I've been an on and off artist, taking care of other people being my primary art form. It can easily be a gray scale life. But when I took a colored pencil class I suddenly started dreaming in vibrant color. It taught me the importance of keeping my brain stimulated and challenged.
This is brilliant! I believe that each stroke of a pen (on the paper or on the air), it is like activating a particular connection in my brain. Now i think it may even create new connections within my brain. That is why i lament that people do not write by hand as much anymore, because writing is like sketching. Each letter is made up of different strokes --- straight, short, long, curvy, round, etc. As an exercise, sometimes i just look at an object and trace its shape and features with my finger from afar, just as if i ma sketching it on paper. I do this when i have no pen and paper and i want to sketch. ha,ha,ha! This reminds me of my older sister who was teaching her little child how to write each letter in the alphabet. Sometimes, they write on the bathroom wall with soap suds, sometimes they just write each letter on the air! At other times too, i just kind of trace the shape and feature of something i want to draw with my eyes. I just really intentionnaly and intently look.
I feel that way too when I look at the sky! Like I’m so insignificant! But I’m not insignificant to the few people in my world that I can love and contribute to. And together we can make a difference!
There's also a point where I think the growth mindset becomes too much. It's all fine to be open to and want to learn new things. But it cannot be constant and forced upon you. You need to be able to take a step back every now and then. Constant competition/pressure just ends up destroying your health. Strive to be better, but don't kill yourself over it.
Luckily I wrote the previous comment before knowing the end of your podcast. Because it's exactly what I've been looking for...a hollidays on socialmedia, for my brain breathe, to grow, for more learning.Thus, this podcast of yours really met my current needs. Thank you for that. Ah, and is also very good to improve my English! (I never have English in School. Only French.) 😃🤗
I loved this podcast. It had opened to me the best alternatives, choices, to approach feedback and critique with the members of my Naturalist Art group. Thank you so much!
I loooooove your Podcasts 😃❤ And I also love learning with Jonh...I'm a big fan too. I discovery yesterday the podcasts, because I'm doing a little holidays on Instagram and FB....to breathe and have more artistic experiences, etc. Thanks again! 😃
Hey, Danny, if I can learn to swim with "dead" leg that doesn't function correctly, you can too! I loved that essay you wrote. Funny is how I can do things in water that I cannot on dry land!
Jack, I remember my ortho telling me the same thing about growth after I'd complained that learning to walk again was HARD, His words word, "Everything worth doing is HARD, Kick Hard in the butt, Girl!"
I realized a few years ago from Ted Talks that I had been tying my shoes all wrong for 50 or so years!! I still do it wrong occasionally then have to consciousLy remind myself the correct way!! I now understand why my ties were wonky!!!
It's good to get feedback that pushes you when you ask for it. Feedback that helps you grow. However we've probably all encountered this.. when people give feedback that is not meant to help you but only themselves. If you've ever worked with a perfectionist boss you will realize just how toxic feedback can get. When nothing is good enough anymore (aka complete lack of positive feedback), or the feedback doesn't actually help you but only their subjective opinion.. that's when it gets toxic. There's nothing more demoralizing than putting in serious effort and no matter what, you are always found lacking. That's how you stop trying. It's not that you suddenly developed a fixed mindset.. it's that your brain now associates effort with pain. And if you get pain no matter what you do, you might as well put in less effort.
it occurs to me, watching this and after watching our efforts to help in Ukraine, that maybe we could involve kids in Ukraine watching the moon, something we could all do together
