The Red Thread

Chinese-legend-myth-of-red-threadThere’s something magical that I’ve been noticing in my life recently. It his to do with art. With learning, teaching, and living an artistic life.

When I started down this path, I was quite a babe in the woods – clueless about where I was going, what I was doing, and why I was doing it. All I recognized was a calling… a yearning to create – to pick paints and paper, glue and pictures, with no idea of what to do with them, how to mold them into something that was pleasing to the eye.

I stumbled upon a few teachers – wonderful people who shared their art, tips, and techniques online for free on YouTube. I picked up a few tips here, an idea for a technique there. But very often, these free videos were disappointing. They were either timelapsed and so fast that I had no idea what or how the person was doing what they were doing. Often, they were product demonstrations – and said products were not necessarily available in India. But I persevered.

When people used die-cut machines to cut out lovely shapes in seconds, I painstakingly drew designs by hand and cut them out. When teachers used fancy stamps to lay down images quickly, I drew them – hesitatingly, often badly {very badly!} But there was a burning desire to create. And I stuck with it. And as I kept coming back to the page, kept honoring the call, I stumbled upon online art teachers – wondrous people who ran online classes aimed at beginners and even at more advanced students.

Of course, all of these were international teachers, which meant that even the ones with very reasonably priced courses were not very reasonable when converted to the Indian rupee. But hesitantly, I signed up for one. Then another. And then a third. And suddenly my art started to soar.

I still don’t have all of the fancy supplies. My stencil and stamp collection is still very small. My art supply stash has grown, but over time I’ve come to realize that what you really need and what you think you “must have” are two very different things indeed.

As my love for art has grown, my style has evolved {and continues to evolve}. There are days when things just don’t work out, I fight with the page, struggle to get the colors and the layout right, to get the image from my head onto the page. And then there are pages that just come together – and I just stand back and look down at my work in awe – when it’s hard to believe that this was actually created by me.

And as I continue to explore my art, I long to share all that I am learning, to see my creations head out into the world, to spread the wonder and the beauty and the release that comes from putting paint to paper.

I’ve taken a few tentative first steps – launched my first ebook, set up a storefront on Cupick, got my first order for bookmarks. As I gained some confidence, I set up my own website and online store. And now I’m feeling the pull to create an ecourse to share some of my deeper, more soulful truths.

I’m still not sure exactly how things are going to shape up. But what I do know is that as this intention continues to take root, as it gets clarified bit by bit, things will start to fall into place. In the meantime, I will continue to do my work – set my desires, hone my intentions, and trust in the red thread.

Have you ever felt a red thread connecting you to people and teachers and hobbies and interests? Do tell me in the comments!

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Modern Gypsy

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I’m an artist and art educator, podcaster, tarot reader, and writer. I share my discoveries along the path to inspire you to live a more creative, soul-centered life. Receive my love letters for more of my musings on life and creativity. P.S. I love Instagram - join me there?

48 Comments

  1. That is a great journey going.

    ‘And now I’m feeling the pull to create an ecourse to share some of my deeper, more soulful truths’. – May I suggest that you work with children with special needs, especially with Children having Down Syndrome. Just give it a try and I am sure you will have your soulful bliss 🙂

    ‘Have you ever felt a red thread connecting you to people and teachers and hobbies and interests?’ – Mine is extremely strange. I feel my red thread somewhere alone in deep mountainous forest.

    http://kantutpal.blogspot.in/

    • If I have an opportunity to work with special needs children, I’ll try. I always thought you needed special training to work with them though.

      Mountains can be very calming and real stress busters! Hope you get to have more mountain retreats! 🙂

  2. Forgot to write this line

    especially with Children having Down Syndrome (They are loveliest human, you will realise later) – teach them your art, help them become independent by helping them learn how to sell their art

  8. The red thread sounds so lovely and mystical, a bit like you I think Jini! You have persevered and hence you are bound to succeed in your endeavors! A real diamond doesn’t stay hidden for long! Shine on dearie!

    • Oh yes, absolutely! Step by step, brick by brick a foundation is laid. I think it occasionally takes a little time, but it does happen. I’m sure that things will work out if you take a different career path! 🙂

  13. Firstly, congratulations on your growth.
    About your question, yes, I do feel there is a thread that binds the right minded people together. However, it takes time. Sometimes the wait is killing. Receiving a calling is a blessing in itself.

    • Thank you Mayura. True, receiving a calling, and heeding it, is a blessing. And sometimes the wait for the thread to find its way to you can be a long one! So when it does show up, it’s a good idea to pay attention. 🙂

  15. everyone’s pinky finger is tied to an invisible red string that will lead him or her to another person with whom they will make history.Legend has it that the two people connected by this thread will have an important story, regardless of the time, place or circumstances. The red string might get tangled, contracted or stretched, as surely often happens, but it can never break.

  21. That’s a great journey Gyps. Inspiring to see how you moved from a uncertain zone into a zone of positive creative venture, materializing what you desired by executing it with dedication!

  22. I have definitely felt this read thread, connecting me with others. Though it sounds so mystical, it is all so real. As far as you are concerned you have worked hard and come into your own with your art, and I for one am so proud of you. Just goes to show that perseverance and hard work always pays off

    • Yup, it is very real! Sometimes it gets hard to see the connection, but that, I think, happens when we are disconnected from ourselves.
      Thank you so much for your love, support and encouragement Jai. Means the world to me! ?

    • It truly is! Also, I think it happens when you’re open to it – or maybe that’s when you can more clearly see the connections and trust the nudges you’re receiving from the Universe. Thank you for your support Corrine – it means the world to me! 🙂

  25. It happened because you desired it and it was your passion to do it anyhow and I remember that proverb, when you wish for something from your heart, the whole universe helps you to get it. I’m not sure but somewhere I do believe in it. Lovely post and glad that it is getting stronger day by day and wish you all the very best for future!! 🙂

    @bloggerabhi1 from
    StyleBurp

    • Thank you so much Abhi! Yes, the Universe is certainly conspiring to help me with all of this. And I’m so very grateful for that!! 🙂

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