| It’s not things that upset us, it’s our judgement about things. ~ Epictetus |
I recently heard an author speak about everyone having two selves. He called them the connective and protective selves. The connective self wants to build connection with others. The protective self has been hurt and tries to shield the connective self from further injury. These two selves can certainly interfere with communication attempts. He referenced this image as a visual.
- This week’s artist is – Jon Ching – whose work I stumbled across some time ago – it immediately caught my attention. Be sure to check out his website and instagram for more!
- If you’ve ever struggled to figure out where to focus your energy in the studio or in your business, you should check out Alyson Stanfield’s Artist Planning Sessions. From May 18-21, she’ll help you select 3 focus projects and create your custom plan to stay on top of your projects. If you sign up, the Art Supply House will get a small commission.
- The Garden Club’s annual Plant Sale is this Saturday from 9-10:30 at the Fairgrounds. Proceeds help to maintain the gardens at Santa Rita Park.
- Just a heads-up, one of our 5th Saturday customer appreciation days is coming up this month, on the 30th!
- Here’s a video guide to painting an old barn in the countryside.
- A common request we receive is for a paintbrush of a particular size, generally following a materials list for a class. I always compare the numbers on paint brushes to sizes on jeans – they sometimes seem to be made-up. The example below is a bit extreme but is an excellent comparison – these are both 3/0 brushes, yet are drastically different sizes. My recommendation is to buy brushes in relation to each other. If a class list says to buy a 2, 6, and 8 round, then you need a small, medium, and large. Brushes are very personal art supplies. You just have to try them out for yourself to determine what you like (though we can give suggestions.)
Epictetus said that it’s not things that upset us, it’s our judgement about things. It’s what we make up about what we’ve heard or seen. It’s what we hear, not what is said, that is the problem. Which is why clear communication is so vitally important – and so hard! It takes constant work on both sides to ensure that a conversation is clearly heard. A lot of back and forth, clarifying, “what I heard you say was…” This can be especially true with art. We share our work – often by making it available for others to view without the benefit of being able to have a back-and-forth conversation about it. Our connective self wants to share our creation with others while our protective self doesn’t want to hear any criticism. It can be hard to put our art out there, to share it with others. But never forget – the world needs your art!
Cheers!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew
P.S. – We’re hiring! If you know of someone who will bring interest and enthusiasm, we can teach the necessary skills.