Perfectionism and limited time
Who would’ve guessed, it’s a match made in heaven!
Heyyyaaa lovely souls, how are we all? Before we dive in we love a colourful camera roll moment here… bye bye summer (cries into hot water bottle).
A love-hate relationship
Perfectionism. A label I’ve had placed upon me since I can remember. Where perfectionism has propelled me it’s also inhibited me. Let me give you an example; if I’m undertaking a project, I don’t stop developing a concept until I know it’s the best that I can produce. This can make the process agonising and a lot longer than need be.
A blessing in disguise
At first when I was presented with the not so convenient need to work more at my part time job, I instantly felt stressed with it falling in line with deadlines and bigger self initiated projects. Little did I know it would just the thing I needed to help finalise a project. Limited time was no longer a limiting factor but actually played well to my nitpicking tendencies. Thank you stoic figures for ingraining the phrase “the obstacle is the way” into my head.
Conflicted
The self initiated project I speak of is my 2024 calendar. Every year I see this project as a way to better develop my skills and enhance my portfolio. Ultimately to produce something uplifting and somewhat evocative for peoples homes. It’s up for a whole year after all.
I spent countless hours creating, amending, ruminating over meaning and message. I do it because I love what I do and want to create with purpose and intention. Then I’m conflicted. Conflicted between quality and quantity, efficiency and indecisiveness, looseness and restrictiveness.
I recreated and toyed with every-single-illustration in this calendar. I began to drive myself up the wall. Some were so overworked (yes that’s a thing) that it lost all personality and looseness.
I often find myself watching wonderful creatives who just seem so loose and free and think “I wanna be able to let go like that”, to make a mess and somehow it turn into a thing of beauty, to not overanalyse how people will interpret the words I use or the visual stories I present. I’ll find myself getting so frustrated at my inability to step away. My grandma has this beautiful little phrase that she’ll often say to me if I get worked up about how I’m wired. It goes as follows:
It’s a nice gentle reminder that we are all wired differently and that helps creative folk find their unique voice.
Bin the label
It can be difficult to detach from certain traits if it’s all we know. I’ll often ask myself the following question when it comes to habit or behavioural traits - “Does this still serve me or does it constrain me?”
Just because you’ve wore the label a long time, doesn’t mean you have to keep it. Bin the label.
After all that they are finally here
I started sketching my calendar concepts back in March when life took a turn that I never could’ve forecasted. This year has seen some of happiest as well as hardest moments.
During it all, highs and lows, I noticed that only one practice was consistently helpful in reframing my mind. Presence. We all spend so much time in the past or future, amplifying events that haven't even occurred or replaying past scenarios. Each image was created from stories, moments and learnings. I want it to be a reminder for when life feels (inevitably) out of control, that so long as we are here there are always little moments of beauty, serendipity and wonder to be found.
I want you lovely lot, my loyalist of loyal lovelies, to get your hands on one first. So yes, you have an early access link and will also receive a freebie with your order! Don’t say I don’t love ya.
My lovely souls, thank you. Thank you for joining me here. Thank you for all your support, big and small. Nothing ever goes unnoticed.
If you do place an order pleeeease tag me on socials, message me to let me know your fav illustration or which month resonates most with you. I’d say it’s “market research” but really I just love a chit chat with you all.
Until next time, lots of love. Chiara x