I Believe In Art By Victoria Lynn Hall: 30 Things I Learned From 30 Days Of Blogging (Part One)

I probably check my blog stats more often than I should. I am only human. I am encouraged by page views and comments and Facebook likes and retweets, as I assume most bloggers are. Once or twice, I may have even given in to the temptation to click onto articles that promise something like, "10 Ways To Get More Blog Readers" or "23 Tips To Get More Retweets". According to those articles I am doing a lot of things wrong.

The problem is that if I follow all the expert advice out there, I just wouldn't be me anymore and I wouldn't be learning anything and I really value learning stuff. So as much as I would like even better stats and enjoy the empathy that likes and comments imply, I have decided that when it comes to blogging, learning is my bottom line.

According to that standard, it is my conclusion that my Create Art Every Day 30 Day Blogging Challenge was very much a success. Here's just some of the things I learned from it:

1. I Can Do Difficult Things

Note to self: If you can remove and replace the walls in your wonky 94 year old kitchen and install a mosaic tile backsplash, you can handle a 30 Day Blogging Challenge.

2. A Little Bit Of Effort Goes A Long Way

As was the case with my Day 2 hand lettering project, sometimes the difference between ordinary and art is just a little more time and a little more effort.

3. Done Is Better Than Perfect

I took over three hundred pictures of those chairs for my Day 3 post. I could have (and should have) quit at thirty and gotten the same result. I realized that if I was going to make it to 30 days, I would have to do a better job of picking my battles and managing my time.

4. Blogging Every Day Is Insanely Difficult

Okay, I know I tiled the backsplash but doing something creative, photographing it and blogging about it every weekday for thirty days? While having a life? What was I thinking?

5. Absolutely Anything Can Be Art

Is decorating Elvis really art? Is making guacamole or watching football wearing officially licensed NFL socks art? It's my blog, so I say yes. (Hey, give me a break here. This is difficult!)

6. My Life Is More Routine and Repetitive Than I Thought

I realized when I wrote about working on my Zazzle shops that I could pretty much write that same post every day. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to come up with or make time for the variety of projects I needed for this challenge.

7. I Have A Tendency To Over-think Things

In the midst of planning and executing all of these various artistic projects to blog about I kind of forgot for awhile that art was art. Imagine my relief when I remembered that I could actually just blog about painting!

8. Sometimes A Picture Is All You Need

Enough Said

9. Creativity Makes Everything More Fun

Thank you pancake pen, for transforming the chore of making breakfast every Saturday into one of my favorite art projects.

10. The Blogging Is About The Art, Not The Other Way Around

Around Day 10 is when my anti-muse really started to chime in. Her chatter seemed to be all about convincing me that none of my art was "blog worthy". It took me awhile to see through the web of her manipulations but, with help from some very supportive people, I finally remembered that I don't do art just to blog about it. I do it because it brings me joy.

11. My Garden Is Art

Of course I already knew that but it's always nice to be reminded.

12. I Don't Need Every Craft Tool Ever Invented

My muse sometimes demands that I do a lot of different types of crafting projects. In the past this has left me with a lot of surplus supplies and tools that I will never use again. Fortunately, I am getting wiser as I get older and learning that there is often an alternative, more cost effective solution. In the case of my butterfly banner project it meant choosing to use the tools I already had creatively rather than invest in a new one. However, I still would really like an eyelet setter so I added it to my Christmas wish list (I said I don't need every tool ever invented but I still want them all).

13. Blogging Every Day Is Impossible

After day 12 I was exhausted and completely uninterested in coming up with any new ideas. Fortunately, I'm very close to my boss and she was kind enough to give me a much needed day off.

14. I Have To Put The Kids First

Just because my kids have four legs and whiskers and say, "Meow!" instead of, "Mom!", doesn't make them any less important or any less demanding than anyone else's children. They are absolutely my number one priority (shh, don't tell my muse I said that).

15. Keeping It Real Is A Full Time Job

Halfway through this challenge it occured to me that blogging every day would be a whole lot easier if only I were more organized and my house was less messy. So I'm working on that but in the meantime I'm not and it isn't and it's too much effort to pretend otherwise (my inner perfectionist is having a fit right now but I will be okay).

Okay, I think that is enough for one day. Click here to read part two!