#and Marie Kondo did not mean for it to be used this way!!! i'm sorry!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

petite-madame · 5 years

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Hello! I hope you're having a good day and I'm not bothering you. You are an amazing artist and you always seem so nice and down to earth, so I hoped you might have a few words on my problem. I sometimes draw fanart and it's decent enough but I know that if I ever wanted to pursue art, I'd need to work hard on fundamentals. But I'm also struggling with depression and it's now bad enough that I can't imagine a future for myself at all, let alone set a goal to work towards. So I sometimes (1/3)

manage to draw for a day or two and then can’t bring myself to try for weeks, because it’s too difficult and it feels pointless. Everyone says ‘you can do it if you just practice’, and maybe it’s true, but practicing is extremely hard for me. I can’t afford a therapy right now either, so I can’t hope to try when I’m in better mental state. I’m already 30yo and behind everyone else, I worry wanting to do art is just a waste of time and I should focus on whatever job I can get instead (2/3) of chasing impossible dreams. And if I draw just for myself, it feels like I’m wasting time. So of course it’s a personal issue and I understand if you won’t answer! I get how it’s a weird question! But I’m really at a loss, and need some objective opinion. If it’s even worth trying to become an illustrator, if the work is something possible to reach, when I know it would take me much longer than other people to even get on higher skill level? (3/3)

Hi anon!

Sorry about the late reply, I wanted to take the time to answer you properly! Let’s go ^^

You always seem so niceand down to earth

Yeah, but that was before: Iwant things to change, so from now on, I want to be called “Your Majesty”. P-m 1of France. New strategy.

Ok, joke aside, forstarters, I want to tell you that the advice I’m going to give you will be the one of a random Joe on the Internet. I’m an illustrator yes, but I’m still a random Joe. In other words,I’m not a psychologist or someone who has any training with depression even ifI suffer from depression myself. I mean, it’s not because someone has a broken legthat they suddenly become an orthopedist and that they can truly help you withyour own condition. They know about the pain and the experience but they won’t be able toheal you properly. So, what I’m going to tell you is just my two cents on your problem from what Igathered from your asks.

Alright, I think thereare several things to unpack here.

I can’t imaginea future for myself at all, let alone set a goal to work towards

Depression. -____- I thought Iwas going to die before turning 32. I couldn’t believe it when I celebrated my 32th birthdayso like you, I didn’t have any goal because “I won’t exist in the futureanyway”

First, you have to understandthat to become an illustrator, age is somehow not a problem. I started when Iwas about 34 and I was working in a completely different field before that. In addition of having the skills, youhave to be ready financially and emotionally, that’s the most importantcriteria. It doesn’t matter if you had another job/career before becoming aprofessional artist, as you seemed to think that having a job not related to art willprevent you from becoming an illustrator in the future. Even if you work as anartist from the age of 40 to, let’s say 65, it’s already not so bad. I mean lookat Stallone. Back in the 1970s, Sylvester Stallone was a dirt-poor strugglingactor and screenwriter, who at one point couldn’t even afford rent and had tofind places where to sleep. But it all changed when Sylvester was THIRTY and hisscript for Rocky was picked up with him attached in the lead role.

Also, whereyou are lucky is that your dream of becoming an illustrator is more reachablethan let’s say, someone you want to become a K-pop star at 55 (no need to giveme THE example of the only exception on this planet who became a K-pop star at55, you know what I mean). TLDR: if you need to have a job right now, any job,do it. It’s not going to lessen your chances to reach your dream. It can giveyou the opportunity to save some money and give you some time to prepare toyour future life. BUT, let’s face it, there will be a time where you’ll have tofind the courage to take the leap.You can’t spend your life getting ready…to get ready. I KNOW it’s hard.

(…) I sometimes drawfanart and it’s decent enough

Hmmm. USUALLY, peoplewith depression tend not to have a real image of their work. You’remaybe seeing it as decent but certainly, it’s MORE than good. Don’t underestimate your talent!

So I sometimesmanage to draw for a day or two and then can’t bring myself to try for weeks(…) Everyone says ‘you can do it if you just practice’, and maybe it’s true,but practicing is extremely hard for me.

From the way I see it,you need more motivation than you need practice. If you have zero motivationthat is to say zero things to fuel your inspiration_your world as an artist,this incredible inner landscape where you dig ideas_your practice will bemostly pointless. I’m saying “mostly” because any practice is good from a “gaining skills” point of view, it’s not awaste of time, but if the result of the practice makes you even more depressed, makes you lose confidence, it’s not healthy.

To break this circle, whatyou could do, in my opinion, is trying to get involved for instance, inprojects like fandom challenges. It will give you the opportunity to draw the characters you love andcollaborate with someone. People outside the fandom are sometimes laughing atall these events, challenges, Big Bangs, prompt memes (on LJ) but you have to have acertain discipline to engage in something like this. If the thought of adeadline is too difficult for you, you could start working with a friend on acollaborative project and if even this eventuality is too hard for you, you cantry to work on a project alone, like for instance, thisart student that illuminated a copy of the Silmarillion.(ok maybe not THIS big but you got the idea). With your depression, if you try to seat at your desk and practice, practice,practice just for the sake of practicing, it’s gonna drive you mad andreinforce the idea that you’re not good enough to become an illustrator (oreven not good enough at anything). Finding the right project that can motivateyou will make you work and practice without even realizing it (if you don’t puttoo much pressure on your shoulders, of course, but yes, I know, easier saidthan done). And NO, unlike what you said_“And if I draw just for myself, itfeels like I’m wasting time”_it’s NOT a waste of time because it will be auseful practice for your future life as an illustrator. A USEFUL practice,something that will motivate you, “sparks joy” as Marie Kondo would say. You’llgain in focus, confidence, you’ll become progressively a bit prouder of yourself.Of course, you’ll always have self-doubt (like a lot of artists, we are “our harshercritics”, remember?) but at least, these doubts won’t be enough to paralyze youand prevent you from practicing, progressing, having less stress and contemplatewith more confidence your future as an illustrator…or even realizing that it’snot for you, after all, because there’s no shame in that realizing that what was yourdream was maybe not for you, not because you’re not solid or good enough for that butbecause it’s better if it stays a hobby.

However, as you wanted a “real talk”, let me tell you something. If you want to become an illustrator,you’ll have to be able to face the life of an illustrator, ALL OF IT, not onlyart. Managing your schedule, your clients, being able to stand for yourselfwhen confronted to a problem (people refusing to pay you, entitled customers,disease), having an irregular income (you’ll have a lot of money some months andnot a lot the next), going out of your comfort zone, knowing how to manage yourtaxes, etc…That’s the problem: being an illustrator is not only about art anddrawing, it’s about being your own artistic agent 24/7. What you can do to be SURE,it’s maybe in a few months from now, after you managed to motivate yourself abit more and that you did some progress without even realizing it because yourcollaboration with your friends kicked asses, is taking commissions and see howyou can handle it. It’s a good training. Check how it works when itcomes to taxes in your country beforehand, though. You’ll have a foretaste of what being anillustrator is and it will be a good practice for you.

Ok, so long story short:1) becoming an illustrator is not an unreachable dream, even to someone with depression and/or a constant fear of the future but it requires dedicationand preparation. It’s also not incompatible with having a job in a differentfield before or even starting at thirty-five - 2) You have to find a way to make your motivationand your inspiration come back by being involved in a project that you willlove. With friends, it’s even better. Motivation and inspiration are the key, before everything - 3) Built a support system (family, friends,even friends online) that will help you when you feel down.

Having someone to talk to is important

4) Taking baby steps: from fandom projects with a friend to fandom challenges with a deadline to commissions to a job as a professional illustrator. You can’t do the Indianapolis 500-Mile Raceright after obtaining your driving license. However, it doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to run it!

Voilà, it’s all I can tell you, sorry about all the grammar mistakes and the typos, I’m sure there are tons of them.

I hope you’ll get better and that you’ll manage to reach your dream or at least a life where you are happy, fulfilled, even if you don’t become a pro artist. I also hope you’ll manage to do something about your depression and that you’ll find in your area free resources (hot line, help) that will help you with this problem. Good luck to you, it’s not an unreachable dream!

#pmasks

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larkandkatydid · 6 years

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i'm a packrat who was taught by a childhood of brave little toaster and toy story to be that way and i need to get rid of like 3/4 of my shit, sell me on mari kondo

Okay, so, first sorry to take a week to respond to this and I will say that how you want to set up your living space is your business, influenced by your needs and preferences. I’m allergic to dust, mold and the dander of all the animals that live with me. I make choices accordingly.

HOWEVER, there are two Mari Kondo arguments that I think are valid and helpful:

1)Am I keeping this object because I enjoy it, or because I want to think of myself as the kind of person who enjoys this. For example, Mari Kondo inspired me to toss my college copy of Ulysses 10 years after I graduated from college. Am I actually going to read Ulysses again? No. Am I only keeping it as a trophy of the fact that I did read Ulysses one time, in the spring of 2000, when the world was new? Yes. Do I actually want to keep a trophy of what I accomplished my freshman year in college? No.

Or, some variations: Am I ever going to be the person who makes herself coffee in a French press? Clearly I don’t actually *want* to make my own coffee in the morning or I would do it more. Or, this is why that one woman the NYT referenced that time broke up with her Boyfriend after readying Mari Kondo. Did she love him or did she just want to be a person in a relationship? Clearly the later and good for both of them to end it.

2)Your stuff DOES have feelings! You’re right! Your brave little toaster is devoted to you! But! That just means it breaks your toaster or your jeans or dumbbells or your instapot are trapped in the purgatory of your rejection instead of being freed to either serve a new master or to be scrapped and so set free from their time of servitude altogether. Mari Kondo earnestly argues that it pains the spirit of that dress that sits in your closet to know that every time you look at it you feel bad abut your weight. That puzzle you never put together grieves that you look at it and feel guilt instead of the satisfaction that it wants to bring you.

What I think Mari Kondo really does have insight into the way that we, and particular her target demographic of young, educated, mostly-single-definitely-childless women, build our interior, private spaces around what we think other people expect us to be, and how we can, instead, try to create surroundings that reflect what we actually value and enjoy.

#Anonymous

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lastoneout · 5 years

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Re: Marie Kondo. Thank you for your posts better explaining her show and philosophy. When I first heard of her, my brother mentioned her in context of getting rid of all my books, and I reacted in absolute horror and panic. I'm a packrat because I have an emotional connection with stuff and I can't deal with sorting it let alone getting rid of it. Her philosophy sounds like it'll help me sort my home. So thank you

Yeah no problem!! I totally get what you mean tho. I come from a long line of hoarders and it can be really hard to let go of things. There’s always the worry that you might need it someday, or even that you will accidentally toss something you really like(I did that once, it sucked) but it’s worth it to try out some of her techniques.

I recently got really frustrated because every time I moved it seemed like I had at least one or two(or more...) boxes of crap that I didn’t really want but that I also didn’t want to throw away. So once I started unpacking, I told myself that if whatever I found didn’t have a place and didn’t immediately make me happy I would get rid of it. I did this with all of my books and clothes and movies and figurines and at the end of the day I still did have a lot of stuff, but all of it had a place and it all made me happy to look at. It did also help to know that I was donating it, so outside of a few things that were actually just trash I knew that whatever I was getting rid of would go on to make someone else happy. I even got some money out of it, since we held a yard sale and I took most of my books to a used book seller!

And yeah there still are a few boxes I need to unpack and still a few things that don’t really have a point or place but have sentimental value, and I do still have a lot of books I haven’t read, but when I look at how nice and clean and organized my house is I can’t help but feel really, really happy. I grew up with hoarders and my mom was disabled and my dad was an addict and I had 4 siblings so I never really got taught how to keep my room or my house clean, and even when I did stuff just piled up and got messy again, so knowing that my house is the kind of place I can invite people over to and feel good about living in makes me feel really proud of myself. It’s not perfect, there are still dishes in the sink and I still have a few boxes to go through and stuff to toss, but trust me, Marie is right, there is something incredibly healing about de-cluttering and organizing your space.

And it is nice to see her tell people that if something is important to them, even if others would see it as trash or it doesn’t have a place you should still keep it. And I love that she addresses how it can be hard to throw things away when you have emotional attachments to your belongings, even stuff you don’t really like. Plus a lot of the hate just comes from cultural differences. She has her religion that helps influence the way she lives and that’s not gonna work for a lot of people, but she tries to help in any way she can and make her method as accessible as possible. She really doesn’t deserve all of the hate she gets and it pisses me off to no end that people take what she says out of context and shit all over little things that don’t really matter.

And yeah I would def watch her show on Netflix if you can, it can be a little awkward sometimes if you suffer from second hand embarrassment like I do, but since most of the people she helps are american and poor it’s a good way to dispel any doubts of her being ablest or classist since it shows her really caring and really helping. I def would recommend trying out some of her tips even if it’s just reorganizing your closet or tossing out some old dishes you don’t like. Starting small is a good idea, and you can see how much of a difference it makes right away.

Anyway sorry for rambling I just really like her and her method and hate that people rag on her constantly since I’m proof that her stuff can really work, even for mentally ill disabled poor adhd-riddled people like me.

#konmarie #marie kondo #robinine-blog #Asked And Answered

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