Giving up shopping or buying ready-to-wear wouldn't be much of a challenge nor a savings for me. I doubt I buy even a half a dozen items a year. The same with shoes. Or jewelry. LOVE IT but rarely purchase a piece and typically as a souvenir. Shopping is not a temptation for me; it's a source of inspiration and I'm definitely not going a year without inspiration.
Travel? No. I only travel short distances and have four trips planned for next year already. Eating out? I enjoy coffee and lunch dates with friends way too much. It'd never happen - at least not completely. Fabric? Patterns? I'm weak in the face of fabric. Addicts typically are. Patterns are an idea although I can all but guarantee that the minute I know whether I'm sewing for a girl grandbaby or a boy grandbaby that would be that so perhaps I could give up fabric except for fabulous pieces substantially on sale (which is how I shop anyway) and patterns except for baby patterns. What about a year without with stipulations?
I've only started thinking about this concept and wondering about possibilities. The idea has appeal. I've done it before. My year of play in 2004 was a year without in that it was a year of using what was already in the studio. That choice impacted me tremendously both personally and artistically. Doing without made me more creative. It helped me achieve goals. It changed how I approached life. AND - as far fetched as it sounds - it made me a stronger better person.
What would you choose to go a year without?
Whatever it is - for me - it won't be a year without creativity. That would be synonymous with a slow suffocation. I would prefer it was a year with substantially increased creativity. Perhaps there's a way to word doing without so it's doing with something else. With is the flip side of without and I like how positive a year with sounds. Even though it was a year without, a year of play sounded like a lot more fun. It was a forward goal. It's something to (over) think about some more - LOL!
One thing I'd like more of is creating without knowing the end result. It's an energetic way of working with many learning curves. The first three pictures are of a cardigan in a local boutique that I saw a few weeks ago and in another shop there were some sleeveless shell tops also with random tucks. Both remind me of the tucks I started at the Design Outside The Lines Workshop. The piece above is one of eight panels. If I finish this project, I could accidentally be on trend. What a thought. This morning, I have a whole bunch of errands to do getting ready for Barb but right after that, I'll research possible patterns. More later.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - I finally painted over the patching in the entryway and guest room and it looks MUCH better. Having a guest coming was a wonderful push to get it done.
Myrna: I am so on your page. I could never give up the things that bring me joy. Of course, I have to alter plans sometimes to make those joyful activities sustainable, for example, in light of the reno and other concerns, I did cut down on my beloved Friday dinners with friends, but didn't cut them out. I don't shop anywhere near as much as many people but I do try to find good products at a reasonable price online. When I buy, I buy for quality and "need" (I do use that word loosely because I have much more than I could ever need at the moment). I also buy because it brings me joy to have beautiful items, the workmanship of which I can admire and learn from.
ReplyDeletePeople live on the purchases of others. I feel I am supporting the economy (of small business, if at all possible) when I buy things.
And to give up on fabric and patterns would be to give up on a world of potential. Those items are very affordable in the scheme of things.
I just give many thanks that I can afford to spend on the things I find meaningful and inspirational.
I would like a year of giving up standing in my own way, and instead give myself a year of saying "yes" first, a year where I encourage myself to move forward, particularly in finding a new way to live and support myself.
ReplyDeleteI am in the middle of life transformation, where all the old ways that I did things do not seem to work any more, and I am not clear about how to move forward. Since due to my health, work is not happening with as much intensity, I have no ability to purchase new fabric, (and have not been much of a clothing shopper for years), so that area is not where my personal challenge lies, but rather internally. I have no intention of giving up my creativity, that is core to my being, though finding ways to express it without much in the way of financial resources is daunting at times.
I always find food for thought in your writing, and am encouraged by your idea of thinking about what to ask for more of, rather than what to give up.
I like the idea of framing a personal challenge in a positive light. Instead of a year without buying patterns, maybe a year of developing TNT's, or a year of tweaking them; or a year within which I learn 4 new techniques -- or just one -- like bra sewing or weaving...the possibilites are endless.
ReplyDeleteThe last 12+ months, I have changed my diet to a vegan one. (This means eating no animal products. Like my humorous vegan mother says, if it had a mother, don't eat it.) Going to a vegan diet was for health reasons for Mom and me. She got rid of her arthritis completely and I got rid of my migraine headaches completely.
ReplyDeleteSo we "gave up" something, yet we actually gained much more - better health. Now, I'll begin to think of this concept with regard to my creativity. Thanks, Myrna.
Carrie