An Invitation

You Are Invited

Hey friends,

So I am now officially a week and a day away from my first show of the year. If you are not sure what I am talking about and want to know about the events I will be participating in, go to cut.ink/events. If you would like to see what I have been working on lately you should stop by Chapterhouse Coffeeshop and Gallery at 620 S. 9th Street in Philadelphia.  The opening of the show will be on April 10th (Friday) from 7pm to 10pm and will remain up until June 9th. I hope to see you there!

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What I am Struggling With

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My Struggles

On a different note, I've been struggling through my busyness. Lately I find myself on a regular basis telling people that "I have been so busy".  Problem with this is that I do not have enough done for the show. I feel like this is a common struggle for a lot of us.  We get so caught up in the 'grind' that we forget to make time to do the things that we are actually passionate about.

Stay Organized and Clean

I realized that the reason I've also felt so busy and anxious about creating is that I did not create a safe and clean space to create in. This for me was a huge factor that slowed down my creative process and even kept me from generating art. I spent a majority of yesterday, after my day job, cleaning, de-cluttering and organizing my studio. This was long overdue. I cannot explain to you the huge difference it is making. My mind feels so clear and able to focus on the task at hand now instead of being distracted by the mess and disarray. I know where I can find everything I need and I know that when I am in my studio that it is 'go' time. 

Sleep and Rest

The other factor that was hindering from me creating well was lack of sleep and rest.  I had fallen into a habit of staying awake till 12am to 1 am and then going to bed. This was not helpful to me as I always want to wake up early and do some creative work but have such a hard time waking up. Recently my accountability partner Eric Friedensohn of Efdot studio during our meeting quoted Sean McCabe's podcast "a productive day starts with the night before." WOW! That is so true.  I need to get myself together and set better practices the night before to help me when I wake up to be creatively productive. Set two or three things that I HAVE to get done. Wake up and tackle that before I do anything else, after I've gotten a full night's sleep. The clarity that I have a after my initial grogginess is amazing. I have not yet gotten distracted by the worlds stresses or looked at my phone and therefore am able to give a 100% of my focus to the tasks at hand.  

So having a cleaner studio space and resting are two practices that I am putting into place to combat my constant feeling of anxiety from the lack of art and busyness. 

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. Even the people whom we admire have the same amount of time. (Another thing I heard on Sean McCabe's podcast. The podcast has a lot of good stuff and you guys should give it a try).

What are the practices that you have in place to combat the busyness you may be feeling? Are these real struggles for you? Write back if you are comfortable. I would love to hear from you guys. 

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INK + PAINT ON WOOD

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Documenting

Something I've Realized I'm Lacking

Hey

As I look back at my old work and even my current work I notice that the one thing lacking is documentation of my process. I never really took the time in the past to take photographs, videos or even write about the process of each project and piece that I created. So for 2015 I want to make sure I create more and document every new piece. 
 

Steps I will take to document each piece

• I will start taking ‘process’ pictures at set intervals while I work on the project
• I will record video of the creation of the project (possibly multiple angles)
• I will write up a case study on the more important projects to share with others

What this will allow me to achieve

When I look at many of the artists and creatives that I follow, the one thing I really enjoy more than the final piece they’ve created is the sneak peeks, teasers, write-ups, progress videos and pictures they’ve posted. 

I cannot get enough of these because they allow me to join the creative journey. I sometimes even learn new processes and applications. I was first drawn to ink art when I watched a short video of Si Scott creating one of his illustrations. It was no longer than 30 seconds of him drawing and a final shot of the finished piece, but those precious seconds were enough to educate me and hook me.

I want to do the same for someone else. Maybe I have something to share that someone else in the world is eagerly waiting for. 
 

What to look forward to

I am setting up my space to make it conducive to creating and taking photos and videos. At the moment I do not have a fancy video camera and will probably use my phone or a “point and shoot” camera to collect footage. I can upgrade equipment as I am able. I will also be writing case studies, as mentioned before, for the projects. 

I cannot wait to show you all what I will be working on. 

Finally, thank you for all of the responses to the Nature vs City question from my previous email. If you still want to respond, feel free to do so. It was great to hear from many of you. 

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your week.

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Bookmark for a friend

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Sincerely
Jeffy Thomas

Work Smarter And Harder

Hey,

For some reason the statement “Work smarter, not harder” has been showing up on my social media feeds a lot lately. Initially I took it at face value and said to myself that makes sense. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to disagree with it. There is a flaw in this statement that I missed initially.  
  
NOT harder? Why not work harder? 
  
Nothing comes to fruition without hard work and dedication. I think the statement makes more sense if it reads “Work smarter AND harder.” Now we are not simply just using our brain, but also putting in the effort to back up the smart work we are doing.

Without the hard work of sowing we do not appreciate the benefits of what we reap. When I hear “work smarter,” I feel that many people mean “take the easier route.” Take the path that cuts the time in half and possibly even cuts some corners. Immediately after comes “not harder,” implying that we can then be a little lazier as the work is now simpler. NO. Unacceptable.

Now what if work smarter meant let us figure out if what we are doing is important or if we are wasting time? Are we being efficient? Are we effective at what we are doing? We should assess and trim the “fluff” off, all the while *working harder* to achieve goals. Use our hands. Get dirty. Make mistakes, and learn from them. This is what I would rather the phrase mean. 

When some people see my paper cutting work, they jump to suggest  the way for me to produce more work in less time. “Use a laser cutter,” they say. I disagree strongly with this. Viewers do not get to see me if I were to use a lasercutter. No beautiful imperfections, no passion. I choose to put in the hard work, learning better techniques and working smarter as a result of these practices. This is work I love, and shortcuts are not good enough for me.

I think it is so easy for us, feeling the many pressures of modern society, to always look for the easy way out. I know that I do that often enough. But one area that I refuse to do so is when it comes to my creative life. It is important for me to put in the hard work, and from the hard work learn to work smarter. This is something I can definitely get behind. 

Work smarter AND harder, friends!

Sincerely
Jeffy Thomas

I would love to hear back from you guys so if you'd like to talk more about this topic or have any topics you'd like to hear more about, let me know by hitting the "reply" button.

Also feel free to share this post or newsletter with your friends if they can benefit from it. 

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Recent Project

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Recently I was approached by two of my awesome and talented friends, Raleigh and Kirby, who asked me to create this ink and paper cut piece for their album cover.  This project of theirs and as a result this piece was called Anitsiskwa. 

I created a mini-post / case study about this project and in this post you can also listen to their noise album. 

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​Showing Up and Putting In the Work

Showing Up and Putting In the Work

Whenever I am going to play a game of Ultimate Frisbee, I normally start off by throwing the disc around for a while. At first my throws are really rusty — some crash directly into the ground, some don’t even go to the intended person. But as the throwing continues the rust wears off and my accuracy and ability improve. 

So often we approach our creative pursuits wanting the initial product to be an A+, 100%. There have been many times where I approach my sketchbook — my sketchbook, folks — and walk away because what I was starting to draw wasn’t “golden.” 

What is wrong with this picture? I am not even allowing myself to be free and draw whatever comes to my mind even in my sketchbook. Until a recent conversation with my friend Dan, a musician from The Tea Club, I never made the connection between how I prepare for Ultimate Frisbee and how to approach my creative pursuits. 

What I need to do is to “show up” first, even if I do not have a project already planned. Just sitting down and drawing or writing for a while helps me figure out what I’m trying to develop. I am realizing that without setting aside the time to create and write, I am not giving myself an opportunity to explore what is going on inside me. 

Let’s allow ourselves to embrace the process of digging through the rock to get to the gold.

 

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New Work

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A ink + watercolor illustration called "Bright Night" on watercolor paper. 

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News

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In other Cuttink news, a friend of mine mentioned to me that he noticed that ".ink" domains were available for purchase.  This was such awesome news that I in the middle of a party stopped what I was doing and purchased the two domain names below. 
 

www.cut.ink
and
www.cutt.ink

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Sincerely,
Jeffy Thomas

TAKE THE TIME TO CARE FOR YOURSELF

Hello,

For the past week or so I have been fighting a head cold and altogether unwell-ness, and all during this time still trying to give 100% at Cuttink and at my day job. The result was a very tired, and still unwell, Jeffy. The more tired I got, the less efficient I became at the tasks at hand. 

During my creative accountability meeting with @efdot (Eric) earlier this week, he stated something so simple that I couldn’t believe that I did not realize it myself. To paraphrase, he said “You are allowed to slow down, to rest so that you can get better and work on the many things that fuel you.” 

Wow! Right? How did I think that my to-do list could be more important than what my body is telling me?

If I run myself into the ground and am exhausted, the main person that I am letting down is myself. I need to stay healthy, energized and focused and do whatever it takes to be in that state.  So this week I just want to remind you all that it is okay to give yourself time to rest and recuperate so that you can get back to creating, writing, playing music, or whatever else you love.

Take the time to take care of yourselves, friends!

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Recent Patterns I Drew

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Sincerely,
Jeffy Thomas

PRACTICES TO MAXIMIZE MY 24 HRS

Hey,

How do they do it?

I constantly find myself looking at the many creative people that I follow, wondering how they are able to do so much with their time. Constantly creating, running their business, working their “day job,” writing, giving talks, etc. They wear so many different hats and still keep going. How is this possible? I mean surely there is a trick, right? 

NOPE. 

They are working with the same 24 hours that the rest of us have. Even though I knew this, the realization was still a hard pill to swallow. I am not inherently lazy, but I do not always operate at 100% capacity. So what is it that drives them? What are doing to allow them to be so productive? What practices do they have in place to help them?

• Rest:
  Getting the correct amount of sleep allows the brain to be rested and more focused during the time that they are awake and working. 
• Writing:
  Writing allows them to flesh out ideas and help influence the next creative piece. It also serves as a physical archive of notes to come back to, instead of “trying” (and failing) to remember every important idea. This is something I’ve only recently started putting into practice.
• Scheduling:
  Some of the artists I follow carefully schedule their days. They organize calendars and set timers to focus on the task at hand for the allotted time. 
• Play:
  I use this term to describe the pursuit of passion, whether it’s drawing, painting, designing, dancing, making music, etc. They do this mainly for their own satisfaction, constantly striving to do their best. 
• Airplane Mode:
  Sean McCabe of Seanwes.com talks about undistracted time. He puts his phone on “airplane mode” — all devices disconnected from the Internet and incoming contact — to create or write. I’m implementing something like this, too, to give myself the space to create without distractions.  
• Sabbaticals:
  Earlier I stated that sleep was important, but rest also comes in the form of sabbaticals. This provides creatives time away from their daily routine, allows them to tackle things they’ve put on the back burner, and gives the chance to pursue a different hobby that they do not normally do.

I’m sure there are other good disciplines not included in this list. How do you maximize your time? Feel free to respond to this email and let me know of any practices that you have set in place to make you successful at what you do.

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OLD + NEW (SNEAK PEEK)

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The "Lighthouse" piece I'd created a while ago is still one of my favorite pieces.  I'm going to be starting a new one soon. 

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Here are some sneak peeks into a new piece that is in the works. It is one of the first larger pieces I've ever worked on. Exciting!

Sincerely,
Jeffy Thomas

DIRECTION FOR CUTTINK IN 2015

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WHAT IS HAPPENING AT CUTTINK?

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Hey,

There are a few things that have been in the works for a long time. With the start of the new year I have had the renewed energy and drive to put my thoughts and wants into action. The many ’things’ I’m referring to are: 

Show opening at Chapter House Cafe and Gallery 

On April 10, 2015 I will be showing some of my new art work at Chapter House Cafe and Gallery in South Philadelphia (620 South 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147). The show will be up from April 10 - July 1. It has been at least a year and a half since my previous show so it will be an awesome way to get my work out to the public. 

I will create at least one new Cuttink creation each week for this show. In each weekly newsletter you will receive one teaser photo — and maybe an occasional full photograph — leading up to the opening in April 2015. 

Website re-launch 

I’ve also been re-working my website, which has only served as my portfolio and not much more. I am reconfiguring it to reflect the many changes and growth that Cuttink and I have experienced. 

In the past few years I’ve created hand-cut Ketubahs (Jewish marriage contracts), framed guestbooks, and custom wedding invitations for couples who have enjoyed my style. This new section will showcase these wedding works, allow couples to read about my process in detail, and inquire about these specialized services. 

The latest iteration of my website will also include a long-overdue web store, for easy access to my inventory. 

Social media usage 

I have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Dribbble and Instagram. A few of these accounts have flatlined while others have occasional posts. 

Having let those accounts go cold means none of my followers know when and how often to expect any work from me. I will utilize the strengths of each site to showcase my process, and schedule regular content for you to enjoy. 

Weekly Newsletters 

This goal is simple — continue to provide insight into all that is Cuttink. Feel free to share these newsletters with anyone that might benefit from or enjoy them. 

Studio 

A close friend has given me the opportunity to work out of a dedicated space with minimal distractions and in very close proximity to my home. Once I am fully settled into that space I will be developing pieces more consistently and inviting the public for a closer look. 

Cuttink and a Drink 

This brings me to introduce Cuttink and a Drink, a concept a few friends and I dreamed up not so long ago. I envision hosting a small monthly event for creatives, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, etc. to convene over a drink and form relationships, share current project ideas with peers, and foster collaboration and growth. 

I understand that this may be a lot to take in, revealing most of my dreams for Cuttink. I share this with you as a way to present my vision for 2015 and to keep myself focused. 

Please feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts or questions. I would love to hear back from you. 

Enjoy the rest of your week.
Sincerely,
Jeffy Thomas 

CHOOSE TO USE YOUR HANDS

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Hey,

Is creating with our hands important? We are currently living in a world where there are devices to do everything for us.  In the two weeks I’ve been taking public transit to work I’ve realized how reliant I have become on technology. Need to write to somebody? We have email to replace handwritten letters.  Need to save a thought or list? Type it into your phone to read at a later time. Right now, more than ever, it is important for me to make the effort to create with my hands. 

It has become commonplace for my generation to use our electronic devices as the initial means to create instead of the analog tools we could be using. These days the need for immediacy has trumped the need for the physical process.  Most of us have word processors that relieve the need to pick up a pen or pencil to communicate. Digital tools like the Adobe Suite, Sketchbook Pro, and Wacom tablets allow artists to work without even needing a piece of paper.  Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it is negative to use technology in this way. Rather, what I’m saying is that when you start your creative process digitally it becomes harder for the audience to see the creator behind the product.

For a person who needs to create using their hands, their tools become an extension of them.  They’ve learned the balance and weight of the pen, pencil, X-acto knife, paintbrush, etc. They know how the tool will interact with the medium.  I understand how the ink will flow from my Micron pen. I understand how the watercolor paper I use will accept the ink, and which X-acto blade best cuts curves vs. straight lines.  All this because I have chosen to practice creating with my hands.  I’ve allowed myself to make mistakes and learn from them.

Recently I sat down for coffee with a brand-new friend. I was excited to meet him and talk with him about his artistic process, and even more thrilled when he showed me his sketchbook. Filled with a range of rough drawings to finalized designs, it was clear how much care and passion was behind each line. I could see some expression of him in each piece. At the end of our meeting he gifted me a handmade greeting card, embossed with the word “optimist.”  I immediately knew that it was created by hand with love and purpose. 

Another friend of mine crochets imaginative things and recently made me two crocheted mushroom buddies. She picks a subject matter and figures out how to build a three-dimensional shape using yarn, experimenting and learning as she works.  In that process lies the beauty — the excitement that comes from just showing up to create. I think this analog commitment is sometimes lost in our digital world. 

I want — no, NEED — to always create by hand. It is how I can tell a story to those who are willing to listen and see. Making art with my hands brings me joy and peace. I hope that you, friends, can find something to develop by hand.  Write a paper note or draw a picture for a special person in your life.  There is no better way to show care and provide value than creating something by hand with a particular person in mind.

Sincerely,
Jeffy Thomas

TODAY IS FLEETING. TOMORROW NEVER ARRIVES

“Today is fleeting. Tomorrow never arrives. Tackle something important now. Create something. Live!”

We have today and now. We exist in this moment and have some control over it.  So why not use this moment to the best of our ability, whatever that may be. 

If right now is the time you are to do something, great! Then do it. If this is the moment you have a thought, write it down. Do something you’ve been putting off. Tackle something off of your bucket list, if you have one. Be creative, whatever that may look like: draw, write, paint, sing, play music, knit, etc… 

We are not promised a next breath and therefore should not take what we have now for granted.  Tomorrow will continue to be something in the future and never becomes the present. It is always out of our grasp. So why not take advantage of the fleeting moments of today? Create something or even take a break to listen to your heart, body and mind.  Do what you need to do to fulfill your dreams. Do this so you can live!

I'm learning and realizing that it is okay for me to be transparent and vulnerable.  It is what is going to help me to grow. You’ve shared with me your lives and I look forward to letting you into my creative journey and all that it entails.

Sincerely,
Jeffy Thomas