Starving Artist

Creative people have heard the cliché. The truth is, being an artist of any kind makes earning a living wage difficult, hence the whole…starving thing.

But what I think we forget is that young artists are sometimes starving for other things like encouragement…response…hope… We love art in all its shapes and sizes and for all the ways it enriches our lives. I wonder, though, if all the artists I loved and admired had felt so discouraged that they gave up, how much would be missing from my life?

I’m one of those people who is fortunate enough to be surrounded by creative, hard-working people all the time. I think I take that for granted. So in the spirit of loving artistry and craft and creativity, I’m starting something new called Starving Artist. It’s a bi-monthly post featuring a new, young artist and their work. It could be in any creative field…music, dance, performance, film, visual art, writing, design, craft…

To kick things off, I’d like to recommend Emily Jeziorski’s historical romance…

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

Mack & Moira

When Mackenzie Cruz makes an unbelievable discovery in the turn-of-the-century New York home she’s just purchased, she is plunged into a world long gone, a world of swishing skirts and fast-talking working men and boarding school secrets and a love story that was never supposed to happen…

Moira stood, rooted in place for one long moment before she caught Jack’s lips curving up into another grin. She smacked him across the face; her hand stinging as it made contact with his cheek.

“Oy!” Jack cried, rubbing his face. “What the hell is dat for?”

“How dare you!” she exclaimed, feeling the blush rise up her neck. “Of all of the rude, uncouth…”

It was Maxine’s turn to intervene as the carriage pulled up. “It’s been a gas, fellas,” she said grabbing Moira’s hand and giving a swift tug, “but as we were saying, it’s time to call it a night. Long ride back to…” she looked at Samantha and Caroline who shrugged, unable to supply another borough’s name, “wherever we’re going.”

It’s exciting, sweeping, and really, really funny…and you can follow the whole story by visiting Emily’s website here. I couldn’t stop reading and I think you’ll love it, too…If you do, be sure to email her or leave a comment of encouragement/reaction for her here! This is a great chance to watch an amazing novel from its beginnings…

Photo credit

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Would you like to be a featured Starving Artist?

Are you a songwriter? A poet? A graphic novel illustrator? A fashion designer? A filmmaker? A photographer? Are you an Etsy artisan? The list goes on and on…

If you’d like to be featured here, please send me an email at loveisadventure@gmail.com. I’d love to post your video or painting or poetry or a sample of any other kind of media you might like to share. Maybe this is an opportunity for some exposure or a chance to meet a potential new audience or just get some encouragement/love from other creative people!

Because really…aren’t we all starving for something just a little, wanting someone to love what we create, what we put our hearts into?

Wishing you a creative Wednesday…

love, elizabeth

A Reason for Blogging…

One of my favorite bloggers, Alana, recently wrote about why she blogs. You can go read about it here. Her post had me asking myself the same question. Why do I blog?

Source: annieee.tumblr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

Here’s a little list of reasons:

1. Having a blog is a good excuse to take pictures of everything.

2. My blog is my safe place. I work really hard to make sure it stays that way.

3. Blogging makes me a more adventurous person. (Hence the name of the blog…) I want to try new things and visit new places so that I have something interesting to write about!

4. Being a blogger has helped me practice introspection. Being able to confront my fears and struggles and the good stuff, too, is making me more self-aware (I hope).

5. My blog has given me the opportunity to connect with other writers and artists and creative people and I think it’s made me more open to learning about new things or ideas.

 

What about you? What keeps you blogging?

love, elizabeth

PS: Thank you, Alana, for prompting this post! Be sure to stop by and visit her at mrs. alana’s miscellany…

Inspiration of the Month: Emily

Alrighty, everyone! Now we’ve officially made it to July, I’d like you all to meet Emily.

Square Peg Round Hole Photography

Emily and I go back. I’m talking back to the 10th grade back. We happen to have one of the more bizarre stories of friendship I’ve heard. Very long story short, Emily and I “met” online on a fiction writers website when we were about 14 or 15. We became steadfast penpals/phone buddies for…six or seven YEARS before we ever met in “real life.” Then, two years ago, graduate school brought me to her side of the country and we met halfway between our cities for a whole weekend in a little place called Cleveland, Ohio (perhaps you’ve heard of it?).

There’s about a million and eight nice things to say about Emily but I’m going to focus this post on her current job, working for the American Cancer Society. I asked her for a quote about her job and this is what she had to say:

“I wanted to work for the ACS because I knew the work that I would do there would allow someone else's mother to survive her battle with cancer. And because very few fundraising events are as fun as a Relay For Life. My favorite part of my job is that I get to work with college students. I was a sophomore at CUP when my mom was diagnosed and I feel so blessed to be able to be there for some students who are--unfortunately--in my same position. Plus, they are full of so many creative ideas and it's awesome to see them realize the scope of what they're doing.”

I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that won’t sound trite after that but let’s just say Emily continues to challenge me as a writer and a friend and a person (and I love her for that!).

To learn more about Emily’s pursuit of health, happiness, and love (she’s getting married this October to an amazing guy who happened to take both the pictures featured in this post!), you should definitely visit her at her blog, Full Figured and say hello!

Square Peg Round Hole Photography

Five Fast Emily Facts:

- She gets really excited about brushing her teeth.

- Emily has a great love story: “Jeremy and I…have the sanest and silliest life. And I know he's the one for me because he leaves me without words to describe how I feel.”

- She thinks her bicycle is sexy and misses her nose ring.

- Thrifting for trinkets is her favorite form of retail therapy.

- Someone once told her she was their reason to do Relay for Life. She calls it one of the greatest compliments of her life.

 

If you haven’t had a chance to see past inspirations of the month, CLICK HERE and scroll down to read the posts from March, April, and June.