turnip

A couple days ago, I was watching an interview with best-selling novelist Stephen King.

I hate anything horror.

So…

… as you can guess…

… I haven’t read any of his books.

But, I’m always open to learning from the greatest artists of any field.

In the interview:

King talked about the importance of finding (and working with) ideas you enjoy.

He mentioned how a lot of people approach their craft with the intention of making stuff that OTHER people will like. Then, they try to finish that work as quickly as possible. So that they can breathe a sigh of relief once they’re finally done.

But King doesn’t approach his work that way.

He doesn’t CARE about the end result… at all…

… or even what other people think of his work.

The finished book on a shelf is just a pile of dead skin to him. So it isn’t about authoring yet another book.

All that matters to him is that he finds enjoyment in the process of creation.

And he always does.

In fact, he enjoys it so much that…

… by the time a book is finished…

… he has a hard time saying goodbye to the characters he created…

… and he wishes it wouldn’t end.

Thinking back, there are times when I’ve fallen into this sort of trap. Where I forget to enjoy myself when creating art, and I just wanna get the job over with as soon as possible.

So I can move onto the next project.

And I focus too much on what other people will think of my work.

But now that I think of it, those are the times when the work I create isn’t that great.

It’s good.

But not great.

Why does this happen?

I believe the answer lies in a story I read sometime back from a well-known Olympic coach.

One training day:

One of his track athletes came up to him and said…

"Coach, I gotta win that race that’s coming up."

Coach replied…

"Alright. We’ll do some special training just for you today. For this first practice lap, I want you to put 100% of your effort in! Run as fast as you can! I wanna see you at your best!"

And so, the athlete got the message.

He went up on the field.

Got himself ready.

And RAN with all his might.

The result?

The time he recorded was… mediocre.

Pretty bad even.

Hearing the result, he walked back to his coach with his head down in shame, waiting for feedback.

After which, his coach told him:

"Alright, let’s try this again. This time, I want you to go onto the field, and just forget about running your fastest. Just put in 50% of your effort this time. Alright?"

The athlete was puzzled.

But he went back up on the field. And did what his coach told him.

End result?

He ran SO fast, that…

… he unofficially broke a World Record!

The moral of the story:

When you focus too much on the end result, it really messes you up. You strain yourself so much, your performance goes bad.

You start to get nervous.

And impatient.

Your mind and muscles tense up.

Self-doubt starts to rear its head.

And everything just goes haywire.

So it goes for the creative professional…

… and for me as well…

As Stephen King says (and I paraphrase):

"I don’t care about whether other people like what I create. All I care about is that I have fun and enjoy the process. And if people have fun reading what I write, then that’s great."

Gotta remember that.

Relax.

Have fun.

And don’t focus too much on the end result.

That’s why these days, I’m spending more time on just playing around with my work. Not doing it just for the sake of reaching a specific goal.

And that’s also why…

… these days you’ll find a lot of fun new pieces in my store.

Will people like them?

I don’t know. But I know one thing.

I had fun making them.

And to me, that’s all that matters…

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Doing 50% Of My Best"

A couple years back:

I was sitting in a cafe. With my hubby. And my hubby’s piano sensei.

My hubby was trained as a classical performance pianist in the past. And it had been quite some time since he’d last met his most favored piano teacher.

So we were in this cafe to meet and just catch up.

His teacher, I soon got to know, was quite an amazing pianist.

In more ways than one.

Other than the typical traits of a famous pianist, such as regularly doing sold-out concerts and having best-selling albums under your name, he also had some other qualities that distinguished him.

Such as his talent for using music to treat and cure various illnesses (especially mental) for which most doctors had given up hope on.

"Why are you moving back to America right now, master?" I heard my hubby ask.

"Well, my son doesn’t want to be a pianist." the master replied.

"Huh? Really?" my hubby gasped.

"Yeah. And I don’t really want him to be a pianist either."

"How come? What does he want to be then?"

"Well, his passion is in space exploration. So he’s been planning to get into SpaceX. And I’d rather he follow his dreams. I’ll be going there too to support him."

Awww…

Nowadays, everyone wants to go to space. Or at least work at a space company.

Well, I for one don’t wanna go to space right now.

Not yet anyway.

But that hasn’t kept me away from the allure of the cosmos.

In fact:

Recently, I’ve been searching for ways to get my art sent into space. So it can go there on my behalf.

And guess what?

From my research, it look like almost every year, there are contests from various companies that you can participate in. And if you get chosen, your art gets sent into space!

Sometimes it’ll be painted on a satellite.

Sometimes it’ll be put on a chip and taken there digitally.

Other times you might even get your art taken by an astronaut. I think.

Well, the sad news is…

… I missed out on the last contest for this year that I could find…

… but I’ll be sure to try and get selected for next year’s intake!

For now:

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that you’re buying art from an artist whose work was once sent into space. 🙁

However, I can give you some candy while you’re waiting. 🙂

And if you like that, feel to click here and get it now.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Soon-To-Be Space Artist"

I’m sitting in my studio right now.

And I don’t feel like doing anything. At all.

It’s been raining outside since yesterday. Non-stop. The weather’s cold. The sky’s grey. Could it be that Autumn is early this year?

Well, all I want to do right now is bundle myself up in a blanket and sip on some hot chocolate.

So I went to the kitchen to get the raw chocolate. And put a pot on the burner to boil.

But before I put the chocolate in, I thought to myself…

"Mmmm… This chocolate looks good. Would be a shame to melt it and drink it."

So I threw it in my mouth.

And enjoyed every bite.

So instead of making hot chocolate, I switched to making fake coffee instead.

What’s fake coffee you ask?

It’s one of my favorite drinks. And tastes exactly like coffee (to me at least). But without any drawbacks of real coffee.

No caffeine.

No acidity.

No additives.

No bitterness.

And it’s nutritious in a lot of ways because of the herbs used to make it.

(You can do a quick Google Search on each of the herbs if you wanna know how they benefit you.)

But in case you were wondering…

… no!

It’s not hard to make.

In fact, it’s so easy, I thought I’d share it with you today in case you’d like to give it a try.

I know a lot of people these days are trying to wean themselves off caffeine. And coffee.

But don’t know what to substitute it with.

If that’s you, then you’ll wanna give this a try.

(According to what I’ve read, people who tried switching over have no withdrawal symptoms.)

And even if that’s not you, you might wanna give this a try. Especially if you need something to keep you warm while you’re crafting or making your art. Even more so if it’s cold outside.

—

FAKE COFFEE RECIPE:

– 1 teaspoon of Dandelion Root blend (I use this)
* you can add more if you want stronger flavor
– 1 teaspoon of Raw Almond butter (I love this!)
* if you want it even milkier, add more!
– 1 teaspoon of Honey
– 1 cup of hot water

DIRECTIONS:

– Put the raw almond butter in a small container with some water and shake until it all dissolves.
– Add the hot water to the Dandelion Root blend and mix with honey.
– Combine everything together and enjoy.

—

Oh. And if you’re totally vegan, feel free to substitute the Honey with something else.

I don’t mind cheating with a little honey, because I enjoy it. 🙂

Well:

It’s back to sipping on my fake coffee and lazing around for now.

See ya.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Sleepy Sloth-Bunny"

Several years back:

I read about this hotel. It touted itself as the world’s worst place to stay at. And it had abysmal reviews on all the popular travel sites.

But, guess what?

The hotel was ALWAYS fully booked!

In fact, sometimes you even had to book in advance to stay there.

The secret of their success?

They marketed themselves for what they were best at.

Namely:

They were the best at…

… being the worst hotel in the world.

They started running advertising on how their rooms were scientifically tested for (and proven to have) dozens of different types of mold, and… if you’d never seen giant cockroaches the size of your fist before… this hotel was the best zoo you’d ever go to, and… how their rooms included free toilet flushing (no extra charge), and even boasted themselves on how terrible their customer service was (if you miss the feeling of being verbally abused as a child, this place will bring back memories).

People flocked to the hotel like kids to a Disneyland.

They were drawn to the sheer novelty of it.

And everyone wanted to stay there just to see how bad it was.

But whether they stayed the whole night, or ran screaming back to their homes before their stay ended, that I have no clue.

The moral of the story though?

People LOVE extremes.

And they couldn’t care less about the averages.

No one cares if you’re the 3rd best hotel in the country, or maybe the 7th worst place to stay in the world. Do you ever hear people arguing about who’s the 5th best quarterback of all time?

Didn’t think so.

That’s why…

… no matter what sort of creative profession you’re in…

… or even if you’re working a business or a day job…

… find something you can be the best in the world at…

… or even the worst.

Preferably, you’ll want a narrow niche that plays to your strengths. And talents. Don’t try to be all things to all people.

Extremes get you attention.

And attention gets you…

… well, a lot of stuff.

Customers for example.

For me?

I’m the best in the world at illustrating beautiful, black and white, botanical borders.

But you probably already knew that. 🙂

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"I’m The Best At Something!"

P.S. A couple days ago, we were watching an amazing video that was trending on YouTube.

It was about being:

"Inside Japan’s WORST Hotel Room"

Granted that Japan is known for it’s relentless pursuit of perfection, it makes sense that this video caught eyeballs and went viral.

People never change. 🙂

Be the best or the worst at something. It really helps.

"Aurelia, you don’t watch football?!?"

This question is typically followed by looks and gasps of astonishment when asked by American friends.

And it reminds me of a similar question asked by Canadian friends:

"Aurelia, you don’t watch hockey?!?"

And yet another similar question asked by South East Asian friends:

"Aurelia, you don’t watch Sepak Takraw?!?"

Sepak Takraw, by the way, in case you don’t know…

… is a type of volleyball that’s played with the feet instead of the hands… which means that you have to do tons of somersaults and backflips in the air in order to spike the ball with your feet… which also means that it’s more like a combination of acrobatics + volleyball + soccer.

I don’t really watch it.

But my hubby thinks those Sepak Takraw players are pretty cool.

I agree.

The only sport I like to watch?

Synchronized Swimming!

Because those swimmers are all so artistic!

Well, with the artistry in my blood, it’s natural that I’m drawn to more artistic forms of sport.

Other things I enjoy watching, but aren’t really sports, include stuff like:

– Ice Sculpting
– Sand Castle Sculpting
– and even… Snowman Building!

Which brings me to today’s creation…

I’ve been drawing a lot of wreaths recently.

Especially Christmas wreaths.

But then, I thought I’d try something different and do some story-telling in my designs… combined with the subtle art of… Snowman Building!

If you’re a fan of my frames, and…

… you also like illustrated stories, and…

… you like building snowmen too, and…

… you’re getting ready to fill your store with Christmas art, just like most of my fans are right now, then…

… this new illustrated window frame might be something you’d like.

Check it out here, and let me know what you think of this new experiment!

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Synchronized Storyteller"

I’ve been having a lot of fun.

On Instagram.

In a previous letter, I mentioned how I was starting a new project. And featuring our fans’ amazing masterpieces using our illustrations.

I then mentioned how you could (potentially, if you’re lucky) get your artwork featured too, if you used the #turnipco tag, or even just tagged me on Instagram. But I wasn’t expecting to be so blown away by all the beautiful artwork I’ve been seeing!

Fans have been sharing the most incredible ways of using my illustrations…

… from pyrography (wood burning art)…

… to embroidery…

… to wood scrollsawing…

… to even making key chains!

Well, this project is just starting off.

More lovely stuff is on the way. 🙂

And I’m SO looking forward to seeing more.

You know:

Some time back, I received some messages from fans letting me know that Etsy’s review feature was broken.

Normally…

… Etsy allows you to upload a photo of your artwork that you create with our designs when you post your review.

But for a lot of fans, they told me that the feature was broken.

And that they couldn’t upload their photos.

Which bothered me a lot.

Because I knew I was missing out on seeing a lot of lovely art. And fans were missing out on sharing their lovely artwork too.

Well, problem solved! 🙂

I hope this continues working great.

If you haven’t checked out all the lovelies from our fans so far yet, just gently massage your eyeballs and bring them over to this direction here.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Curator Of Fine Art"

P.S. Instagram isn’t the only thing I’ve been having fun with.

More fun just released over yonder here…

Growing up, I did have some perverse tendencies.

For one:

Whenever I gifted someone a present…

… whether it be for their birthday…

… or Christmas…

… or some other events…

… I liked to see them working for it. 🙂

After buying my gift, putting it in a nice little present box, and wrapping it up finely… I would often take the packaged gift, and then… put it in another bigger box, and… wrap that up too!

And then I would find another even bigger box.

And put the packaged gift into that even bigger box.

And continue wrapping it up again.

You get the picture.

I like to make my gifts as hard to open as possible. Because it’s fun to imagine the look on people’s faces when they try to open my gifts. It gives me inspiration for creating my art. He he.

Around 5 to 10 layers of boxes and packaging is normally my ideal range.

Boxes within boxes within boxes.

So…

Why am I telling you this?

Well, I just recently created a new packaged present box. Just for you.

But unlike the ones I normally gift my family and friends, this one isn’t going to be gifted to you, so you don’t have to worry about me pranking you and imagining as you pull your hair out while opening it.

I will have a little less enjoyment, no doubt.

But, no.

No prank here.

This is something a lot easier for you to open and use, and you’ll enjoy using it too.

If this sounds like fun, and you can’t wait to get your hands on it, just clicky here to feast your eyes on my new creation…

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Santa’s Most Blacklisted Bunny"