Are you being intentional when you create?

Hi and welcome back to another week on the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. Today I’m going to be talking about being intentional because I’ve recently come to believe it’s a must-have skill for any Expressive.  Are you being intentional when you create? Or are you the type of Expressive that wings it? You go wherever the breeze takes you.   Trust me when I say being intentional is not about clipping your creative wings and being grounded, instead it’s about something that provides direction, objectivity and aim.  So if you are an Expressive that wings things, stick around…

Creating had become complicated…

Last night I shared how complicated creating was becoming for me. I’d made it that way, no one else!  I had gotten caught up in thinking I needed to do “all the things“. You can read more of what I had to say here, but in the post I said that I was going to tell you about letting go of things.  I realised I needed to let go of some things so that I could make way for expressing to become joyful, rewarding and pleasurable again.

The Tully Show was really eye opening for me because I finally understood how creating should be. I summed it up this way;

• See creative work
• Love creative work
• Ponder creative work
• Repeat

As artists, isn’t this what we’re ultimately seeking? For others to see our work, to love our work, to have our work mean something to someone else and then have them come back for more?  This right here is what I’d call a pleasurable, joyful and rewarding experience for an artist.  It’s not complicated!  This was such a profound moment for me.

Things needed to go!

So if I wasn’t feeling joyful, rewarded or pleased with creating, but instead felt I’d complicated how I was creating, then things needed to go. For example, I don’t need to keep to a schedule with how and when I create and I don’t need to rotate mediums so I always appear interesting, I really don’t!  What I did realise is that I needed to get intentional about what I was doing.  Now hear me clearly here, being intentional doesn’t mean you head out and set rigid plans and deadlines. It means you sit down and take time to decide on an objective. The objective or aim that you decide upon will guide your actions.

My intention was to get back to what the Creator says creating should be. In Revelations 4:11 it says, “For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”  So I’m going to paraphrase, Revelations says that the Creator created things and they exist because He created what He pleased.  This sounds fairly simple to me.  If I want to create (also known as bringing things into existence) I need to be creating what pleases me, and for me this is tangling.

Think, then Act…

Right after the Tully Show I shared how I had joined Eni Oken’s Art Club.  This had been something I was thinking about for a while and the Tully Show experience confirmed I had made the right decision.

I decided I really wanted to be mentored by Eni, as I believe I will grow significantly as an artist under her guidance and expertise. I also believe that Eni’s classes will take me to a place where creating is joyful, rewarding and pleasurable. Why? Because I’m learning again, I’m tangling again. Those creative neurons that have become comfortable in my complication bubble will need to fire up again, and to me, that is the best feeling in the world!

Here’s the thing though, this was a really intentional decision, it wasn’t a spur of the moment kind of thing. It was an action that lined up with my overall intention – to get to a place that the Creator says creating should be, which is pleasurable.  It was here that I also understood how valuable intention is to the zentangle artist.  Intention brings direction, and direction is something every artist needs if they want to succeed. Simply speaking though, you could just say that I just acted on what I thought.

It really got me thinking though, how intentional are you being with your artistic journey? Are you being intentional when you create?

Behind every Decision there’s a Motivation

I ask this because I believe that behind every intention there’s a motivation. Over the last 4 week’s you’ve been working on developing a Conqueror’s Mindset. Intentional decisions like these are the perfect opportunity for you to put into practice everything you’ve learned as a conqueror.

Before I joined Eni’s Art Club, Resistance showed up. It always does, this time it tried to tell me I couldn’t afford it and that I wouldn’t have time to participate properly, so ultimately I’d be wasting my time. But because I’m a conqueror, I had decided that I was not going to let it keep me from my objective. Remember, my intentions helped me decide on my objective, and my objective will guide my actions. I really assessed my motivations and they were good, they lined up with the promises the Lord has for me and they are helping to fulfil the hopes, aspirations and desires, I believe the Creator has given me as a Zentangle Artist.

So…. here’s a couple of big questions to help you with this?

• What’s your intention (or objective) for your art?
• What’s motivating your decisions?

What are your motivations as an Artist?

Are you being motivated by your hopes, aspirations and desires from the Creator, or are you being motivated by something or someone else? It’s time to look beneath the surface and see what’s really motivating you.  Does it line up with your objective? If it doesn’t, it might be time to cut it off, remember, you’re a Conqueror.

Are you being intentional when you create?

If other things have crept in to your creative time, if creating is becoming something that’s complicated, difficult or boring, it’s time to let go and have a good look at your intentions. Really stop and think about what you intended your creative time to look like?

For me it’s been about getting back to what the Creator says. He says things were brought into existence because He created what He pleased. And that’s what I intend to do when I create from here on in. What a great intention or objective that is for an artist!

My hope for you this week is that you’ll begin to look at your motivations and intentions as a zentangle artist.  I really believe being intentional is a vital skill for us all.  Let me know how you get on, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Want to be more Expressive?

Join my Expressive’s List to begin to learn ways you can start to express yourself creatively. There are no moulds or limits with the Lord, just possibilities and the promise of one day unearthing who you were created to be.

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Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!

Bless you my friend

Chrissie xx