In the "getting back to things" rush of January, I'm remembering something about myself I’ve known for years but sometimes forget: I am genuinely solitary by nature. While I love my family and friends and do enjoy spending some time with them, it doesn't take very much for me to want to be left alone again. To get back to my studio, my work, my own thoughts moving at their own pace without being crowded or rushed.
That's not what we're taught. Repeatedly, insistently, we're supposed to be all jolly and up for socializing, for networking, for community-building and collaboration and showing up and being visible.
Not me. And that's OK.
My studio on the north side of the hill
I’m OK, You’re OK Too
It's OK to want to be left alone and do YOUR things - not their things. You're not weird or broken or wrong if you prefer solitude over socializing.
And, something else important to know - the same permission applies to inspiration. It doesn't have to come from workshops or gallery visits or trending techniques. It can come from exactly where you already are: the specific, small observations that catch YOUR eye. The way afternoon light hits one section of wall. The texture of something ordinary you noticed while everyone else walked past.
Your creative source doesn't need permission. It doesn't need to be validated or put behind a velvet rope or glass door. It just needs you to pay attention to what interests you and make something from that.
Take What Belongs to You
If you've been waiting for someone to tell you it's OK to find inspiration in your own odd observations instead of out there somewhere - this is that permission.
The Take What Belongs to You: First Steps workbook walks you through exactly this: finding what already interests you (not what should interest you), narrowing it down to something small and specific, and making something from YOUR creative source in about 90 minutes.
No external muse required. No crowd necessary. Just you, paying attention to what catches your eye, and making marks from that.
It's $7 and you can work through it this weekend: https://ko-fi.com/s/7fb1e87ade
What's Coming…
I'm working on something new - a monthly membership that's less about the shoulds and more about creative companionship. Walking alongside someone who also prefers solitude, who also wandered off the prescribed path and found joy there. I'll share more when it's ready.
What catches your attention that you can't quite explain? The odd, specific thing that makes you stop and look? Reply and tell me - I'm genuinely curious. I read and reply to every message.
Shine On!
Monette
PS - The workbook comes with studio marks you can print and use however feels right. No rules. Just permission to begin exactly where you are. https://ko-fi.com/s/7fb1e87ade
PPS - The workbook is $7 because that's the price of being left alone to make your own observations instead of being told where inspiration lives.