Finding Your Creative Community
And the importance of showing yourself.
How does knowing you're part of a larger creative community transform your individual artistic practice and mindset?
You’re less likely to quit, it’s so easy to doubt ourselves, to ask questions like why do I even bother. It’s harder when you’re in a community with similar goals the energy is contagious, and just as you are inspired, your energy inspires others too.
Every challenge is shared. This minimises the struggle. Setbacks can be easially overcome in a group
Every discovery and every small victory is shared. This amplifies the win!
You will be inspired by the tactics, strategies and motivation of others.
You will have a safe place to share your work and your journey
In this community you will find:
Established Authors, Illustrators and people working in the publishing industry, alongside those who aspire too. You will also find people making art a second career or a side ‘hustle’. And you will find people who do it just for enjoyment.
In 2025 we will all be exploring what inspires us, and it’s different for everyone but the art of paying attention in this way will bring a sense of clarity and purpose to your work.
A shared practice
We’re here to build a consistent personal creative practice in consistent increments.
This shared practices unites the community and creates a common ground. In a sense I’m guiding us, but I’m also guided by the group. Together we will navigate our internal creative journey.
And we’ll also navigate the external realities of making art in this time and place.
Each observation and discovery you make inspires the whole group.
Here you are invited to:
Join conversations in the chat (And start them if you are a paid subscriber)
Leave comments on posts and on other comments
Share your work in community galleries
Once a month, I’ll also invite you to join a live Zoom hosted by the
as we discuss the challenges we encounter as aspiring and working illustrators.In 2025 we are going to find out what influences us, and in doing so influence each other!
The importance of showing yourself.
I’m an introvert.
I prefer to keep my hand down, and ‘let my work speak for itself’. I was doing classes online for a year trying to break into publishing this way. Then I invited a friend to class.
She was an extrovert, she raised her hand and just put herself forward at every opportunity. We both worked hard.
One month later she signed an agent. The next month she sold her first book.
Me, I was still waiting to be noticed…
That’s when I started to realise the importance of showing yourself. I’m still an introvert. But I don’t act like one anymore. This new way of acting made all the difference.
TEN MINUTE ARTIST PROMPT
Show Yourself!
Share a piece of your work, or anything that inspires you and tell us a bit about yourself and where you find yourself on this creative journey, then reply to two others to help them be seen!
Required reading on how communities create geniuses, by
PS: Our year of creative influence, is almost upon us, get out your Journal, Sketch book or ArtistBook ready, this 10 Minute Practice is going to transform your creative life.
To support this thing, buy my books, visit this affiliate link to start writing online, and shop at my mom’s stationery shop :)
Lastly, Enroll to ART GYM to get 24 Drawing Workshops for $25, offer ends in 24 hours!