This is me, Kelly Hevel
Putting a face to the name :)
Tag Archives: Incubating
Peregrination and the summer reset
Don’t let the grass grow under your feet! Or maybe, do.
This is the most important time of year for me—summer break. When I go to a quiet village and sit by the seaside and immerse myself in the sea and try to find that crazy balancing point where you turn off your brain enough that it resets, jump starts, fires up, and takes off.
This year the angels of synchronicity have been especially kind. My vacation coincides with Kristin Bair O’Keeffe’s 38Write workshop which is delivered in such a way that I can participate from the little village of Assos, Turkey. The theme this month is “peregrination” which fits so well with my propensity to wander aimlessly when left to my own devices in a village. Or anywhere for that matter.
After a few days of aimlessness and feeling like I wasn’t even relaxing properly, I can feel the ideas breaking free. My mind is not so much peregrinating as flying over the hillsides and mountain tops in a million directions. My only job now is to try to capture as much of the raw material as I can and store it up for later use. And keep washing myself in the sea.
What are you doing to break free and reset? Do you have an annual ritual? If so, please share in the comments!
Posted in Telling My Stories, Workshop Highlights/Making Art
Tagged Creativity, imagination, Incubating, Inspiration, productivity, Rejuvenate, Rest
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Thinking and Feeling…and Walking
I have been mulling over the direction of my business (and life) a lot lately, going through one of those periods of introspection that are so unsettling yet, ultimately, always result in firming up and focusing my path and purpose.
One of the things I’ve been mulling is my life in Istanbul, why it works for me, what doesn’t work for me, having my own little “why am I here? moment. I can never quite put into words why I feel it is necessary to be here, and not somewhere else, but maybe this video sheds some light on that.
Istanbul is for me, the ultimate walking city. There is so much climbing and jostling and so much to look at: the huge spectrum of people, the span of history, layer upon layer, and all piled up together. There are monuments and sea views and skyscrapers and ferries and cats and dogs and tourists and natives one on top of another. There is chaos and there are surprising pockets of peace, right in the middle of it all.
This little three minute video speaks to me. In it, artist Maira Kalman says, “stop thinking, which usually I associate with some kind of problem. Stop thinking and just do whatever it is you think you need to do”. One of the ways she does this is by taking a walk.
Good advice, I think, because I do find that walking and the seeing that goes along with it relieve stress, help me find clarity, and often provide me with the raw materials and ideas I need for art, for writing, and even for making big life decisions. Being out there in that stew of a city provides perspective.
When in doubt, take a walk.
Right now, I am spending most of my time and energy on planning for my upcoming creative immersion workshop Playing Around Istanbul. But I’m also walking the city and plotting new programs and offerings. More on all that soon. Until then, enjoy this video and consider checking out my Istanbul workshop, there are still a few spots left!
How creativity is like a mother sea turtle
Be like a mother sea turtle: lay an egg.
Actually, lay many eggs.
Matthew Diffee, cartoonist for the New Yorker, gave a talk entitled “How to be an Idea Factory”. His method? Sit down at a table for an hour (or however long it takes to drink a pot of coffee) and free-associate with a pencil and a piece of paper. This exercise leaves him with a lot of, ahem, bad eggs. But it also usually leaves him with a couple good ideas.
Diffee’s advice for aspiring creative people, according to an article in Forbes, is this: “Be like a mother sea turtle.”
So what does a mother sea turtle do? She lays a lot of eggs on the beach then swims away, leaving them to fend for themselves. Some of them never hatch. Many of them hatch, only to be gobbled up immediately by predators. But that’s not the mother sea turtle’s concern. Her only job is to keep laying eggs.
Lately have seen the wisdom in this. I have been madly laying eggs for a couple months now. Lots of ideas and opportunities have presented themselves and then faded away. In some cases I have followed the idea through only to let it go then have it resurface a few months later and turn into something fantastic.
For example, in October I was invited to do a workshop for high school students, and immediately sent a proposal. I followed up, but a few months passed with no progress so I let it go. Suddenly, the school got back to me, and very quickly the workshop was planned, coordinated, and off I went to deliver it. Now, unlike the mother sea turtle I do check in on my “eggs” periodically if the opportunity presents itself. But I don’t fixate on one or smother it with attention. I have other eggs to lay!
Many of the egg/opportunities I have laid have led to another, which led to another. In fact, I believe reaching critical mass in the multitude of eggs laid and ideas sown allows ideas to multiply and lead us to new ideas, new connections, new opportunities.
Turkey is a good place to foster and grow the ability to not become too attached to any one idea. All you can do is throw it out there and see if there is a place for it. I am offered a myriad of opportunities. Many of the most enthusiastic ideas/partnerships/collaborators just fade away, and this seems to be normal here. When it comes to new projects, most go nowhere, some become something fantastic, and I have yet to learn to identify which is which in the beginning. So I pursue interesting projects, follow-up once or twice, and then have learned to let it go. Perhaps the project is not meant to be, perhaps the potential collaborator is off laying her own eggs and will get back to me eventually, perhaps we’ll hatch the idea later.
In any case, I still have a job to do. Every day I have to lay an egg.
Posted in Telling My Stories, What is Art/What is an Artist
Tagged artists, Arts, business building, Creative Entrepreneurs, creative methods, Creative professional, Creativity, creativity coaching, Entrepreneur, how to be creative, imagination, Incubating, Inspiration, Istanbul, methods, productivity
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Creating vs. rejuvenating: finding the balance
Right now I am in a transition phase, trying to figure out the best way to work from home. I am throwing myself full-out into my new business, working hard, and really enjoying it. Of course I have moments (and days!) when I am discouraged/afraid/cynical but I also have lots of days when I feel hopeful/capable/full of optimism. I guess it’s no surprise that finding a work/rejuvenation balance is the first challenge of the new entrepreneur. But there’s a reason it’s a cliché: it’s something we all struggle with.
What’s the answer? Well of course the answer is that it depends. It depends on you, your business, your goals, and your environment.
- My business: I am at the beginning stages of building my business, working on developing workshops and products, building my website and network, and learning as much as I can from those who have gone before me. But I also need to find time to meet with people in person and take advantage of the huge potential of using the right social media in the right amount.
- My environment: it’s hot here in Istanbul and I don’t have an air-conditioner.
- My goals: build business fast as possible but go slow enough to not make too many mistakes. Of course mistakes are inevitable, but I want to slow down enough to learn from them.
The answers for me (for now):
- I work when I am most alert and receptive, because I’m trying to take in a lot of new information and think creatively and energetically. This means hopping out of bed when I wake up early because of that bright unrelenting sun and getting right to work. Sometimes I don’t even shower before I get down to it because there’s time for that later when the heat of the day becomes unbearable. I get a good 6 hours of solid, uninterrupted work in before realizing I need a snack and a snooze. I enjoy my afternoon siestas and find that if I let myself rest, I’m ready to get back to work after a break of an hour or two. After my break I shower and jump back in.
- Whatever the reason, I am now more productive at home than I have ever been in the past when I worked out of a home office. I used to have to go to a cafe to get anything done, now I get more done in my apartment than anywhere else. I recently rearranged my flat and think I may have accidentally feng shui’d it! My current routine is to work on the balcony while it is shady and breezy, move into the salon when the sun gets too hot, then spend an hour or two in the breezeway at the hottest part of the day to take advantage of the air passing through. I realize as I write this that my dog actually figured all that out before me…
Gratuitous photo of my cute dog enjoying the balcony
- I want to go FAST but know I need to be careful not to cut corners or wear myself out today, because tomorrow I have to get up and do it all over again. This is my biggest challenge at the moment, because my brain is going at top speed and there’s just not enough time to get it all done. It would be easy to get discouraged at that long list of Tasks That Must Be Done, but I try to remember I’m never going to be finished so it’s best to check off what I can and be thankful that when I wake up tomorrow I know there is work to be done. Of course, just because I have decided it’s quitting time doesn’t mean my brain will consent to stop. My current strategy is to make as many plans for extra curricular activities as possible so that I am forced to focus on other things, and to close my computer, or at least all those tempting social media tabs! Check out this moving and fascinating TED video of how our brains work, left vs. right, and where those voices inside our heads originate. Then get out there and activate your right brain.
I can already foresee that as my business develops and as the seasons change, so will my schedule and habits. When winter comes and it’s gray and damp in Istanbul, I know I’m going to struggle with getting out of bed (to wallow in the melancholy gray days of Istanbul check out this book). I may have to find a cafe to work in so that I don’t drift off into endless naps. And as my business develops in unexpected ways I will have to learn to channel my energy to the right places in the right amounts.
For another viewpoint, check out artist Natasha Wescoat’s thoughts on training yourself to be productive. I would love to hear about your successes and struggles when it comes to setting your workstyle, please take a moment to share your thoughts in the comments.
Posted in Challenge/Personal Growth/Coaching, Telling My Stories, Telling the Stories of Others, What is Art/What is an Artist
Tagged Arts, Business, business building, Creativity, Incubating, Innovation, Inspiration, Istanbul, lifestyle, Natasha Wescoat, Online identity, productivity, Social media, transitions, Turkey, workstyle
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Lost in Thought
Kate and Lindsay
I don’t have much to say today– I’ve been working hard on business development. It makes me feel accomplished but sometimes leaves me speechless. So instead of words, I’ll share a drawing from my latest series.
And here are some artists I like to visit online:
Sharing her lyrical view of the world: Susannah Conway
Always into something new: The Creative Caravan
Quirky and thought-provoking: Stitch and Tickle
Posted in Drawings, Portfolio, Portraits, Telling My Stories
Tagged Arts, Drawings, Incubating, Inspiration, Portraits
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