my own.

Yes,I believed in the stage,
but confusion of a new life,
in the growing to be an adult.
I forgot.
I turned from my first love
as though a choice had to be made,
as though it was the Creator or the stage.
Not realizing the creator made me for the stage.
Not realzing that all of me deserves to breathe.

Now I believe
There is a Creator up above,
who smiles and loves
when I take the stage and am all of me.
Now I believe
in all of me.

Want More?

If you would like to read more of my poetry please take a look at my portfolio. You can also watch a few of my poetry readings.

Tiff’s Tips: Have an Ideal Life

by tiffanyTiff's Tips April 7, 2020June 4, 2020No Comments

Like any journey you need to know where you are going. You need a X that marks the spot. Part of that is defining what success means to you and figuring out if you are a hobbyist or artist. Another aspect of figuring out where you’re going is to have an ideal life.

Having an ideal life means that you know what you need in life and you have an ultimate end goal. When you are just starting out the perfect life you have in mind may be vague and hard to define. It’ll morph a bit and become more defined in time.

How I create my ideal life.

I regularly write my ideal life down on in my journal. This helps me to see if my heart is changing and also solidifies my ideal.

First I break my life into sections.

Spiritual
Job/ Creative Career
Relationships
Mental health
Physical health

I then write a few sentence about how I want my life to be in those areas of my life. If I have enough time I’ll then combine them into one paragraph explaining how my best life would look.

It is easiest to start with a rough idea and then work it into having an ideal day.

Example #1

In my ideal life I am a full time artist who is involved and active in my church. I have close friendships in whom I can trust and great relationships with my family members. I work out and journal regularly and eat healthy. I am consistently working on bettering myself in all areas, so that I can become the best version of myself.

Example #2

In my ideal life I wake up early, before 7, and pray before I read my Bible. I then do a short workout before I have my breakfast and start my day. Each work day is a little bit different, but I work long hours on my visual art and writing. Each day I also find time to text, talk to, or hang out with the people most important to me.

You see having an ideal life doesn’t need to be a long or highly detailed thing. It just needs to be clear and what you want your perfect life to be. It’ll help you keep on track.

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.