Inspiration to Get Things Finished.

One of the main hurdles for any creative type is how to find the staying power to complete the project. That could be a book , a series of paintings for an exhibiton or a new collection for a trade fair. There are a few things you can do to help this process along. Complete some small step for example and then build on the energy of that. Create a group of people working on similar goals and agree to check in regularly. Work with a coach or a mentor. Or celebrate someone who has completed a big project of their own and allow a little bit of their staying power to rub off on you.

One of these “staying power” heroines is Cynthia Morris who has worked on her novel for about the last 12 years. I’ve only known her for the last few years but I’ve seen her work on rewrites and edits. Prepare the physical elements of the book. Plan her launch, revise her launch and finally – put her book out into the world .

I received my copy in the post today and really look forward to reading it. But I also take courage and inspiration from seeing her follow  the project through to publication. Through thick and thin. Overcoming plenty obstacles along the way. But here it is at last – the finished work. Once I’ve read the book I will prop it up , somewhere visible in my studio to act as a reminder not to give up on my big projects .

If you’d like to get your own copy you can find it here .

12 City Project – Paris

PONT- NEUF, PARIS

I am moving back and forth through the 12 cities, completing the processing. Thanks to a bit of an “ah-ha moment”  I’ve found a way to do my processing in a much more efficient manner – really I should have worked this out ages ago, but better late than never. It means that the images side at least will definitely be completed by the end of  the year. Hopefully a good chunk of the book text as well, as that is my main focus for the rest of December. ( Well, during the parts of December that have room for focus).

Another  thing I’ve been doing is  starting to choose  a “Word of the Year” again, as Christine Kane has written about. She’s also running a series of guest posts  throughout December with people discussing their choice of word and the effect it has had on their year – they make interesting reading.

Those funny little coincidences…and the fun of shopping on Etsy…

Now and again I can’t resist shopping on Etsy myself – and my latest treat was a set of Polaroid postcards by the photographer Irene Nam. I first saw her Polaroids exhibited  in this cafe – L’oisive the, while I was doing the Paris stage of my 12 City Project. ( I took quite a large batch of Polaroids in the area around La Butte aux Cailles – a little “village” area of Paris that I knew from when I was a student. ) And at the time it gave me a feeling of “being in the right place” to be manipulating my Polaroids there.  After crossing paths with her online I was delighted to find that she has an Etsy shop, but not only that, she was raising money to help Maggie Doyne.  I didn’t know anything about Maggie, but am so amazed by what she has done and continues to do to help the children of Nepal.

The postcards are almost too gorgeous to send out to anyone – and if you do get one, you’ll know you are one of my favourite people !

12 City Project – Paris

Another quick photo post today – of one of the images in my “12 City” Calendar.  Tomorrow’s Five on a Friday will be a collection of resources for crafty folk. Come back and have a look.

( * You can sign up for my “soon-to-launch” Ezine from the link on the right or from here – and receive two downloadable postcards* )

**** Parisian Boulangerie – Du Pain et Des Idees **** (another report from the 12 City Project – Paris).

Yes, I know. In my previous post I commented that I try to explore new areas when I am in Paris. And I do. However it is difficult to resist revisiting some favourite districts. And so I found myself near the Canal St Martin. I had intended to have a spot of lunch at the Antoine and Lili cafe, but I can save you  from making the journey in vain. The cafe is now closed and being used as an additional part of the shop. The shop is colourful and unusual but I think taking the cafe away is rather a shame.

I knew that I was *somewhere* near the Boulangerie that is featured in one of my most popular ” Polaroid Paintings” and with a little bit of luck managed to find it straight away. They do fabulous and unusual croissants with pistachio, lemon or praline amongst others. When I complimented the shop lady she pointed to an award they received last year, so I am clearly not the only person who is impressed !

While searching for the official website I also came across this blog which has a very comprehensive review and a lot of gorgeous photos illustrating the interior. This is the Du Pain et Des Idees official website – also including a short film in French. Needless to say, if you are anywhere near this part of Paris , I definitely recommend making a detour past this shop.

Polaroids, Paris and Favourite Places .

The wonders of technology. A little update on my progress  with the “12 City Project” live from Paris ! Some people like to stay in the same quartier everytime they visit Paris and make it their own little corner of the city. I’ve taken the opposite approach for the last number of years and mostly choose different areas. This means that I can view the city with slightly fresh eyes, even though the city is very familiar to me ,ever since studying here.

This time I’m staying in the 13th, not far from the Place d’Italie. I chose this location because I wanted to be close to the Butte aux Cailles area, a little village within Paris.

So far, two days in, I’ve completed 8 Polaroids which isn’t a bad output. About 4 Polaroids a day is a comfortable number to complete, because doing many more than that can be a bit of a race against time.  This is because each one can take at least an hour to complete, and the image only remains workable for a couple of  hours.

Of course, strolling around taking the photographs is only part of the equation. Its also important to find a good place to do the manipulations and I found a lovely place for that today – L’Oisive The . If I was local then this would become a favourite haunt – a cafe with a lovely relaxed chatty atmosphere in a mixture of French and English, and an amazing range of teas to boot. They also run a knitting group on a Wednesday night , and possibly other days too.

The photos at the top of this post are a triptych based around Pont Neuf – they aren’t scanned or colour adjusted finalversions – just snapshots of the worked poloroids.