Action!

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't just ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."
(Thomas Jefferson)

Tick Tock Tick Tock.... Time to ACT!

This kickstarter campaign needs your help! The eBook I illustrated “The Day Jake Logan Robertson Ran out of Hugs” by A.Nicky Hjort and published by Jetblack Publishing is hoping to become a printed book along with another four beautiful children’s books! Printed books will go to schools, libraries, childcare facilities and galleries. Printed copies will also be donated to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF is the first independent charity in Australia dedicated to raising national language, literacy and numeracy standards, especially in remote and marginalised communities.)
But time is running out to raise the necessary $9000 to achieve this awesome goal. 

We have only til the 12th of September to raise the funds. So please, PLEASE consider pledging whatever you can to make this dream come true!

With this deadline in mind I have sprung into action. I have been actively talking to whoever will listen. Shouting it out on my facebook, through emails, through instragram and phone calls.... whatever mode I can activate to communicate!

I also made this little video:

I have been reading a lot about crowd funding recently and truly believe it is the way of the future for artists to get their work off the ground by those who care about what they do. 

If you can please make a pledge!

PLEDGE HERE YOU AWESOME PERSON YOU! (and thank you!)

Graciously thanking you in advance,

Lou xo

Gracious Acceptance (and I need your help please!)

“Gracious acceptance is an art - an art which most never bother to cultivate. We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving.... Accepting another person's gift is allowing him to express his feelings for you.” (Alexander McCall Smith)

I love to give. I grew up in a big family and sharing what we had was part of the culture of who we were as a unit. It's stuck with me through the years. I've always preferred to give presents than to receive them. I get all excited and find it hard to keep a gift a secret! "I have a gift for you!" "I know it's not til next month but I just got you the best birthday present!" "Ahhhh!!! Open it already!" My whole body literally tremors with excitement when I think about someone receiving something from me that will bring them joy. I have fed friends over the years making meals magically stretch out so that they wouldn't go without (I have a lot of artist friends who need decent meals!) I have given time, money, energy to those around me to invest in those I care about. Sometimes I have given it to those I don't necessarily care about just because giving is ingrained in my training as a human being (thanks Mum!)

Give. Give. Give.

Giving is good.

But so is receiving. In fact, if you have one without the other then you can get all lopsided and your personal spiritual bank account can go into the red.

Before receiving you really have to put what you need out there into the world. 

This requires asking.

Strangely enough this is not easy for me. Giving - piece of cake. But asking? And asking to receive something?  What I have to actually ASK someone for... gulp... help? 

I need help with asking for help! 

I have been doing a lot of self work recently which naturally is flowing into my life in all kinds of ways. First up is the practice of valuing myself and honouring who I am and my purpose on this planet. To do this I am realising I have to first give love to myself. In giving love to myself and truly valuing my souls journey I realise this has opened up the passage to asking for help. "Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help! You know I need someone! Help" (Thank you to The Beatles for this lil mantra). 

First up I am asking myself to help myself.

(And I am writing this blog entry to help myself learn about helping myself - yes, we are falling down the rabbit hole here...) 

Second I am asking the universe in help with helping myself.

And thirdly I am being brave enough to ask and to ACCEPT the help offered.

So.. What am I asking help for?

Jetblack Publishing (the company who published my first ever illustrated book The Day Jake Logan Robertson Ran Out of Hugs) has started a crowd funding campaign through Kickstarter to turn this and another four books into printed copies. 50 % of the printed books will go to the generous people that pledge over $50. The other 50% will go to schools, libraries, childcare facilities, galleries etc. Some will go to the authors and illustrators too :-)

Jumping on this help wagon is easier than I thought - because I believe in sharing stories with children. I love picture books. I love reading. I love children. And I love illustrating for them! So the thought of holding an actual physical copy of a book I illustrated with much love and care truly fills my heart with unspeakable joy.

I love the idea of crowd funding. I have often gotten behind others to support their dreams using crowd funding. I have helped launch theatre shows and films, sent people to school to train in the arts, helped artists tour the world. The idea of having a reward alongside your pledge is a fantastic motivator for both the pledger and those who set up the crowdfunding. 

If you pledge over $50 your reward can include a copy of one of the five books. 

I just pledged this morning and requested a copy of my own book.

But there is a LONG WAY to go to reach target.

And only eighteen days!!! 

But with your help I know we can do it.

So...

Here I go:

(Please and thank you in advance!)

CLICK HERE to help: You are awesome at helping!!

With much gratitude

Lou xo

Self Belief

"The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it"
(J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan)

It's been a jam packed few weeks since the release of my first illustrated children's book "The Day Jake Logan Robertson Ran out of Hugs" (written by A.Nicky Hjort). As the publishing company (Jetblack Publishing) is a relatively new and smaller publicity house much of the promotion and sale of the book comes back to the author and the illustrator letting the public know about it. I have spent as much time as possible over the last few weeks talking to people about the book face to face, through emails and on social media. I think when you are proud of the work you have done (and have spent so much time and energy on a project) it's easier to gather your own sense of pride and belief and tell as many people as possible about it!

I am trusting more and more in my dream to live off my art and to make not just my living as a creative but to make a GOOD living as a creative. It's a large leap of faith (and a challenging road to be an artist!), but the signs are all there that it is possible if I just keep working at it every day and back myself. I must say in following this path I am truly the happiest I have ever been. Backing myself means looking after myself. Speaking kindly to myself, eating healthy and delicious food, exercising regularly (I started jazz dance classes last month!) and continually working on my art and my creativity. I am filled with purpose on a day to day level. I think having purpose is one of the keys to having a full life. So is gratitude. The smallest blessings become more and more obvious. Gratitude is the measure of a rich heart and a joyous spirit.

After sending out some publicity emails I was contacted by a reporter from "The Weekly Review" - a Melbourne weekly full colour magazine. The writer - Sarah Harris - wrote up a lovely story of my creative journey.

"The Weekly Review" also has an online editorial. Which in terms of getting a story out there makes it easier to share around in this digital age! You can read the little feature here: Feature Article