Letters from the Muse #4: On the precipice of a bold creative adventure
Plus our chat space for 100 Days of Art Journaling is open!
Dear Creative You,
Look at you, ready to embark on an epic creative journey! It’s exciting, isn’t it? And yes, it’s also a bit scary, which is to be expected.
But I see you, letting the fear slowly overtake the enthusiasm.
All the doubts and questions arising in your mind:
Will I be able to see this project through?
Do I have enough ideas to make it work?
Do I even have the time to make such a big commitment?
Do I have the required skills to keep on going?
OMG, what if I fail? 😱
Deep breaths, Dear Creative You, deep breaths.
It’s easy to let doubt and fear cloud over your bold, beautiful visions. To let them pin you down in place and hold you back. The brain gremlins want nothing more than to keep you safe, and to do that they often end up keeping you small.
But, my Dear Creative, you are stronger and bolder than you realize!
Shake out the voices of those brain gremlins — jump, dance, go for a run or a walk. Come back into the physicality of your body: into your skin and flesh and bone. Feel the gentle pulsing of your blood as it flows through your veins, the rhythmic thump of your heart, and let it carry you into the imaginal realm.
As you walk through this world that you conjure up with your imagination, you remember your creative power and agency. Ahead of you, you see the Well of Inspiration. And there, the Pool of Contemplation. Around the next bend is the Waterfall of Ideas, and beside it the Meadow of Flow. There’s the Cottage of Color nestled next to the Library of Words — a whole world conjured up by YOU!
What if you let yourself stay here a while?
What if you begin to see where these imaginal and real worlds intersect?
And what if you realize that maybe, you really can do this.
I believe in you!
Love,
The Muse
And so we begin: 100 Days of Art Journaling. Our chat space is open!
This is a cozy little space exclusively for subscribers—kind of like a group chat or a What’s App chat. I’ll post a new chat thread every week during these 100 days, where we can share photographs of our art journals, offer encouragement and support, and even brainstorm ideas if we are stuck.
If you’re doing a 100 Day Project of your own, you are welcome to join the chat if you’d like some community and support as you work on your project.
How to get started
You can access the chat via the Substack app or on the desktop. Click this link to download the app.
On the app, tap the chat icon. It looks like a speech bubble in the bottom bar. You’ll see a row for my chat inside — look for Studio Diaries. If you’re accessing the chat via desktop, you’ll find the icon on the left navigation bar.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.
Notes:
I won’t send out an email every time I post a new chat thread; you can turn on push notifications, though I know that those can quickly become overwhelming.
I will include a link to the weekly chat at the end of each issue of Studio Diaries. Hopefully that will make it easy for you to remember to join in on the chats.
If you subscribe to multiple Substack newsletters that also offer a chat feature, you’ll see quite a few chat threads {a bit like What’s App or Telegram, where you can see all your channels/chats}. You have some customization options so you’re not inundated with notifications.
Mute chats — you won’t get notifications, but you can jump into a thread whenever you feel like it.
Leave chats — the best way to reduce overwhelm!
I’d love to hear how this Letter from the Muse landed with you, and if you are doing 100 Days of Art Journaling {or your own 100 Days Project} don’t forget to jump into the chat!
If you enjoy receiving my work and words in your inbox, share it with a friend! You can also tap the little heart button, leave a comment, or restack to Substack Notes to let me know you enjoyed this post. xx