The April Missive

Hello Lovelies!

Welcome to the very first edition of the Unbound Notions Newsletter! Thank you for being here 💘

As April comes to a close, I have been busy prepping for my first solo art show (somebody pinch me, it feels so surreal!) There is so much work to do, and I am being very intentional about finding joy in the process. I have a vision of how I want my art career to look and feel— especially when I go full-time. I want my process to flow, with a time for effort and a time for surrender. I have found out the hard way that hustle culture is definitely not for me, and time for rest must be baked into my process. It’s not that I don’t want to work hard, I just KNOW that I am prone to burnout, and it is hard to come back from.

Hard Work vs. Shitty Work

There is a difference between hard work and shitty work. I spent a lot of time working in the food industry, and that is shitty work. Shitty work is defined as “high effort, low reward.” When I worked at Papa John’s, it didn’t matter if I made 1 pizza or 100 pizzas, my hourly wage was still the same. Surviving the dinner rush on Saturday night was shitty work because there was nothing in it for me. High effort, low reward.

Hard work is high effort, with a high reward. Preparing for this art show is hard work because I have about 4 weeks to complete four original 16” by 20” paintings, plus some branding and marketing to-do’s. Nobody said this was going to be easy, especially with a looming deadline. But I don’t mind, because the work is so fulfilling. I actively see the returns on my effort, and it keeps the momentum going. It’s helping me refine my process because I have a lot of product to create, but I must maintain a level of quality. Hard work is done with integrity.

Shitty work is something you want to “just get it over with” whereas hard work is something you look forward to. Cooking dinner is something I look forward to, but the dishes are something I just want to get over with. (Good thing I have the best husband in the world 😉 🧽).

This distinction is so important because it is one of the first steps in deconditioning limiting beliefs about money, especially as an artist. Hustle culture sells the idea that we have to work late nights and weekends at a job we hate to be wealthy. You must suffer, scrimp, and save; then maybe you can retire comfortably. Let’s toss that idea in the garbage right now. (However I am in no position to advise your financial choices, so let’s keep our savings accounts open, yeah?) Drawing the line between shitty work and hard work is essential in the early stages of your career. There will be hard days, but you’re still chasing your dream and your bag, not someone else’s.

Even as I prepare for this art show, I am still making a little time to train, rest, and go on dates with my husband. I had a teacher tell me,” The way you do anything is the way you do everything.” Yeah, maybe I could get a few more paintings up for sale if I “locked in” and girlbossed my way through the next month. But I don’t want to be a girlboss. I want balance, I want to be a good wife, I want to keep training, so I am holding that line from the beginning. I am choosing to not entertain the narrative that I have to suffer to have a prosperous art career. I am doing it on my terms.

Whatever your dream is, do it on your terms. Today, choose to stop believing that your dream job isn’t a “real job.” Stop reducing your passions to hobbies. Your gifts are God-given, so let’s start showing them the respect they deserve.