Here at Visionary Bri, I'm gearing up for the new year. Normally, I don't make resolutions - I find them too easy to forget after a month or two. Instead, as 2012 closes, I am taking some time to regroup, reevaluate and plan 2013. These are not resolutions, per say, but goals I'd like to achieve and projects I'd like to complete.
I've got some great ideas that I'd like to put in motion. For instance, 2013 will see the first of my e-books published. I'm going to try to get the Visionary Voices classes up and running, I will be continuing and finishing the Art Wherever You Are project, AND I'm going to be looking into giving some lectures / talks. That's right, colorful little me out there on the road, spreading encouragement and inspiration. Maybe in a city near you!
But, all this takes a bit of time. It takes a bit of planning. It takes focus and determination and a bit of luck.
So, my darlings, I will be taking a brief hiatus from posting to this blog. The art in Art Wherever You Are will continue, however. When I'm back after the beginning of the year, I'll have a whole new crop of inspiration, guidance, giveaways and info for you to help you keep living your dreams.
If you're interested in shining your light out to the world and making the most of your year, I strongly recommend this planner and calender. It's the one tool I will be using most often, both this week and throughout 2013, to help bring all the magnificence of Visionary Bri to you.
I know that both I and every one of you, my dear readers, can create some magic in 2013. What big dreams would you like to see come into being?
Until the new year, please remember that we are all (yup, each and every one of us) visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.
I know that a new post isn't due from me until Wednesday, but I'd like some time to be with my family, so I'll post now.
I'd like to share with you a quote from my second favorite all-time Christmas movie, Scrooged, starring Bill Murray. "You can still have fun tonight! Call people you haven't seen - a college friend, an old army buddy,
your personal banker. . . I'm not crazy. It's Christmas Eve.
It's the one night when we all act a little nicer.
We...we smile a little easier. We...we...share a little more. For a couple of hours, we are the people we always hoped we would be."
And, even though I don't like most Christmas music, I love this song and I thought I'd share it with you. It's not a Christmas carol, per say, but please. The message goes out from me to you.
"If your heart is longing and you've been afraid to try
sorrow's kept you company and the dance has passed you by,
I'll lift you up and blaze with you across the moonlit sky
on the Night Before Christmas
And you don't have to be an angel to sing harmony
and you don't have to be a child to love the mystery
And you don't have to be a wise man on bended knee
The heart of this Christmas is in you and me"
From my heart to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my little corner of the world. May there be joy,
family, and peace of mind to each of you. Blessings!
This video was sent around on my family's email. When I saw it, I just knew that I had to post it for this beautiful day. It's Christmas eve, tonight. It's that one holiday that magic can happen. It's the time of year that people are giving, are kind, and that we are all the people that we truly want to be. So, without further ado, here it is:
So often that we get wrapped up in our own lives, our own tragedy, we hardly ever stop to think of the helpers. Maybe someone told you a truth that you didn't really want to hear, but desperately needed to hear. At this time of year, I think of endings and I think about the various people who have helped me. Tonight, I send warm blessings to all of them, whether they had to give me "tough help" that I really didn't want or bestowed friendly help.
This is the time that I remember those people in my life and how they are so much more precious to me, in this world, than jewelry or electronics or pretty clothes. At Christmas, we all turn into the best possible version of ourselves.
Through trying times and deep sorrow, still, there is hope. And there will always be hope. There will always be those of us who try to reach out, try to give more than we get and help our fellow humans.
Goodnight my dear readers. I hope you found this video as wonderful as I did.
Mindvalley is an amazing company. With its' only business plan scratched on the back of a napkin, Vishen Lakhiani has learned a lot about striking out on your own as an enterpreneur. Like Vishen, I don't advocate (and never will) going into massive amounts of debt, right off, to get your project on the road. If your bottom line is worrying about whether you're going to be able to repay the money you owe, you're not going to put your thoughts or energy where they're needed the most -- coming up with ways to draw people to you and innovating new products. The more people that are drawn to you or hear about you, the more likely that they will be interested in what you're doing and demonstrate that with paying you. To start your own business, either in the creative field or not, it doesn't require a lot of money. It does require what I call "hustle." "Hustle"(see this post) is going out into the world and making yourself known. This could also be known as "marketing." That is where your energy should be spent -- in coming up with what you want to sell / do, then getting it into peoples' minds. You could also call it "grassroots marketing."
Hustle is going to work to your advantage and I'm going to tell you why. When you begin your hustle, you embark on a new journey. You start dreaming up new and exciting ways (that might be uniquely yours) to tell the public you're there. And, since it may be avenues people have never tried before, the system doesn't have "fail-safes" in place to keep you from achieving your goal. When you first start out, it feels like you're in a world full of "no." "No, you can't just dwaddle around and do art all day." "No, no one's going to want to buy that." "No. It's impossible. It's never been done before." Well, GOOD! That means that there's less to fight against. Get creative and get your butt movin'. My stickers and sticker boxes (explained in this post) were 100% a lightning-flash idea. I knew that people dropped business cards in coffee shops and the like. That was common and a good start, but how about bulletin boards? I didn't want to put just one sticker up. I wanted to be able to reach as people as possible who came to the bulletin board. This is the absolute truth. I was thinking about this bulletin board / sticker thing and holding the stickers in my hand. My eyes wandered around my bedroom and happened to see the box of graham crackers that was sitting on my nightstand. The idea popped into my head and the rest is Visionary History! No matter what you've got going on, you can always get the word out there. Use a free blogging site. Create a Facebook page for your project and share the link around the internet. Trust your instincts. If something in your gut says "Do it," then go do it. Market in crazy ways. Rent billboards! I'd love to see a creative project advertised on a billboard. I'm tired of viewing car dealership and warehouse store ads! See if there's a local radio station you can get on and talk about what you're doing. What about your local paper? Call them and see if they'd be interested in running an article on you. Put tear-off tab signs in local businesses (with the owners' permission, of course).
I encourage you all, my dears, to continue to grow, to expand and to be absolutely 100% joyful in your expanding endeavors. Until next time, remember that we're all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel. Love to All, -Bri Follow me on Facebook and Twitter
I know that, getting started in a creative endevor can cost money because, starting out, you don't know what kinds of materials can do what. Oil vs. Acrylic? What's the difference? And it can get pretty expensive playing around with different things before you find your groove. I went to college for art, which means I got to try out a wide range of mediums with
loan money. Still, being a professional artist, creativity specialist
and blogger, I know we need all the help we can get.
But, never fear, my lovelies! Visionary Bri is here to help you once again.
This is a link to a Facebook page where you can request some free art supply samples to be sent to you. I signed up for mine, today. And I hope this will help you along your artsy, creative way.
Also, here's a E-How article which might be helpful, as well. I haven't used any of the things on here, yet. But, if you do, let me know how they turn out.
Any art that is done on paper or a surface is called 2D. 3D art would be sculpture. If you're interested in doing 2D art and want to draw people, there is one element above all others which will propel your art to the next level: learning to draw eyes.
If there's anything in 2D art that I've learned (in art school and in life) it's this: if you're going to draw people, spend the most time making the eyes as best that you can and your art will be well recieved. Why is this? Because of the way our brains work.
Think about it, if you want to know if someone is telling you the truth, you look into their eyes. If you want a real connection with someone, the eyes are where you will get it. Within the eyes, we feel that, not only are we really "seeing" the other person, but we are being seen, as well. That is all art, essentially, is. One human connecting to another. I've never heard of someone gazing lovingly into another's nostril, have you? The "eyes" have it.
So, if your artwork that depicts another human has well-done, good looking and believable eyes, the viewer feels a connection with the work. It's a simple principle and a simple trick, but it works.
Now, I'd love to be able to sit down with you and show you how I draw eyes. But, if I did that, it would only be teaching you how to copy my style. What I want is for you to find your own style. In that way, keep in mind these simple rules.
1) A part of the iris is always concealed by the eyelid.
2) There will always be a shadow on the eyeball which sets it back from the lid.
3) Within the eye, there will always be a white spot which reflects the light source. The location of this white spot will also direct, slightly, where the eye is looking.
4) The eye, when done, is never fully white. There are pink triangles at each side and the side closest to the nose will always have a circle, which is the tear duct.
5) Eyelashes start (at the side nearest the nose) as short and sparse. As they move to the outer edge, they get longer, thicker and are more frequent.
Those five simple principles are really all you need to know to draw realistic looking eyes. Color? Shape? All of these other things will be determined by your artistic interpretation.
Since I can't sit down with you, this internet medium being what it is, let me give you this video which is a quick-draw of a very good eye.
In drawing people, even "fantasy-type people" with cat tails or blue skin, drawing realistic eyes will grab the viewer and make your art more compelling. And, the more compelling your art is, the more people will want to see of it.
In fact, some compelling work can even be done with just eyes as the subject matter --
Experimentation with the pupil
A close-up photo of an actual eye. Isn't that amazing?
To see my work with eyes and re-imagined portraiture, see the project Art Wherever You Are
My dearest beings, I hope this post has helped you on your path.
Until next time, please remember that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.
I found this picture around the internet and I thought I'd share it for this week's weekend inspiration. Seeing this prompted me to get up the gumption and ask my assistant to send some inquiry emails that I'd flip-flopped about sending. Emails that might move this Visionary thing I've got going on a bit further. After seeing this picture and realizing everything that this man must've had to go through to get where he is, it gave me a bit of a kick in the pants.
My dear ones, I still have that little voice in my head, sometimes, that says, "I don't know if you can do this." It's okay. We all have it. And it doesn't matter that, no matter how much you pursue your dreams and your goals, that little voice still persists. What does matter is not letting that little voice rule you.
Dream, always. Reach, always. Try, always. Go, always. Get up again, always.
A friend of mine who's been single for quite a while called me up this week. "I don't want to drive all that way for this date and maybe get stood up." "Go," I encouraged her. "Always go." It's the difference between 'I believe that this might take me closer to my dream of a partner to go through life with' or 'I've given up on this dream.' I told my friend about some of the absolutely horrific dates I'd been on, how I'd been stood up and much worse. Then, I told her what a friend did for me, in my time of doubt.
My now-hubby and I, in the beginning of our relationship, broke up. By happenstance, there was a large social gathering of my friends happening on his parents' property that had been planned months before. Two hours from where the party was taking place, I danced from one foot to the other saying, "I don't know if I should go." Finally, my friend took me by the shoulders and pushed me toward their van. "You're going," they said in a very forceful tone.
This situation had the potential for major personal drama and a horrific outcome. However, had I not gone, hubby and I probably wouldn't have ever gotten back together and I would not have my Precious Pookie and the life I do, now.
When times are the hardest, it is then that we need to persevere. When it seems most dismal and most bleak, it is then that we have to look even harder for that spark to guide us. So, no matter the situation, I will always say, "Go. Dream. Dare. Do. Risk." Always. For without the going, the dreaming, the daring, the doing and the risking, miracles can't happen.
I watched the movie Men in Black 3, this week. If you haven't seen it, stop reading right now and go watch it. Don't worry . . . I'll wait . . .
Did you watch it? Good.
That movie is now added to my top 20 movies of all time for the character of Griffin. Such an amazing character. One of his quotes is this, " A miracle is something that seems impossible but happens anyway."
My lovelies, miracles are happening every single day. That, you can bank on. And there's no reason that a miracle can't happen for you, no matter what you're wishing for. There's no reason that it can't happen to you, today. One small step is all it takes. Trust me on this. Miracles aren't announced with a flourish of trumpets, anymore, but they certainly can happen and (often) in the most unlikely of places on some idle Tuesday.
What have you been dreaming of, dears? What steps toward your miracle could you take? Try to take a tiny one, this weekend. Let the universe conspire with you for a change.
PS -- Don't forget to dance!
Here's a song to get you started --
"The Logical Song"
Until next time, my beautiful ones, please remember that we are ALL visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.
I went to college. 3 of them, to be exact, but I never graduated. The first college I went to was Ball State University, a big state school where a little girl with crazy colored hair (who was the leader of the outcasts in her high school) could fit in, be creative and find other geeks, freaks and weirdo's to be friends with.
In my time at this college, I failed my Walking class. Twice. And the story of how I managed to accomplish this feat is Why I Am Either The Laziest or The Smartest Person Ever.
Now, to the tale. I'll say it, again. I failed a college class called Walking. Twice. Now, this might be understandable if, say, I had legs that didn't work. But I was going to raves all the time and dancing my little butt off. Clearly, my legs work fine. The reason that I failed Walking twice is either that my mind is way too overactive or that I am lazy.
Here, in Muncie Indiana, one teen is turning drudgery into awesome.
Brannon Muncey, 18, got his job at Little Caesar's pizza on the corner of West McGalliard and Walnut just 5 months ago. "I stood in life for three hours, waiting, and got hired that day," says Muncey.
We've all had our share of horrible jobs in our teens, usually in food service. Your truly breaded chicken and worked a drive through. Many high school and college kids in the Muncie, Indiana area have a different type of job. For barely above minimum wage, they stand on corners and hold brightly colored signs by busy streets, trying to bring attention to a business. Driving around Muncie, I've seen many students with this sign-holding job, but Brannon stands out from all of them.
Not just content to hold his sign, Brannon has become a local phenomenon for dancing with and performing tricks with his sign. I caught up with Brannon on a dreary, Saturday evening in December. Though it was drizzling slightly, Brannon remained undeterred. "They don't make us hold signs bad weather, but if it's not too bad out, I tell them that I'll go out and, you know," Brannon says as he nods toward the worn patch of soil near the busy street. What is Brannon getting known for? Click here for a video of Brannon performing.
"I have my moves," Brannon says, "but I'm working on new ones all the time. Sometimes a move doesn't work out, so I try something else." In beaten up sneakers and a bright orange shirt (sometimes with a sweatshirt over that), Brannon is hard to miss. Passing cars honking or waving at him is common. When asked if he's gotten any bad reactions to his dancing, Brannon replies with a smile. "Yeah, but I think it's just people trying to mess with me."
Brannon is a senior at the local Central High School. Soft spoken and genial, almost shy, he seems amazed about the press he's gotten. Yours truly has not been the only one to interview him. The local paper, The Muncie Star, did a story in the "Life" section on him and the Ball State University morning show interviewed him as well.
But Brannon's not out there alone. He's got his tunes. As I interviewed him, ear buds hung out from neck of his bright orange shirt. When I asked what he was listening to while dancing, he said, "Rap and hip-hop, mostly. The new stuff like 2 Chainz and Tyga." When asked why he started dancing, he laughs and says, "To pass the time. You know, to make it fun."
I told Brannon that I appreciated what he was doing. I told him that, if he approached life the same way that he'd approached this job, that he would go far. In fact, for me, it was an honor to shake Brannon's hand and every time I see him, dancing with his sign, it brings a smile to my face and gives me hope for other dream chasers, out there.
The Visionary Van outside Brannon's branch
Brannon Muncey, everyone here, at Visionary Bri salutes you. Keep doing what you doing and help people to remember . . .
We are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.
Until next time, my dear readers. Have a magical day and keep on dancin'!
You don't have to listen to me encouraging you to follow your creative passion. After all, who am I? I'm just one girl in the world, crying out to the wind in order to attempt to inspire others.
Maybe my name isn't prestigeous enough for you. I haven't been on TV talking about this (though I have made television appearances). You haven't seen me come to your town with my name on a billboard in lights, yet (though I have given lectures at colleges). And maybe you've never seen my name on a book in Barnes and Noble (even though I have independently published 4 books). That's okay. There's something to be said for fame and notoriety. One day, I hope to have enough of each to be able to reach a wider audience and maybe give this "Visionary Bri" name a bit more clout. Maybe I could even come to a city near you, wherever you are in the world!
So, don't take it from me. Instead, here's Neil Gaiman encouraging artists. If my encouragement isn't doing it for you, how 'bout listening to him?
Want to be a writer? Here he is, again.
Would you like to see a commencement speech he's given? Well, here you go.
In general, take from these videos what you'd like. It doesn't matter who or what inspires you to live your dreams. All that matters is that you do pursue them, that you do chase them down and that you don't spend years in wishing and putting things off.
My dears, please don't wait. Your ultimate life is waiting for you! Your ultimate joy is calling to you! It's there. All you have to do is seek it. This world is waiting for you to share your gifts with it.
And please, my lovelies. Please remember that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel. Until next time.
While researching smash books, I came upon this video. Now, I don't know about you, but my sketchbook does a lot of traveling with me. (Yes, I bought my purse big enough so that it would fit specifically in there.) As I go about my life, I often find things I want to save. Business cards, napkin doodles and the like. Sure, I could just put them in my purse, but little things like that tend to get lost or mussed up.
My current sketchbook has a pocket in the front, which I just love. The tradeoff is that the cover isn't as sturdy as the kind of sketchbook I normally get. So, what a wonderful thing to find -- how to make pockets in your own smash book, sketchbook or journal. (Her voice is a little soft, so you may have to turn it up.) Now I can have the sturdiness of my favorite brand of sketchbook AND the pocket that I love. Woo hoo!
Also, there was something I learned at the Buddhist university that I attended-- making my own books. I only did this once, in the class, but I look forward to doing it, again. "Sounds hard," you say. Not so! In fact, it's pretty easy and can get addictive. Here's a video that explains the basics using widely available materials.
Well, my dears, I hope these videos inspire you this week. Feel free to post pictures of what you've been up to. I'd love the see them.
And please remember that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel!
