Teresa R. Funke's Blog: Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life, page 38

Find Yourself in Your Art

I recently watched the movie The Lady in The Van. It’s based on the true story of a writer, Alan Bennett, who allows a homeless woman to park her van in his driveway. In helping her, he learns a few lessons about himself. There is a line in the movie that stuck with me. Alan says, “You don’t put yourself into what you write, you find yourself there.”

As artists, we are often asked, “How much of yourself did you put into that story, picture, or role?” And people always seem a little disappointed if the answer is not, “A lot.”

In reality, this question has many layers. I believe a little bit of who we are or who we once were makes it into every piece of art we create. It certainly affects the themes we explore. Other times, we pull inspiration from people we know. There’s a lot of my brother and my husband in one of my characters, for example. But sometimes, we entertain or challenge ourselves by forging art that is nothing like us. Or maybe we create art that captures who we wish we were.

Many artists mistakenly believe they should put themselves into their art. Even Alan’s character makes that mistake at first. But the truth is closer to his realization at the end of the film. Good art starts with a quest to find yourself. Seasoned artists often start projects because we’ve observed or heard or experienced something that won’t let us go, and we want to know why. We want to know why it bothers us so much when someone comments on our appearance, or why beautiful gardens make us cry, or why we’ve suddenly become addicted to social media.

These questions are often sparked by a single incident that just keeps replaying in our minds. And they can be sparked by the strangest observations. For example, I’ve noticed when women lose their place or have to keep you waiting, they make funny noises. They say, “doot da doot da doo” or “la, la, la, la, la.” But men never do that. Why is that?  Why do we women feel we have to “make light” of our confusion. If I write an essay about that, I might “find” myself in that essay, because it probably has something to do with my increasing interest in what holds women back.

I believe an artist’s task is to be always seeking to find himself/herself. That may sound selfish or egotistical, unless you accept that we are all, not just artists, on this planet to do just that; to complete our personal journeys. And as we find ourselves and show that in our art, hopefully we help others find themselves as well, just as the homeless woman, Miss Mary Shepherd, did for Alan.

If you like this post, please share!

The post Find Yourself in Your Art appeared first on Teresa Funke.

Cut Through the Confusion – My Self-Publishing Blueprint

We interrupt our regular program to bring you this important message . . .

It’s finally here! After months of  hard work, my Self-Publishing Blueprint is finally on the market. This product is the culmination of my 15 years of experience as a successful self-published author and self-publishing coach. It was designed to help you cut through the vast confusion surrounding self-publishing today and to save you from costly mistakes. At least, that is my sincere hope.

Because there’s only so much of me to go around, I wanted to create a simple product that would be available to all writers at a very affordable price. Why? Because I made my share of mistakes in my self-publishing journey, but I also had my share of good mentors and guides, and I want you to benefit from all that knowledge.

The Self-Publishing Blueprint was created with my partners at Writing Blueprints, and is an easy-to-use online learning tool with steps that walk you through each and every part of your journey. Each step has a video, PDFs, and worksheets to help you identify the path that is best for you and your project.

I cover it all! We start by helping you define your Self-Publishing Profile and your goals for your book, and then walk you through a breakdown of options so you can choose the path that will best fit your project. Then you progress through the various steps to learn exactly how to produce the book, publish it, price it, market it, and more. We even talk about what to do if New York or Hollywood comes calling. And we address your budget and time frame, and provide costs and recommendations. I even tell you what NOT to do.

And the best part about this product is, once you buy it, you own it. You can use it over and over as you produce new books.

For my blog followers, I’m offering a very special deal, a nearly 25% discount: $50 off the product! So you get the whole Self-Publishing Blueprint–videos, price sheets, PDfs, worksheets and more–for only $147. We’re even throwing in some additional perks.

If you’re interested, please click this link to buy. And please do tell your friends and fellow writers so they can benefit too. There is no longer any reason to fear self-publishing. All the answers are here.

Thank you!!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

The post Cut Through the Confusion – My Self-Publishing Blueprint appeared first on Teresa Funke.

When Traveling, What Art Do You Seek Out?

I just returned from a two-week trip to Portugal and Spain. I know, lucky me! One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to appreciate all the history, architecture, art, crafts, culture, and food of a country or region. 

It’s funny, isn’t it, that when we travel–unless we are swimming in the ocean or hiking in the woods–we are often to be found exploring art museums, taking selfies next to famous sculptures, admiring centuries-old cathedrals and castles, listening to music in local pubs, etc. We stand in line for hours for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa or a chance to climb the Eiffel Tower. We plunk down our hard-earned cash to see a Broadway play or attend an opera in Milan. We make pilgrimages to the places where great writers once lived or worked. In other words, even on vacation, we seek out art. And through art, we understand the cultures we are exploring and the people we are meeting and even the food we are eating. 

And then we bring that art home. We bring it home on t-shirts and coasters and postcards and coffee mugs. We bring it home in books and CDs and on our camera rolls. We show it off to everyone who asks what we bought on the trip. We show them jewelry we purchased from an artisan’s stand near the beach, and a watercolor we picked up from an artist who had set up her easel in a town square, and a piece of hand-blown glass from the factory tour we took that afternoon. 

And we bring the art home in our stories. We talk about the dramatic looks on the faces of the Flamenco dancers, and tell a story about a performance artist who posed as a statue and fooled us till we walked right up to him, and we joke about a poet who could make up funny poems on the spot in that café by the fountain. We retell the stories we heard about how the great architect Gaudi died penniless in a tram accident and how Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald first met at a bar in Paris. Somehow, we know people will be interested to hear about the ups and downs in the lives of the artists we all adore. Somehow we know these stories will not bore them. 

So once again, I’m pointing out that none of us can escape art. Nor do we want to. We plan our vacations to include the great works of art, or we stumble across great art in little back-alley shops or on the street corner, and we are delighted. 

I say it often in this blog, but it can’t be said enough . . . art matters. And though the respect paid to artists varies greatly by country, one thing is consistent: every country, every region, every city uses its art to attract visitors and to say, “See this art? This is us. This is who we are. Come be one with us.”

The post When Traveling, What Art Do You Seek Out? appeared first on Teresa Funke.

Do You Have the Right Mindset to Succeed?

I recently finished reading Mindset: the New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. In it, she describes the differences between the “fixed mindset” and the “growth mindset.”  The fixed mindset means that some people believe character, intelligence, creative ability, and talent are all fixed at birth. In the fixed mindset, you must avoid failure at all costs or be forced to admit that you are not as smart or talented as you thought you were or were told you might be.

The growth mindset means that you thrive on challenge and see failure as a means to learn and grow. People with a growth mindset acknowledge that some people are born with certain gifts, but also believe that none of us will know our true potential until we have allowed ourselves to both fail and succeed. Our parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and bosses can affect which mindset we believe.

People with the fixed mindset have to be “right,” in order to prove themselves worthy. They also blame other people or circumstances in order to hide their deficiencies, rather than working to improve them.

The book is peppered with examples of well-known people who fit both mindsets, but my favorite story was about George Dantzig, a graduate student in math at Berkeley who arrived late to class and copied down the homework problems. He spent several long days solving those problems, not knowing they were not homework assignments at all, they were two famous math problems that had never been solved.

Of what might we be capable that we are not currently aware we can do? What limitations have we put on ourselves or allowed others to put on us? What could we accomplish if we were not afraid to fail? What could we achieve if we didn’t give up? These are all questions this book will have you asking.

Note, I hear people confusing “growth mindset” with being open-minded and “fixed mindset” with being closed-minded. They are very different things. Read the book carefully, and you’ll see why!

If you like this post, please share. 

The post Do You Have the Right Mindset to Succeed? appeared first on Teresa Funke.

How To Banish Envy – Revisited

Once again, I have a video version of one of your favorite blog posts, “How to Banish Envy.” If you’ve ever felt stifled in your own work by your envy of another writer/artist, this one is for you. It’s okay. It happens to everyone. The key is to understand that no one can do the work you do, so rather than wasting time envying the talents and accomplishments of others, focus on doing your best work in your own unique way.

If this video moves you, please share!

 

The post How To Banish Envy – Revisited appeared first on Teresa Funke.

How Banish Envy – Revisited

Once again, I have a video version of one of your favorite blog posts, “How to Banish Envy.” If you’ve ever felt stifled in your own work by your envy of another writer/artist, this one is for you. It’s okay. It happens to everyone. The key is to understand that no one can do the work you do, so rather than wasting time envying the talents and accomplishments of others, focus on doing your best work in your own unique way.

If this video moves you, please share!

 

The post How Banish Envy – Revisited appeared first on Teresa Funke.

Are You Cool Enough to be an Artist/Writer?

Not long ago, my youngest daughter and I were talking about high school popularity.

“But Mom, you weren’t cool in high school, right?”

“Oh I was extremely cool,” I said. “It’s just that no one knew it.”

See, from my point of view, being popular in high school (for most people) meant giving up part of yourself. Maybe in junior high you wore Star Wars shirts to school every day, but in high school, if you wanted to hang with the popular kids, you had to stop. You had to change your hair style and the way you talked, and ditch some of your old friends. Some of the popular kids appeared to be blazing their own trails, but once those trails were cut, they were sort of stuck. If they wanted to veer a different direction, they couldn’t. People now expected something from them.

And this bookish, semi-nerdy, goody-two-shoes actually liked herself the way she was. I had no intention of giving up carrying a novel with me everywhere I went or cutting my waist-length hair or dumping a single friend I still liked. I wanted to do the things that made me happy and filled me with creative energy, and if those things were not cool, so be it.

That’s kind of how I approach my art, too. There are decisions I could have made along the way that would have put me a bit closer to the “in crowd.” I could have chosen a more popular genre, or gone with a traditional publisher, or written about people who already had name recognition. Instead, I stuck with the things that gave me excitement, fulfillment, and a sense of purpose.

The interesting thing about the arts, though, is that not everyone who is seeking popularity achieves it. To try to manufacture the cool factor is harder than it looks. On the flip side, I’ve known many an artist who doubted their work would ever be popular and it took off.

The question then is not whether you or your work are “cool” enough to succeed, the question is whether you are remaining true to yourself. Because trust me, you do not want to play games in order to succeed, nor do you want to compromise your beliefs, principles, or talents. You’ll then be stuck in a trap of your own making. Instead, focus on your strengths and the things that give you energy, and if they make you popular, great. And if not, at least you can walk down the hallway with your head held high.

If you like this post, please share.

The post Are You Cool Enough to be an Artist/Writer? appeared first on Teresa Funke.

Getting Back to What You Love

When I was in junior high and high school, my teachers told me, “Teresa, you’re a very good writer. You should be an author someday.” And I took their advice happily. It’s all I ever really wanted to be.

After my first novel came out, I started speaking about my book, and event coordinators told me, “You’re one of the best presenters we’ve ever had. You should be a speaker.” And I took their advice happily. Speaking gives me great pleasure.

After I started speaking, people told me, “You are good at explaining things, you should develop some workshops or classes.” And I took their advice happily. I love sharing my knowledge.

After I started instructing, people said, “We wish we had more time and access to you.” So I decided to become a coach. I get great satisfaction from helping others improve and reach their goals.

Before you knew it, though, I didn’t have one job (writing), I had several, and every year new projects were also added on. Like many artists and entrepreneurs, I enjoy reinventing myself, learning new skills, and moving in different directions.  And like any successful businessperson, I understand the need to change with the trends and markets, but the more spread out I became, the less effective and more tired I felt. And the busier I got, the more I drifted away from my art. I was so preoccupied running the business and tending to others, I lost myself in the bargain.

Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy everything I do, but lately I’ve been clearing some things off my plate to get back to what I love most, writing.

What can you clear from your life to make time for your art?

Share this post with friends and see how they answer.

The post Getting Back to What You Love appeared first on Teresa Funke.

Hold On Arts Lovers, Here We Go Again

Are we seriously going down this road again? Are we seriously discussing again getting rid of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and The National Endowment for the Humanities? And do we seriously have to argue again for the value of supporting creativity and culture?

Do we really need to trot out the thousands of studies that show that interaction with the arts improves the intellect, that exposure to the arts increases tolerance, that participation in the arts relieves stress and improves confidence, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Do we still, after so many generations, need to point out that not a single day will go by in which art will not affect and enrich each and every person’s life?

If we haven’t learned yet the value of the arts and culture, will we ever? Does it matter how many reports we quote, how many statistics we present, how many experts we bring forth to testify? Does it matter how many artists and celebrities create videos begging us to acknowledge the importance of art or how many writers pen beautiful essays to convince us of art’s influence?

How many more stories do we need to hear of famous artists, writers, directors, dancers, producers, and creators who got their starts through NEA grants? How many times do we have to be reminded of the importance of television shows like Sesame Street to help kids of all economic levels experience quality broadcasting? How many times does it need to be pointed out that some other countries spend billions of dollars funding the arts, while our politicians are once again suggesting zero funding.

Is there anything, anything, I can say that will once and for all speak to the value of the only thing that outlasts a civilization, its art? If no one listened to John F. Kennedy, or Winston Churchill, or Maya Angelou, why would they listen to me?

In some odd way, we artists and art lovers should be flattered. The politicians know that nothing will keep us from making art and no one is more resourceful or clever than artists or the people who support us. We’ll outlast whatever attempts are made to discourage or destroy us. But why, in the 21st Century, is this still necessary? When will we ever grow up?

If you like this post, please share.

The post Hold On Arts Lovers, Here We Go Again appeared first on Teresa Funke.

Greater Must Our Courage Be – Video

Maybe it’s time to revisit the concept of courage and one of my favorite blog posts, which is based on something that actually happened to me, something that changed my life. I’ve recorded that blog post in a short video. It will take you less than 3 minutes to watch it, but I hope it inspires you to take a giant leap of faith in your life too!  Ironically, my business is once again making a big turn, and I’m screwing up my courage to move forward. We never stop growing, do we?

If you like this video, please share! 

The post Greater Must Our Courage Be – Video appeared first on Teresa Funke.