10 MONTHS – Thinking Outside the Box

I made it this far and I feel like it’s only the beginning. Every day going out into the world is challenging because what I’m trying to get away from, there’s so much of. I’m surrounded by it. This world I love and the people I love, we all do it. Consume. Produce. Waste.

The reality is change may not happen in this lifetime, but it is happening. There’s a huge community online of beautiful people living this way (from ethical fashion, business and lifestyle) and it makes it easier. It makes it easier knowing I am not alone. So thank you to all of you for being the change, struggling as we all do in a world that may not seem perfect but is perfect and beautiful all the same.

My work and my passions challenge me to think outside of the box. It forces me to think differently and to really think about my choices. Rather than choose the method that’s easiest, I choose what is right for me and my  values. Not what everyone else is doing but what I need to do in order to accomplish my goals. I may not be entirely “there” yet – like going completely no plastic in my household and the minimalism, these all take time – and maybe I never will be all “there,” but the firm decision has been made to do this and it’s only a matter of learning and growing through the process of it all.

Remember: I am simply growing and being me.

As an artist, entrepreneur and someone who strives to help others achieve their goals, what does “thinking” outside of the box look like for me? What does striving to follow my goals and live a conventional life in society look like while trying to align with my values?

Well. Here’s 5.

1) LIKE ART

 

I’ve had three Zero Waste Live Art performances. Gloria of Scary Bear Soundtrack accompanies me with this music while I do it. She created a compilation of music that she plays live. It’s about 30min, so essentially I make whatever I can in 30 minutes using my garbage and only the supplies I still have. In 10 months I have purchased raw canvas twice for commissions and another time, supplies for a client. Otherwise, I won’t buy anything to create art on or with anymore.  I kind of gave myself a Buy Nothing Challenge in this department.

2) LIKE GIVING BACK

“The Tree” – Created at Chinatown Remixed 2015 in 30 min

I donate all the money from my art to a non-profit I co-founded: A.R.T. In Action. It’s been a long time dream of mine to give mobile art workshops and mentor youth and those who face multiple barriers. And it’s all really happening now.  At this show at the Daily Grind, I had this piece of art up (The Tree) along with a few others. I asked people to pay what they feel and this one went for $100. It was created at a Chinatown Remixed ZW Live Art performance.

3) LIKE A WHOLE NEW WORLD

It means I step into conversations with people. I actually have conversations with people about the changes I’m making and the steps I’m taking. It means being on Instagram (it’s my visual diary), being open in a creative way and sharing what I have to because I have to or it will explode within me. It means that some people actually tell me they stop and think for a minute when they throw something out. Does that mean something? Does it mean changes will actually happen? I don’t know for certain, but I do know that the ZW community is amazing and it’s growing. And it’s a beautiful world out there, with beautiful people doing simple things to make an effort. Trust me, I hear you when you tell me and when you share it with me.

 

Created at the Daily Grind October 2015 during a Scary Bear Soundtrack show

 

4) LIKE CONSCIOUS EFFORTS IN BUSINESS

For a client who wanted to make an effort to reduce waste, we took the time to turn her logos into stamps and then we taught her how to make paper by hand to package her soaps and also use them for business cards.

I created a stamp with my own company logo, and just yesterday for A.R.T. in Action too. As I mentioned before business cards are a little unnecessary, but having some that are different, that can be creative, it can be just enough to have someone want to know more information. I want to make sure I’m walking the walk in all aspects of Life (even if I’m ordering something online to market) and that I do take the time to think about my choices.

Artist Tip: purchase raw primed canvas and stretch it yourself around a frame you’ve built.

5) LIKE PASSION

When I first started having interest in Entrepreneurship, it was at a time when I had friends who hated on capitalism and I also thought money was evil. But I realize it’s not. And I actually enjoy feeling blessed with what I have been receiving and I believe now I deserve abundance in all aspects of Life, including my bank account. I am not rich by any standard, but I am wealthy and blessed because I know I have so much to be thankful for. Money is a tool to get me closer to my goals, to help me help more people, to do more good things and just be there for my son.

This is something I’m so passionate about it I started a company so I do it full time. Dream Love Grow.

It’s all I want in Life. (And of course I want to give myself more “me” time – working on that too).

Passion has extended into being Zero Waste, into everything I choose to do and be. Of course I have days that are off, where I’m feeling like a horrible person and I struggle to fight off the darkness but I am an artist and being Zero Waste is only just a small fraction of the journey.

What will my Life look like in 5 years? How deep will this choice take me? My entrepreneurship? A.R.T. in Action. What will it all look like the more that I continue to think outside the box?

I don’t know, but if 10 months takes me here, I’m looking forward to the future. In the meantime, let’s get back to right Now, the best and only moment there is. And now.. I have videos to get back to editing…

Thank you for reading!
Love. Love. Love.