Dress like a Genius!

Checking in to see if anyone has done anything to challenge themselves this year so far? They were pretty easy attempts…paint your nails green? Make a face at your neighbor at a stop light? Hosted a party?

Well, whether you have or haven’t, today’s post is about something that is a challenge for me in particular, but seemingly opposite of the challenge for courage…or  so I thought!

A few weeks ago I was thinking about how much clothing I have to wash, and how much time I spend thinking about what I am going to wear each morning for just a normal day of work, and how exhausting both were.

Because I am a studio artist, and most days I don’t see more than a couple of people (save my family) I am generally trying to pull together an outfit that is comfortable (for the studio) but creative (because it makes me feel good) and presentable (in case I have a client or someone stops by)….that’s a lot of pressure to create for myself day after day after day – and I choose to NOT create that any longer.

There have been many days in my life when I thought “I’m not going anywhere, I have to do some down and dirty work in the studio, so I’ll just pull my hair back, put on my jeans and a t-shirt, and who needs makeup – right?!  Inevitably those are the days when I get a last minute call to restock at one of the shops that carries my wares, or someone comes by and wants to have a lunch meeting…so then for the next few weeks, I harden my resolve and put more thought into my daily wear as I do not want to be caught unawares again! It’s EXHAUSTING!!

I realized late last week, that although I would choose a different shirt and pants each day, that I generally ended up with the same long jacket over them. It’s an Autumn Tenyl Indira hoodie, that I love and wear often, it’s comfortable, warm, versatile, creative and presentable! Since, it fits ALL my criteria,  it’s a major part of my wardrobe in general.  What I came to realize is that it didn’t matter really what I wore beneath it, because all anyone really saw was the jacket!

Then I remembered that Albert Einstein was known to own several identical items of clothing, and wore the same style suit each and every day…although there is some debate  as to whether or not this is true it is told to be based in truth.   I remember the first time I heard it and how the idea rang true to me somewhere deep in my core.

Then unfortunately for the world ~ Steve Jobs recently passed away. In reading about the life of this wonderful spirit, there were a many reports about how he attempted to convince the folks in his factories to wear uniforms to work.  Although the idea didn’t go over very well with the folks that worked for him, he decided to adopt his own uniform…the infamous blue jeans and black mock turtle neck.  Do you see where I am going with this yet? : )

I decided that it was a really good idea, this uniform thing, after all how could it be a bad idea if it was practiced by a couple of the most genius people we’ve known?!  Right? I was excited!! Then I took a look at my wardrobe, and realized I have an unnatural attachment to many of my wonderful wardrobe options. Especially my Autumn Tenyl pieces (some of which were one of a kind and are no longer available). Not to mention that in Wisconsin there are wide and varied seasonal changes in the weather which must be accommodated for sometimes in the same day.  I began to become discouraged…

Perhaps not a full life of the same “uniform” was going to work for me but something of a smaller scale might be perfectly acceptable, process less of a burden on my creative brain, and ease my morning routine!  One a week uniforms!! I thought I’d be able to pick one outfit for the week, which I could do on Sunday night, then not have to think about what I am wearing all week!! Each week I can change the outfit, but it will still be less of a brain challenge for me, especially on those days (we all have them) when NOTHING goes right, nothing looks right, and nothing will make you happy….if you already have a plan, that’s an easy fix.  Besides, if something important came up I could always make a wardrobe change – it’s not like I’m locking myself in a wardrobe prison! I am a jewelry artist and creative person after all….I should be able to accessorize ANYTHING to change the look if necessary, watching the new Project Accessory taught me that only last week!!

SO…..after almost a full week of wearing basically the same outfit (my ATD jacket), last week I decided to go full on!  I wore a very comfortable pair of black jeans and a black long sleeve t-shirt sweater.  I wore it every day: Monday through Saturday (Sunday is PJ day at our house)  I wore it in the studio, comfortably; wore it out to lunch meetings,  I wore it in the evening out with friends.  I changed my hair, I changed my jewelry, I changed my accessories…but I wore the same clothes.   And guess what….NO ONE NOTICED!!!

Not one single solitary person took notice that I had worn the same outfit every day. Not anyone in my family…who saw me each and every day. Not one of my friends, who I spent more than one portion of time with on different days….no one.  When I told them that I had worn the same outfit all week, they didn’t even believe me!! My husband laughed, my kids argued with me….and I didn’t tell them until Sunday, so I asked them if anyone could remember what I wore….just like witnesses to a crime, not a single one of them really got it right!!  So if no one else really notices what I am wearing, then WHY oh why am I so concerned with it??!

This sparked a memory from my young adulthood, when I held a hostessing job at a small semi upscale restaurant, and I had to wear a black skirt, white top and heels to work. It didn’t matter the style really, but those were the guidelines.  Being I was young and living on my own, I didn’t have a great deal of money to spend on clothing – or even accessories.  I bought one black short skirt, one long black skirt, one button white top and one pull over.  I remember accessorizing them differently each time I went to work….no one had any idea that I only owned a four piece work wardrobe!!  Think boots or tights, sweaters and scarves, belts and baubles! That’s what changed my look on a regular basis, and it worked!

Therefore…I’M GOING FOR IT!!   This week, I’ve got blue jeans and a mid-length sleeve, cream turtleneck. AND I’m going to rock it!  I will not have to accessorize it unless I feel like it or unless I am going somewhere or have to meet someone…those moments can be easily stolen if I already have the base outfit!!

In the time it would have normally taken me to stand in my closet, wonder about what “look” I wanted to project for the day, make sure it was functional, comfortable, presentable, and ready for a visit, THEN to find my clothing, determining then if it “felt” right for the day and to finally get dressed….today, I got dressed, pulled my hair back, and wrote this blog! Think about the time saved just in one day, the laundry time that will be reduced, the materials reduced to wash as well, and most importantly the brain power…so many levels of saving to be used on more creative endeavors!

We could even add this to one of our challenges for next year…wear the same outfit for a full week! hmm….I just might add that to the list!! Who’ll join me in THIS challenge THIS year?! I’m in!

Dressing like a genius truly IS genius!!  I feel smarter already!

7 Ways to Build Your Courage in 2011

Christine Kane is an inspiration to me. She has an unbelievably striking personality that shines through a voice that simply soothes the soul.  She inspires me daily. Today her inspiration drove me to write, even though my creativity lies in jewelry, because that’s just what she can do.  I worked out of my comfort zone, and was inspired to write this week’s blog about one of her thought provoking ideas, with my own twist…and I am hoping you’ll make the journey with me!

As an artist, and creative person, I have had many moments of courage “testing”, this was the beginning of my jewelry venture.

• When I sent my first gift of jewelry to a friend, and hoped it didn’t look like it was made in my basement-she loved it!  Built my courage.
• When I sent my first “Pick Box” to a shop owner for her perusal-she bought the whole box! Built my courage.
• The first real art show I participated in-I sold more than half my inventory!  Built my courage.
• Not completely falling apart after the 2^nd  show I did – and sold nothing. Built my courage.

Now thank goodness those situations built my courage up…a little bit at a time, because I definitely needed it!

• Used my courage when signing up for the 3^rd  show – I sold nothing again.
• Used my courage Signing up for the 4^th  show – I sold nothing again.
• Used my courage Signing up for the 5^th  show – I sold enough to keep me going

A funny thing happened, after I built my courage in the beginning, because it was a two step process. It took courage to take those few steps, I didn’t feel like I possessed it at all, I just did it and waited to see what would happen. It would appear that the posit ve outcome is what built my courage, but in fact that simply reinforced it.  The act of doing the uncomfortable, the unknown, feeling the fear and doing it anyway…THAT is what built the courage.  The reinforcement kept me building it; which is good because I defiantly needed it with the next few steps!! It was difficult to sign up for those shows after not telling anything at all, I was beginning to think that the first steps were just flukes. But my courage was still flexed, so I was able to go on!   By the time I signed up for my next show….

• Signing up for the 6^th show – sold enough to keep me happy!

But I no longer needed the courage to sign up for the show, because it had become a “habit” it had become easier because I realized that I could succeed or I could fail, but either way, it was EASY to sign up!!  I learned from doing, I lost fear from facing it, I grew strong from allowing my weakness not to get a hold of me.

These are all tiny steps in courage, and each had its own reward; although it may not seem so obvious.  Yes it was frightening to send a gift to a friend, and it was very rewarding to have her love it…she still wears it, 18 years later!  Signing up for the shows after I sold nothing, was extremely difficult, having not sold anything…but my courage kept me going…and it eventually paid off.  That was over 8 years ago, and yet I still have moments that require a great deal of courage.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. –Winston Churchill

We all experience different moments in which we will need our courage to carry us through. A great deal of the time, what we feel is a lack of courage (or fear) hindering us from moving forward.  We do not have the courage to talk to a potential customer because they might say no,  we do not have the courage to invest in the materials and tools we want, because we might ‘do it wrong’, we do not have the courage to pay the money for the class, because the class or workshop may not be a good investment in our skills. We do not have the courage to put our work out there, because someone else might be better, or god forbid, someone won’t like our work!   Because for creatives, if people don’t like our work, then they don’t like US…and everyone wants to be liked.  But we DO have the courage, our courage muscle is simply weak, it needs to be strengthened…and I have a plan to get us there!

“Excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” – Aristotle

So, the thought is that “we need to learn to be more courageous”, easy to say, and just as easy to do!  As we practice using our courage and facing uncomfortable fears, we will become more courageous each day! So once we become comfortable using our courage, the more courageous we will become;  because as Christine Kane says: “Courage is a muscle. Just as you wouldn’t go into the gym for the first time and lift a 100-pound dumbbell – you don’t have to begin building courage by running for President.”

Often people believe that courage is a leap, that the only way to show your courage is by doing something BIG that you are afraid of…doing something dangerous like sky-diving, something we deeply fear such as speaking in public, or something that may cause us physical pain. And in denying ourselves from accomplishing those things, we forgive ourselves by saying we are just not courageous.  But that simply isn’t true.  Courage can be built in baby steps, instead of leaps and bounds. Our courage muscle can be built with a few reps a day, or working on one continuous set one thing once one week at a time.

So this is what I propose! We will work through some of our courage building together! We will tackle one thing at a time…sometimes they will be fun, and fairly easy steps, and sometimes they might take a few days; which is why we are going to do them one week at a time! You will have an entire week to meet the challenge, and work your courage muscle!

Christine Kane is an incredible motivator and inspirational coach, and her list of 52 Things To Build Your Courage includes some things we may want to just do to get our juices flowing before the end of the year.  A few things we can do from now until the New Year to get us ready for January, when no one really wants to do anything!!!

What Ms. Kane says about courage and why it’s important to build it up is: “Because there’s a deeper level of courage. It makes you strong. It makes you fall in love with yourself. It makes you fall in love with your life.  At its core, courage is about strengthening your relationship with yourself.”

Now here are some of the items from her list – “to build your courage. Some of them seem completely foolish. But they’re not. They’re just uncomfortable. And that’s the whole point! Success in life is directly related to how uncomfortable you’re willing get. Now, get uncomfortable and go be courageous!”  Look them over, and just try them out…work a couple of them during the next few months…do them over and over until you are so comfortable doing them all, it doesn’t even feel like a challenge anymore!!

1. Paint your nails green (guys get extra points)
2. Do something tourist-y in your own town
3. Give money away (charity, homeless, a friend in need)
4. Admit when you are wrong
5. Put on a goofy smile and look at other drivers when you stop at lights
6. If you never host parties or dinners – invite friends over for dinner
7. Ask someone out on a date (even if it’s your current partner)

That is 7 things, and seven is not just a lucky number but in numerology it is “spirituality, a vertical connection between the material world and the spiritual world, higher reasons behind every action, spiritual transformation that leads to material transformation.”  So how about THAT!!  Let’s begin by doing the seven things above at any time between now and the end of the year, then in the beginning of the year we are going to start to step out of our comfort zones and build up our courage muscle!

Beginning in January, we will work one courage building challenge per week….and by the end of the year, you’ll wonder what happened to those banished fears!!

And in true Braveheart fashion…I ask….Who is with me?!!  Aaaaaaaa!!!!!!

Cheers! Don’t forget to high five me when we pass on the battle field!!
JeaneMargherite Meria Murray McMahon Schingen (yep, that’s my name don’t wear it out!!)

Oh…and I suggest you visit here:
Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription athttp://christinekane.com.

Forever Flowers

We have received our silver ring blanks...and are considering continuing the flower ring theme...from paper...to metals!! I am hoping they are as popular as the paper flowers...and looking into finding inventive ways to make the rings adjustable so they will not need to be sized!
 
I can't wait to get started!!!

This Just In: Disappointment Leads to Treasure

I skipped into my studio this morning full of enthusiasm and creativity for the ideas I had been mulling over and marinating during the night (while I was attempting to sleep)....when I arrived at my bench- a bit tired, but excited, I sat down, and turned excitedly to pull out  the gemstones that I decided to work with....and in a flash all of my enthusiasm and my creativity was immediately thwarted!  Gone. Engulfed. Overwhelmed. Defeated. Deflated.

The gems I needed were encased in an organizer bin, that was under a box, as well as behind a basket of components I was going to use for my last project....which was now abandoned. It doesn't sound nearly as bad as it actually was to look at...but it was such a mess,

Now I am no neat freak...as most creatives are aware....we prefer a bit of an "organized mess"  (a term my mother could never come to terms with) especially when it comes to the general state of affairs in the studio.  But on this day, with this project, this small inconvenience completely set me back in a blink of an eye, my creativity was snuffed.  I just wanted to just get up, walk out, and go sit in front of the TV for the rest of the day..

After the initial moment of disappointment, I sat for a a few minutes, attempting to coax the creativity back into my heart and my head, so it could be pumped back out through my hands....nothing. I thought if I started small, I might be able to prime the pump...so I went to pull out some ear wires, (easy enough to reach) to begin the process from the other side..I was a bit worried I wouldn't have any made, and I would have to create new ones, but I also knew that didn't have the right size wire to make more if need be.

So  when I get to the container that holds the ear wires that have already been created...it's a mess! Different types and shapes all in the same bags, french wires mixed with posts, some without the ear nuts.... *sigh* ... I was beginning to wonder if perhaps this was not meant to be a "creative day" and immediately began thinking about any computer work or paper work that needed to be done instead...quite deflated.

But I was tired of working on the computer! I've been doing that for the last three weeks, and I was desperate to CREATE something!! I needed to MAKE something pretty to rejuvenate my creative soul, and I needed it bad!

So I began the tedious work of separating the earwires into their proper places, starting small but hoping that if I finish this, then I'll have more energy tomorrow.  What I found was that separating the earwires lead me to find fun components I didn't even remember having. That was a nice surprise!! I was a little rejuvenated! Which lead me to continue my organizing...which lead me to more new discoveries!  Which lead to more happy surprises! And my creativity began to build from a spark to a flame!!

I realized it had been so long since I truly looked through my components and supplies that I didn't truly have a grasp on what I had in stock...so I pushed on, it felt like a treasure hunt! Making fun discoveries all the along the way, and loving every minute of my "Cleaning/Organizing" day.  I organized all the sterling silver, then all the other metals, which lead to the gemstones, and wire, and eventually cleaning off my bench top and even my anvil table and my power tools!!!

I now had a much better grasp on all of my supplies, and components, metal, colored, wood, gemstones. I had a plan for what needed to be created and what needed to be purchased.  I was organize, cleaned up and ready to go!!

Because I didn't give up on myself in that first blush of disappointment, the day became a purposeful, empowering and productive day! I'm now I am excited again to REALLY get into creative work tomorrow....ALL DANG DAY LONG!!   Whoo Hoo!!

.

Paper Jewelry

I've started the journey of reclaimed and upcycled jewelry pieces several years ago, and have had a great time working in that capacity...creating beauty from what others thought was simply to be discarded.  A process I actually began when my jewelry career began, at the age of 10.

My grandmother had passed away, and being the only girl in my family, I inherited a large box of costume jewelry..."Grandma Jewelry" if you will, as to a ten year old, because as beautiful and sparkly as it all was, there wasn't a single piece in the box I could wear without feeling like a grandma.

After some thought, and much discussion (in my own head and a little out loud to myself) over whether or not my grandmother would be angry with me for what I was planning; I began to disassemble the pieces in the box. I took every single solitary piece apart, and before me lay piles of shimmering treasure I could not have even imagined was encompassed in that box of costume grandma jewelry!

At this point I began 'designing' different pieces that I found pretty and more appropriate to accessorize my t-shirts and blouses that I wore with my jeans. I wore my first piece to school the next day, all together proud and embarrassed at the same time. It was no secret that our large family had little money, and I wore hand me downs not just from family but from friends, and I thought that I might very well be teased for my now hand me down jewelry, as I often was for my clothes....I strode in that day with my head held high, come what may!

The reaction at my elementary school was quite the opposite of what I feared! To my surprise I was fawned over, and asked a million questions about where I had found this fabulous jewelry adornment....and thus my next struggle emerged: Should I tell them they were my grandmother's before they were mine? Should I lie and make up a place I knew no one could ever find?  My emotionally teetering landed on "I made them!" at which point most everyone said (as 10 year old do) "ooooooo, will you make me something?!"

I thus sold my "inheritance" from my grandmother to the girls at school for dollars and change until it was all gone. I  even sold the pieces I was wearing on that first day. I knew my grandmother would have been proud, because I felt proud - and had made a tidy sum to purchase new "materials" from garage sales and resale stores.  I saved a single ring that belonged to my grandmother, and I keep it in my studio to remind me from whence my ability blossomed.

Now...so many years later...(we won't say exactly how many) I am at it again! Disassembling and reassembling the past and the present. Reworking, recreating and doing the best I can not to discard anything!!

My newest adventure is paper jewelry!  There are so many beautiful papers out there, and scraps of paper we think to be past it's usefulness, when in fact it can be remade into something beautiful!  I've tested the waters with some hair accessories:

http://store.shimmerlings.com/accessories.html

But I am very much looking forward to expanding my horizons!! I'm starting small with earrings like these that I found online, I have yet to experiment with anything other than a few types of flower shapes, but these look fascinating:

paper added to a wire frame

made from rolled up paper strips

made from comic books!

discarded paper punches!

And many other designs like them....I'm off to my studio now, for the first time in a long time, filled with inspiration and joy! I have so many ideas in my head I can't wait to start creating!!! Stay tuned!

Come Journey With Me

Walk with me, into my secret garden, where I will discuss, dream, explore, hope and make wishes and plans. This is my blog...and I'm ready for the adventure!! Come on the journey with me....