Lightening the Load: The Artist's Survival Kit

(C) Keri Smith www.kerismith.com

Mondays can be tough. We re-emerge from our weekends back into the daily routine of work or school or other kinds of life. I think a lot of the Monday burden is really just about attitude; if we think of Monday as a chance to enter a new week, refreshed, it might be a little easier than if we groan about it too much. I only succeed with this sometimes.

On Mondays throughout December, I'll post something to help lighten the load. These links, thoughts, images and so on are all things I have found useful. I hope they help you. And please feel free to post your own load-lighteners in the comments!

Keri Smith is one of my favorite artists, writers and creativity gurus. She uses simple illustrations to help you and me break out of our ruts, to help us remember that the world is an adventure and we are all explorers. Her work helps me step away from consumerism and back into my own creative possibility.

In 2010 she issued an Artist's Survival Kit on her blog. This generous gift is for everyone, not just artists. It's for the days when the world grinds at you, when you feel as though you just need a break and an encouraging word, when you question your own creative spirit. I carry it with me to help me through the tough times. I am incredibly grateful to her for sharing this with us.

You can find the post explaining the kit and download it here. It's free. But it would be really nice if you checked out some of her books too, like The Guerilla Art Kit, Living Out Loud, How to be an Explorer of the World, Wreck This Journal, and The Non-Planner Date Book. They would make great gifts for the creative people in your life. You know, your mom, your son, your cousin whom you never see, the mailman... maybe even yourself.

(c)2011 Laura S. Packer