Ready, set, go!

“There is no delight in owning anything unshared” – Seneca –

A blog, ok, go for it, because yes, it is time to get out there, to step out of the comfort zone. Once for all.
The website is not enough to feel connected.
Just go for the experience, no matter how frightening and unpredictable this might seem at the beginning, it could result in a wonderful journey, nobody can tell…
Find a voice in a million of other voices, create a little corner on the web where presenting new work, talk about the artists most liked, sources of inspiration, books, new and old crafting techniques, exhibitions, workshops and any kind of experiences that somebody could find as interesting, useful, beautiful as you do. A place where to think loud (as I am doing right now). Worst case scenario, you will have a diary of the things that inspired you the most at this time of life and, in years, you might even get a smile out of them…

I’ve been coming across all kind of online materials since over a decade and a half and acquired most of my skills through tutorials created by enthusiastic people that make them available to thousands of strangers around the world.
Always admiring the effort and grateful for that generous contribution.
Now it is time to give something back, to play a role in the the widest community of all times, because as somebody said “sharing is caring”.

The hope, no mystery there, is also to make a little step in the direction of the DREAM, that in my case, as per many other creative souls, translates into make a living out of what you enjoy doing the most. To give yourself the chance to embrace every day like a natural opportunity to explore, to express and to expand.

So, why now? Mainly for two reasons: because it cannot always be tomorrow and today happens to be a lovely sunny Monday, and also because I’ve just finished reading Austin Kleon‘s latest book Share Your Work! and I like the idea of following up on some of his invaluable pieces of advice.

The first thing I want to share with you is, therefore, his top ten steps to “share like an artist” (they’re written on the back cover so no risk of copyright infringement ;-)). Here they are:

1 – You don’t have to be a genius.

2 – Think Process. Not Product.

3 – Share something small every day.

4 – Open up your cabinet of curiosities.

5 – Tell good stories.

6 – Teach what you know.

7 – Don’t turn into human spam.

8 – Learn to take a punch.

9 – Sell out.

10 – Stick around.