Tales from Studio Mailbox

TJ's Restraining Order

Michelle Ward's 61st Crusade is about restraint. It was sad for me to discover that there's going to be a Crusade hiatus, despite the fact that I haven't been very active since moving from Germany. 

There was no way I was going to let this one slide, so I went into my closet and found my chipboard journal, which I call my "Ward Boards."  I started thinking about a lot of things... like how restraint is also thought of as "breathing room."  Leave it to Michelle to find an exercise that's fitting and clever and meaningful!

I started thinking about words I came up with at the beginning of 2012 that ironically all started with "re."  Reinvention, redefine, real, results, re-organization, refresh, resourceful, regular exercise.  I was so burned out from blogging and our international move, I can't believe I hadn't thought of "restraint!" 

So I was happy for this chance to try and make something a little more simple, a little more muted, a little more calm.  It wasn't easy!  I had to paint over the whole board when my initial attempt was way too bright and zippy.  I'm happy with the result though, and it's a perfect "last" page to my journal. 

There's still room in the middle of my little book to go and rediscover past exercises I wasn't a part of.  All of it is still out there.  I sometimes wonder if there are others like myself who would go back and work through all of that together.  We could revisit what we missed!  I didn't become a part of the Street Team until the Crusades were already in the 40's... imagine how much there is still out there to do...

For now, a big thanks to Michelle for bringing the creative community together, month after month for years.  Personally, I'm so grateful to all the cool people and sites I've discovered through the challenges I was a small part of.  I'm going to go cherish plugging away through her comments and visiting all the other participants this round, knowing it will be awhile before it happens again. 

Today I went back and looked at the months I could find that I played along.  It was so much fun!  Feel free to take a walk down my crusader lane:

C40 - I started Crusading

C41 - Grids

C42 - Strip Tease

C43/C44 - Scraping & Text Messaging

C45 - Back-to-Back

C46 - Hanging it Up

C47 - Evidence Box

C48 - Been There, Done That

C49 - Forensic Self Portrait

C51 - Home Sweet Home

C53 - Mad Scientist

C56 - Beliefs

Guess TJ's Master Mentor for a Prize

I'm popping in to announce that I was lucky enough to be included in Seth Apter's 5th edition of the Artist Pulse!

Seth asked artists; 'If you could take a class from one artist from anytime in history, including the present, who would it be and why?'

Leave a comment here guessing who I chose to be my Master Mentor before popping over to the link above to read the answer.  I'll be super impressed if somebody can identify mine!  But don't worry, you don't have to guess correctly to be entered in a drawing to win a tiny mail art prize pack!

Here's wishing everybody an arty Sunday,
xx tj

Fun Guest Posts to Share

Hey everybody!  I've just returned from a short trip to Germany.  And although I've got some stuff to share, I first need to report that I've had some cool guest posts published over at The Sewing Loft.

The first one shared directions for a basic macrame friendship bracelet which I learned to make WAY back in my girl scout days.  These are a quick and easy idea for a rainy day or last minute gift.

The second post I wrote uses the same general technique, but instead uses the basic macrame knot to cover wire hangers.

For those of you not familiar with Heather, she ran the coolest series of "KISS" posts on her site last month which are projects that promise to "Keep It Super Simple." Get it?  So have a visit over there if you're looking for some fantastic sewing inspiration, and tell her TJ sent ya!  *SWAK*

TJ comes for a long line of old yarn-covered hanger makers.

Be warned, they're so cool your guests will steal them!

Creality - it's Real!

Well since I've already shared the hotel with you, I guess there's no reason to stop now. 

Here are some photos of me jumping around the room like a loon when I realized my artwork was published in the Sept-Oct edition of Somerset Studio.  And I'm sorry that this issue is no longer available on news stands, but I still wanted to share this awesome moment with my blogging friends.

After being a guest on QuinnCreative's blog, I contributed the artwork to Quinn's article in Somerset Studio.  That artwork was the first to appear in Quinn's column in the last three years!

I found out about this shortly after arriving in the US.  It was a phenomenal feeling to pick up a magazine that wasn't readily available to me in Germany and see the article about Creality, see the name TJ Goerlitz, and see the words Studio Mailbox in Quinn's beautiful writing about this crazy phenomenon we've all experienced.  

Not convinced Creality is real?  Page 12 my friends, page 12... I assure you it's real. 

But the hotel's TIGER CURTAINS - I hate to admit, they're the real deal too...

 

 

 

TJ's Creative Connections

I cannot describe the people and charged atmosphere of the recent Creative Connection Event in St. Paul!  I was only able to make it one day, but in that short amount of time I managed to meet some incredibly arty new friends. Have a peek at the Studio Mailbox Facebook Page if you want to see the photos of me in shock and awe when meeting all the mixed media artists I've followed for so many years from my computer screen.  I cannot explain how it felt to walk and talk among them and realize that they are real!  This must be what it's like for kids who go to Disney World and meet their favorite mascots that they've only ever known as cartoons!

  After breakfast I had a morning class with the famous Traci Bautista.  It was very interesting listening to her discuss her business and I look forward to the access we'll be getting to her instructional videos.  I'm particularly excited about one of her lessons for making .pdfs from the Mac's Pages program.  Ever since I started with my Mac, I've grumbled about not having Word.  I was surprised to learn that Traci does all her documents with Pages and that me think that if she can do it, I can do it! (And yes, she is as stylish and cool as she looks on-line.  I was loving her wild jewelry and stripey toenails! Amazing).

My afternoon consisted of two different business panels, both of which were full of information.  I got a better understanding of licencing and agents as well more ideas about publishing.

Normally at events like this you take away one or two really big things that resonate with you.  For me, this was when agent Lilla Rogers was talking about the hours of work artists need to put in before they achieve excellence.  I loved when she was discussing competition in the art world and said that the wedges aren't getting smaller, the pie is getting bigger.  She also told us that "people buy your joy, so make it your top priority!"  I could have listened to her wisdom all day.  If I understood correctly, she's either already writing or considering writing a book because she loves to help artists on their journeys.  So let's keep an eye out for that!  (And can I just say that after so many years being immersed in German, I found it really confusing to focus on discussions in English!  So forgive me if have any of this wrong!)

The icing on the cake was meeting artists such as Kelly Rae Roberts, Beth Nicholls, Liv Lane, Melody Ross, and designer Holly Becker author of both Decor8 and Haus Maus!  I was thrilled to meet some new local people who I hope to get to know better as well as the elusive Heather Valentine from The Sewing Loft (we missed each other all day and then in the last moments of the conference as we were leaving the building, we found each other! YIPPEE)...

After so many years of disconnection, it really was incredible to be included in something like this.  I feel so lucky and grateful to be off on such really great start back home in the USA...

Kelly Rae, Liv and TJ - Beth was there too, but she was operating the camera!

German Hand Made!

There was a spring market during the Easter break where I met an artist named Stefanie from SchnittICH.  Along with her bags and accessories, she had the most amazing coiled medusa-like scarves that were made with none other than a Stricki! 

In addition to them being super warm and trendy looking, the stricki sealed the sale.  How could I resist reaching for my wallet when she pulled out this tool from under her table...??? LOVE IT!!  LOVE ALERT!! 

This isn't the only hand made goodness I've encountered recently.  I was the lucky winner of an amazing giveaway from No Ordinary Homestead. 

Check out this beautiful basket made with vintage fabric from NikkiBag!  And when you see the custom banner on her site, you realize that I'm the owner of the original basket that this close-up is from... can you even believe such terrific good luck??

 
And as if that weren't enough, the postman also delivered this modern black and white yoga bag from Lslie Art!  I'm thinking this bag is also going to come in handy for my camera tripod.  If you visit her etsy shop, be sure to peek at my personal favorite, none other than #15, the Bavarian blue-and-white model!!

Last but not least, I won a wedding correspondence set from e.m.papers!  With my 10-year anniversary looming around the corner, Eleanor offered to customize them into a re-commitment ceremony stationery.

Am I the luckiest foreigner on German soil?  Ja Wohl!!!

(Now the only question is whether or not the German husband would actually marry me again. *toss head and insert wild insane laugh here!)

Check it out -- TJ modeling her new scarf in front of none other than a US Army Jeep seen at this weekend's "Old Timer" car show in Prichsenstadt.  Amid all the Porches and Fiats, the little motor head and I were smitten with what we named "The Real Sarge" with it's big old star on the hood. USA baby!! There was a custom Chevy truck, a Buick that reminded me of my cousin's "banana boat" that we drove as kids, a Pontiac, and even a corvette. Be still my heart.  I was so proud of the American cars, but the jeep?  Take me now or lose me forever...

Royal Wedding in Germany

We were invited to a Royal Wedding Party hosted by my friend Helen.  It wasn't hard to figure out which house was hers, as they decorated it from top to bottom in fluttering British-ness!  This did not seem to phase the German neighbors, several of which attended the gala.

My son was seriously impressed but confused when he asked "where are the stars?" on her flags!  I thought that was a hilarious statement being we were the only American guests.  He spent the rest of the time fluctuating between riding a hobby horse while wearing a paper knight helmet and dancing around with butterfly wings on elastic straps. 

Helen took it upon herself to teach us how to sing "God Save the Queen."  I was dumbfounded to realize that it's to the same tune as "My Country 'Tis of Thee."  So not only did we Americans steal the colors of the Union Jack, we also re-wrote their song.  Sheesh.  I guess the pilgrims weren't exactly Twist Defiant! Good thing I got dressed up as requested in my crown jewels and tiara. 

Check out Helen's ring, awesome right...?  I have no idea which was more fun, hearing our hearty singing attempts or when the English cape came out.  To top it off, we got a lesson in fascinators which is the technical term for the crazy art people wear on their heads at formal events.

What was even weirder was trying to explain to the other German guests why I had actual photographs from the wedding on my camera since they were shots I took of the TV during the event.  *cringe*  However the photos were very helpful visuals when discussing Princess Beatrice's head piece which if you somehow missed it was a Dr. Suess-like bow balancing on her brow. 

If you've been a reader for awhile I'm sure you can nearly taste the official hat, feather and fascinator study that is on the way...

God save the Queen!!

Consider Creative Coaching

It's time to "come out" with what I've been up to for the last few weeks.  I hinted before that I was being a bit unfaithful to y'all but what I was really saying was that I was busy with a lot more than just the blog.  (Bitte nicht bremsen = don't put on the brakes).

After hearing Quinn McDonald's podcast over on the VooDoo Lounge, I kept thinking about her.  So I started snooping investigating her on her website Quinn Creative which led me to her blog.  Now we all know there's no better way to start learning about somebody than reading their blog posts.  And once I was sure that I liked her for more reasons than her voice sounding exactly like my auntie Bev's, I decided that Creativity Coaching is what I wanted to do for my birthday this year.

A few months later I'm sitting here wondering how the heck I even functioned before discovering this amazing creative service.

I realize not all my readers are creatives.  But for those who are, and have been wondering how to take your own "next steps" here are TJ's reasons for why you might want to consider booking a creative coach:

• You have a sounding board for all your ideas. And let's face it.  If your poor friends and family are anything like mine they hear our wacky crap every day.  "Let's thread a rubber ball through a rope and yank it across the road in front of speeding cars and get this neighborhood to slow down!"   They've heard it all before.  A coach is a whole new set of eardrums.
• The coach takes you seriously. I'm not saying our loved ones don't take us seriously, but think about this:  Let's take the rubber ball example above, multiply it by 10 approximating how often things like that come out of our mouths on a daily basis and then multiply that by 365.  This might be a point in the post where we should hold a moment of silence for our poor families that have suffered through the weirdness that's compounded over the years.  The coach has some kind of crazy witchcraft that helps you start sorting through the thoughts in a serious and business-like manner.
• The coach, in Quinn's own words, "is holding a big space open" for you.  I thought about this in the sense that a coach's love is endless.  This makes me think that coaches are the true pioneers of possibilitarianism.  You aren't going to get hit with, "who do you think you are?"  Or the more common, "what the hell are you talking about?" that pops out of the mouths of our loved ones.
• This leads us to the natural progression of the next point.  If somebody else is taking you seriously, you start taking yourself seriously.  And that, my creative friends is when shit starts to happen.  Imagine all this creativity paired with a little confidence and self esteem.  Holy. Guacamole.
• You are held accountable for action steps between sessions.  Emphasis on action.  Thoughts reside in a place up in your head.  Accountability requires some "doing."  Doing is the place where we overcome inertia and get rolling.  Quinn assigned me homework!  (Gulp).  And I took it seriously.
• This means stuff gets done.  Imagine that!  Measurable progress.  Genius.
• You have an un-biased opinion at your disposal.  Our loved ones do just that:  they love us.  Therefore their opinions come from the experience of knowing that if they're not careful, their words are gonna set off a chain reaction of tears, complete with snot running down our faces that are being stuffed with chips-n-dip in front of a Bridget Jones DVD.  The coach, in the most loving of manners, is getting paid to be honest with you despite the possible fallout.  (And I'd like to insert here that I found Quinn to be a very gentle and loving coach.  She told me a few things I didn't necessarily want to hear but nothing sent me into any sort of tailspin.  I left my sessions in a strange mix of exhaustion paired with hopefulness.
• Coaching is all about YOU. This might sound selfish, but it's a valid and important point.  You don't get stuck clipping grandma's toenails or mowing your parent's lawn when the point of your visit was just to stop by for advice.  This is a business relationship.  Coaching is sort of like paying somebody to manage your scattered ass.  Some prefer the term "consulting" I'm sort of leaning towards "the focus fairy."
• Coaching is tax deductible (in the United States) as an educational expense.

Now you might be wondering what I've come away with after all this coaching.  And that my friends is a big fat secret.  Emphasis on BIG.  In good time, all will be revealed.

For now, check out Quinn's work, Raw Art Journaling.  You can even pre-order her upcoming book from Amazon already!!    Below is a little sneak-peek at something I'm making for her, a stencil I cut with her famous "Make Meaning" slogan.  And here is where I insert *a big thank-you* to Quinn for helping me figure out what's meaningful to me.  xxx tj

TJ's first Guest Post!

Ok peeps, it's a big day!

Check out my very first guest post over on Beth's Do What You Love blog... and check out my gi-normo sized head shot!  (I literally sat back in my chair and gasped!  Note to self: provide images no larger than you're willing to actually view next time...)

There's a 3 minutes video on my love for pretzels there as well as a never-before-been seen Edelweiss image!

It would mean so much if you could take a minute to check it out and leave a comment.  Here's a tip: the video is somehow being finicky and doesn't want to play in her post.  Click on the second one and it re-directs you to You-Tube so you can see it!!

 

What are the Crusades?

Ivy just asked a question that I nearly answered over in the comments but then I figured if others are having the same confusion then they're not going to benefit from the answer if they don't see it. And this is something I wish I had known about years ago.  So if it sheds any light, then this is worth it!

This post is going to address two questions:

1) What are the Crusades? 

2) Why should you become a Crusader?

So here goes, TJ's version of mixed media cliff notes: 

Michelle Ward is a very well known artist.  Her bio is here. She comes from Minnesota so this gives her an extra dose of wonderful.  As any reader here should know, people from MN are awesome.  It's like a geographical phenomenon that cannot be explained by scientists.

Michelle has multiple blogs going on because they have different functions. 

Her main blog is HCIT - How Cool Is That where she posts about what's going with her art. 

In addition to this Michelle hosts an event every month called a "Crusade." 

These Crusades are listed out on her GPP Street Team Blog. 

Those who take part in these monthly challenges refer to themselves as "Crusaders" or members of the "Street Team."  The crusades are free.  Michelle has a very clear description of the Street Team here.  You don't have to join any other new networks or make new passwords, it's all just sitting out there waiting to be discovered.  By you.

When I first came to Germany and saw posts out on various artist's blogs, I thought that these "Crusaders" actually worked for Michelle.  I thought that the "Street Team" was her design team.  Seriously!  Her website is so professional and many of these Crusaders are quite accomplished and published artists themselves. When I put these two factors together I assumed that they were official colleagues. 

As much as I'd like to pretend that I work as a designer for Michelle Ward, this is not the case. The Street Team is just a bunch of creative people coming together over a monthly project.  Again, go read Michelle's description of the Street Team above if you need clarity.

TJ's top 3 reasons why you might want to consider the Crusades:

You will learn something from one of the industry's top artists.  Even if Michelle never hosted another crusade there is already so much information out on her site it would keep you busy for months.    You don't even have to start with the current crusade.  All the challenges are there.  Go find one that interests you and go for it.  This woman has generously gave out her knowledge.  Let's be grateful to learn something new. 

You will connect with other artists.  This part is more work than you think.  When you go into the comments section of the current Crusade, you are supposed to visit the other sites and interact with the other artists.  This step takes me a few hours every month.  But the reward has been that I have discovered other wonderful people and blogs and others have discovered Studio Mailbox. That's a win-win.

You will have a sense of accomplishment and you will consistently produce stuff that you otherwise wouldn't have if you didn't join in the fun.  This is exactly the remedy you need to stay out of ruts and to get your buns in gear.

My two favorite Crusades have been:

#39 - Pulling Prints (check out my print-pulled pretzels.  And say that 10 times fast).

#44 - In a Scrape