Do It For the Process: For The Artists by Emily Jeffords

3. YOUR BEST HOLIDAY SEASON YET - Choose your stars

Happy Thanksgiving to my USA friends!  And to everyone, let's continue making the holiday season AMAZING!  

Over the next 12 days, we're going to discuss TWELVE ways that you can find more clarity, more profit, make more sales, and have more JOY this season! 

Let's take ALL the guesswork out of it so that you can have your best season yet!

Your work is beautiful. It brings light and joy to those who see it.
And who doesn’t want to share light and joy this holiday season?

 

12-Days of Holiday Success: DAY 3: Choose your stars!  What does that mean?  Well, give this episode a listen!  

 

Subscribe and SHARE this podcast! 

If you would like some beautiful graphics to share with your pals or on your IG Stories, well, here ya go!   

GRAPHICS + IMAGES FOR YOU!

 

Get the BOOK!  
In this 36 page guide, we will cover every aspect of running a thriving, profitable, and sustainable holiday season. This guide is written and design by an artist for artists.  $10 and applicable year after year.

EMILYJEFFORDSLEARN.COM/HOLIDAY

2. YOUR BEST HOLIDAY SEASON YET -- What does your audience really want?

Shiny objects are (literally) everywhere during this festive time of year, but focusing on YOUR work, YOUR goals, and YOUR audience.  But that can be tricky... especially if you're not certain of what they want.  Let's talk about that. 

This series is dedicated to sharing TWELVE ways that you can find more clarity, more profit, more sales, and more JOY this season! 

Let's take ALL the guesswork out of it so that you can have your best season yet!

Your work is beautiful. It brings light and joy to those who see it.
And who doesn’t want to share light and joy this holiday season?

 

12-Days of Holiday Success: DAY 2: Ask your audience.  

 

Subscribe and SHARE this podcast! 

If you would like some beautiful graphics to share with your pals or on your IG Stories, well, here ya go!   

GRAPHICS + IMAGES FOR YOU!

 

Get the BOOK!  
In this 36 page guide, we will cover every aspect of running a thriving, profitable, and sustainable holiday season. This guide is written and design by an artist for artists.  $10 and applicable year after year.

EMILYJEFFORDSLEARN.COM/HOLIDAY

1. So You Want to Have A Successful Holiday Season? Welcome To The 12 Days of Christmas!

The holiday season is BUSY -- especially if you are a small Creative business owner.
Over the next 12 days, we're going to discuss TWELVE ways that you can find more clarity, more profit, make more sales, and have more JOY this season! 

Let's take ALL the guesswork out of it so that you can have your best season yet!

Your work is beautiful. It brings light and joy to those who see it.
And who doesn’t want to share light and joy this holiday season?

12-Days of Holiday Success: DAY 1

 

Subscribe and SHARE this podcast! 

If you would like some beautiful graphics to share with your pals or on your IG Stories, well, here ya go!   

GRAPHICS + IMAGES FOR YOU!

 

Get the BOOK!  
In this 36 page guide, we will cover every aspect of running a thriving, profitable, and sustainable holiday season. This guide is written and design by an artist for artists.  $10 and applicable year after year.

EMILYJEFFORDSLEARN.COM/HOLIDAY

10 Tips for Fresher Instagram Stories

Ok, buckle up.  This episode is FULL of tips, insight, and advice for creating an engaged, exciting, and effective Instagram Stories. 

Because this episode is so full, I created a PDF you can use as a guide.  Check it out here. 

 

10 TIPS FOR FRESHER INSTAGRAM STORIES

-- PLUS 2 bonus tips in the PDF!  Woohoo!

 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Setting Up A Healthy Painting Studio - get it for FREE here.

 

The Pigment | LAB  - a NEW Oil Painting Course taking you from pigment to paint to beautiful, finished painting.   The course opens for enrollment on OCTOBER 22ND.

Get more info HERE

 

Making Art Work - a 12-week course empowering Artists + Creatives to run successful, profitable businesses.  Opens for enrollment in February.   LEARN MORE

 

 

 

Hello, Burnout. It's nice to see you. // My personal experience with, and healing from, burnout.

LINKS:

The Collective (doors are open through August 31st!)
The Alaska Retreat
EmilyJeffords.com

 

Hello, burnout.  We meet again, I see you, I feel you, and I thank you.  

 

Picture a match.  You’re holding it in your hand, maybe lighting candles on a cake, maybe lighting a fire, but you’re holding and it’s getting closer and closer to your finger.  You want to keep going, just one more candle!  But the flame is getting hotter so your heart rate goes up and you move faster to the next candle and your fingers begin to hurt, and then

 

It’s too late.

 

You got burned.

 

You drop the match and kiss your fingertips and feel so silly and also OUCH!

 

That is burnout.

 

Burnout is deeply painful, but it is often a result of growth (often, growing too fast).  We allow ego to hop in and take charge -- which leads us to say "I can do that!" waaay too often. 

But there are some benefits to burnout too.  It acts as an irrefutable reminder that I do not need to please everyone and solving all problems.  To stop holding pain and worry.  It is a reminder that I do not need to show up in every way and to rely on my support structure.  

Burnout clearly let me know that I was allowing anxiety to be my first response, rather than trusting that everything will be fine.  It is a clear, loud sign that I was NOT OPERATING WITHIN MY VALUES

 

Burnout can be a generous gift -- a moment of course correction before it's too late.

And when you heal from burnout, oh life is so sweet.  IF you have actively and carefully healed and set up some boundaries, the upsides of burnout can be:

— energy

— hard truths

— realignment

— honesty

— asking for help

— accepting help

— losing the absurd idea that you can or should do it all

— a deeper love for what matters

— humility

— healing

 

 

The sweetest thing about burnout is it requires you to be honest with your limits

It allows you to pay attention.  And attention is the clearest doorway to gratitude.

Art to Print (How to Make $$ With Your Art) with Laurie Anne Gonzalez

I have a treat for you today! I recorded a conversation with my pal Laurie Anne Gonzalez about creating PRINTS!

• Photograph or scan?
• In-house printing or out-sourced printing?
• Canvas or paper?
• Limited edition or open edition?
• How do I get the right file size?
• What kind of camera or scanner should I use?
• Do prints devalue your work?

We get into ALL THE QUESTIONS.

 

Prints have been a huge source of revenue for my business and I would absolutely NOT have the healthy studio I do today without offering reproductions of my work.

If you're ready to begin or grow this part of your studio practice, I highly recommend Art To Print. Laurie Anne takes you through each and every step of the process -- from easel to print to packaging. It is a thorough, clear, and insightful course and I know it's going to change your business!

 

Sign up for Art To Print HERE.

 

Also, THE COLLECTIVE opens for enrollment on Monday!  August 24th - 31st.  JOIN US.  This space is designed to help creatives and artists thrive.   Learn more HERE.

Come Into The Studio: Inside the "Quite Adventure" Collection

Visit the collection at emilyjeffords.com

 

Step into the studio for a bit.  Let's catch up and talk about the new collection of artwork I have created, "Quiet Adventure".   In this episode, I share my process and favorite methods to create and release a collection of artwork. 

 

This body of work came together slowly and gently, a form of meditation and healing over the past 20+ months.  There are paintings in this collection I worked on as my baby was crawling around my feet, others I created as a refuge from my own home as we shelter-in-place.  This body of work was created selfishly as an act of self-care, but it is also for you.  I hope the theme of love and adventure and peace fill you too. 

 

"Quiet Adventure"

 

I walked through a field. 

It was new to me, but I knew it already.

The earth smelled like childhood.

The grasses clung to my bare feet in familiar ways.

The only thing unknown was the landscape.  

 

She was vast and led to places I have not been.

Adventure, we call it.

Unknowing.

But in the unknowing is a deep self-knowing.  

Trust in my body.  Trust in my mind.  

Trust in the bravery I have shown.  

Knowing that I will be brave again.

 

Even when the landscape unnerves me

with the edges she is asking me to explore.

Even when Adventure wraps itself in unfamiliar foliage.

 

I step outside of my mind

and the endlessness of my concerns

to focus on each footfall.

Moss.

Small blooms to be avoided (they are too pretty to squish).

A deep hole just the right size for a snake.

A rock to climb.  Then another.

A cliff.

We’re a little too high now.

A rusty-red puddle.

The sound of wind in the thousand-mile-field.

 

Mindfulness, they call this; the act of focusing on the present moment.

I call it a Quiet Adventure. 

And it is all so quiet and so beautiful I cannot breathe. 

I cannot breathe so I take big, cavity-filling breaths.  

Imprinting the scent and textures on my soul.  

Consuming it in thirsty eyefuls.  

Scooping it up and tucking it in

and asking it to stay with me.

 

I walked through a field that was wholly unfamiliar to me.  

But I knew myself in it.  I knew that I would be brave.

I knew I would let it change me.

 

 

Music at the end written and performed by Half Measure

Creating During Covid

What does creativity look like during covid-19? ⁣
Is it quiet? ⁣
Is it lonely? ⁣
Is it an escape? ⁣
Is it a home within a home?
Is it a way to scream without sound? ⁣
Is it a balm? ⁣
Is it a memory of the past? ⁣
Is it hope? ⁣

 

The role of an artist is to feel and translate the things we are seeing, feeling, and receiving into something we can all see and feel and receive.

But, creating during hardship can be hard.
Or easy.
Or it might make you feel guilty.
Or it might bring you peace.

Whatever you’re feeling when you step into your home art studio is valid and the world WILL return to normal again soon

Because this time can be especially lonely for many of us, I thought I would read some of the words of our fellow artists and creatives.

I hope they bring you some comfort and maybe you feel less alone as we work through this time together.

 

If you're looking for a little added inspiration and clarity during this time, the Artist's Success Guide is FOR YOU.  A transparent look at growth as a creative entrepreneur, honest conversations about how it feels to create the business out of nothing, steps to take, things to focus on, reading lists, and honest advice from someone who's been there.  

Get the Guide HERE. 

Time to Set Up an Inspiring (and Safe) Home Studio

A few tips for setting up a functional at-home studio:

First and foremost, make sure the supplies you are using are SAFE.  Do not use toxic materials in your home.  

I've created a free guide to help with that.  Get the Studio Setup Guide.

 

Once you're ready to set up your studio space, keep these tips in mind:

• Make your home studio an easily accessible space but not in a space that will impede normal life.  I bought a little table on Amazon and set it up in the corner of my living room.
  
  
• Have a variety of art supplies on hand.  Feeling free and explorative is always important, but especially right now!  Gather all the mediums you think you might want and bring them into your home studio space.  
  
  
• Tupperware bins.  Keep all the paints and supplies out of reach and contained (especially if you have little ones!) 
  
  
• Jars with lids for all the liquids and to store brushes.  Spaghetti sauce jars, fancy mason jars... 
  
  
• Dedicated cabinets and drawers.
  
  

You might need to change what or how you create to make working-from-home a viable option -- especially if you're used to working in a separate studio space.  

• Work smaller if needed
• Get a table easel if you prefer to work vertically or use two nails in a wall and hang your canvas directly on the wall 
• Use your walls as drying space or storage (plus, you get a house full of art! Woohoo!)

 

Ok, so we have the materials gathered and stored, the space set up, but how do you get anything done at home.

• Communicate with your people.  Let your roommates, kids, partner, friends... everyone around you know about your planned creative sessions.  Block out 60 or 90 minutes, schedule a painting-afternoon, etc.  Just be clear and let them know what to expect so you can all work in harmony together.
• Tell little kids that this studio space is only for mama (yes, even 2-year olds). 
• Share your longer-term vision, aspirations, and plans with your partner so they can support you in them. 

Ok, so your space is set up, functional, safe, and everyone is letting you create, but it feels lonely...  I get it.  Creativity is usually a lone-act, but it shouldn't feel isolating.  When that feeling seeps in, I recommend finding ways to bring some warmth into your space.  

• Engage with the creative community and help this space feel alive and communal
  • Host an Instagram Live while in your creative space
  • Hop on zoom with a few artist friends and just create alongside each other.  
  • Organize an online craft or bad-art night

 

Most of all, be gentle with yourself.  If you're feeling inspired in this space, then AWESOME!  If not, then that's fine.  But don't allow the inaccessibility of your creative space be to the reason you don't create.  Make your space as welcoming and accessible as possible and I can bet that this self-isolating season will fly by just a bit faster.  

 

And remember to get the Studio Setup Guide.

 

PS. I'll be hosting a live ink making workshop with my friend Tanya Val on Tuesday (April 14th) at 3:00 pm eastern time.  Join us on Instagram!  @Emily_Jeffords

What Does This Make Possible? Can COVID-19 Bring Beauty?

As concerns about the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 increase, I wanted to personally reach out to you and offer some honest thoughts.      I understand how scary and uncertain this time can feel, and the news is so loud and deeply unhopeful.     However, though the whole world feels a little (a lot) crazy, I hope that you are able to transform this storm into a season of GROWTH, TRANSFORMATION, and (dare I say) EXPANSION!     I know this pandemic is causing pain across the globe.    People are sick and scared; they are hungry and desperate. I am watching many of my dearest friends who are small business owners scramble and wrestle with some huge questions as they try their best to stay open and profitable while also safe (and I know their story is being repeated a million times over in each of our communities.)  Low-income households and those that work in retail or service industry are feeling another layer of pain and fear through all of this. Heroic medical personnel around the world are literally putting themselves at risk for each of us...  We're all hurting, if we're aware enough to notice.    HOWEVER, I am also watching our society shift and recenter. We are going home. We are spending time with loved ones. We have the space to trying new things. People around us are longing for clarity, peace, and HOPE.   So, I ask again, what does this make possible?   What does the time at home make possible?  How can you grow and evolve intentionally during this strange season? Is fear going to derail your success?   Are you going to be quickly overwhelmed? Is the news going to clutter your mind so much that Inspiration is silenced?     OR,   Are you going to create something you will be proud to look back on? Are you going to learn skills that will help you progress & grow? Are you going to help those around you? Are you going to make amazing memories with your loved ones?     "What does this make possible?"   When Stu (my mentor) asked this question last week, my first thought was to stubbornly dig in my heels and say, "There's nothing to change! We're doing great! I can't add another thing to my already full plate."   ... But then, I realized that there are things to change.  Not everyone is doing great.   Sure, maybe my family is healthy, and we are totally set up to hibernate all spring if needed, but my job as an artist is to bring hope and connection to others.   My job as an educator is to offer hope and clarity to others.   My job as an employer is to be as constant and supportive as possible (maybe I can even hire a few people in need during this time).       So, welcome to my new spring plans.     Rather than traveling to the UK with my girls (we'll hopefully do that later this year), I am pouring my energy into those that need it more.     Because, guys, I have an ENORMOUS amount of hope.  I feel it welling up in my heart constantly.     I want to share that hope with you.   Art, community, support...   You in?  Stay tuned.     We're changing our plans this spring and they are 100% intended to help you grow and feel as hopeful as I do!   Most exciting, THE COLLECTIVE is opening a month early!  The Collective is a membership, mentorship, and community for creatives and artists and it is basically my FAVORITE place on the internet.  So nourishing, informative, and warm.   Join us.   Because of the deep need for clarity and GROWTH in the creative community, I'm opening the membership a month early!  And, to make it even sweeter, I'm reducing this first month from $29 to $9!  Yes.  NINE DOLLARS!   Join us. Join us and grow.     LEARN ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE  h e r e