JTIWTSWY ...

I have never extensively explained my Quote Canvases. At least, I don't believe I have. But seeing that they have happily taken over a bulk of my business, I thought I would share some background information on them. Not necessarily FAQ's ... because some of these things aren't frequently asked, but asked & wondered often enough. They're just things I wanted to share with you. So I guess I'll call it JTIWTSWY. :)

Why do you like quotes?

This answer could be quite lengthy, but I will sum it up with this quote by Norman Vincent Peale: "Change your thoughts and you change your world." Life isn't easy. Sometimes it absolutely takes a change in mindset & positive thinking in order to trudge through the tough times. Sometimes you have to actively seek out the bright side. This is something that I have learned to love to do. Trying to find the silver lining & helping others do the same. We can't change what happens, but we can change our mindset.

What makes a quote a favorite?

I love the quotes that transform you. When I read a good quote, I physically can feel a wave of warmth [the warm fuzzy version of a chill] go from my head all the way down to my toes ... as soon as my mind processes the thought. That's what I feel when I find a good one & those are the ones that I want to share. I try to steer away from the ones that are too familiar because they seem to have lost that reaction from people. So I am constantly collecting quotes to add to my repertoire.

How did you choose that particular design?

I believe that the inspiration first came from some gorgeous wallpaper I saw over a decade ago. It was French cursive sprawled across the wallpaper. I don't speak French, so I had no idea what it said ... but it sparked my interest & made me attempt to read it, even though I couldn't. I liked that it was just there as background, yet it caught my eye & forced me to focus & try to make sense of it.  It's that same stop-in-your-tracks reaction that I get by cutting off the words & continuing on the next line. At first glance, you're intrigued because your mind can't compute it right away. You are forced to slow down, concentrate & try to make sense of it. By the time you have taken the time to read it, your brain has probably had time to actually process it. Unlike when you see a quote written in an ordinary way & your eyes read it faster than your brain can and there's minimal impact. I believe by making one slow down & process it ... the thought has a chance to sink in more. Maybe it's just me with a slow processing speed ... but that's my theory behind it all anyway. :) And I know from many people's reactions, that's what they get from it, too. When people get to the end, I can see their eyes either light or tear up. I love seeing that. But actually ... all that was a happy accident. The main reason was because I just wanted the words to cover the canvas. I'm a symmetrical person who likes things balanced. Then I quickly realized all the benefits of having to slow down to read it.

Is that your own handwriting?

Kind of. I used to have really nice handwriting ... then I, like most, started typing more than I did writing. But I still try to make my handwriting look pretty whenever I have to use it. Except for my grocery list - that always looks like chicken scratch. But as for painting, it's just my own handwriting I've developed for painting. See, when I first started cREaTe about 7 years ago, I was doing TONS of plaques for children's rooms. That whole time I was working on perfecting lettering. It's much harder than it looks to have a steady hand & 'write' with something that has bristles. When making the plaques, I always tried to make the lettering look like certain fonts. But I sort of felt like a caged animal. :) It had to be perfect to look just right. So with the Quote Canvases I had the freedom to form my own lettering & I find it so refreshing not to have to refer to a font. For the first few years I only did the cursive on the Quote Canvases ... but I started to do the printed handwriting for the Brother / Superhero canvases. I don't know why, except probably because I knew that one was for a child to read. Now I do both, depending on what I want to do, size of canvas, length of quote, etc.

When do you find the time to paint?

This is why I love Etsy. The system works GREAT with my schedule. My real job is being a mom to 3 little kids. That's a tough, time consuming job as it is ... and add in the fact that my husband is both an airline & military pilot, and one of my kids has special needs which requires extra attention & services ... and sometimes I tell myself I'm crazy for thinking I have time to act like I'm anything else. I feel as though I'm always struggling to keep my head above water. But luckily, I was a competitive swimmer back in the day & I am awesome at treading water. Pretty much a self-proclaimed champion, in fact. Plus, I know from talking to all the other moms I know that my life is no different. Everyone has their own challenges, so there's no need to act like I have more on my plate. So I just figure out where my time can go during that particular moment & hope it all works out in the end. Why Etsy works so well for me is that you get what you put into it. If I have time to paint & cREaTe, it shows in a fully stocked store & current listings. When things are so busy here at home that I don't have time to cREaTe, I can reap the benefits from when I DID have the time ... and then when things settle down I can pick up the paint brush again. What a great system, huh?

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So that's it for my JTIWTSWY session today. I will eventually put a link to this in my sidebar for those who would be new to my blog & over time I may add things that I think of or that I get asked. Also, that way if you were overwhelmed just now with the amount of text in this post ... you can come back periodically to finish my long-windedness.

One more thing before I go, I want to thank all you that have been such a great support for me as I have moved from one stage to another with cREaTe. :) I know that my artwork also has a lot to do with all of you - your ideas, your feedback, your encouragement. It's a group effort, so THANK YOU! :)