Kit and Clowder Online Colouring Classes: dragon coloring

Art Therapy: Are you too old to learn?

copic Thursday, August 06, 2020

I've been a little slack in updating the blog lately - I'd love to hear if you still check in? If you haven't found us on social media yet, I mainly post over in our Kit and Clowder Facebook Community Group :)

We do weekly Art Therapy posts over in the group, and this week's post stemmed from a question about whether someone was too old to learn colouring. We have people of all ages joining in over the world, as young as about 8 or 9, right up to their 90s. I love the quote above, because it really encapsulates that learning shouldn't be on anyone's timeframe - it's more a state of being than a length of time.

Make sure you never tell yourself that you aren't capable of learning or doing something that you want in life

Learning is not about being perfect - it's about trying, it's about having a go when you feel nervous, it's about making mistakes so you can troubleshoot, understand, and overcome them to level up. A class, no matter what it is you are trying to learn, is not about replicating something to the point of perfect - it's about trying things you haven't learned before, about refining some prior knowledge or skills you already have. If you learn or refine just one thing then you have succeeded.

Have you ever wondered why Nike's slogan is "Just Do It"? It's so common to make excuses in life *not* to do something - not to make time for ourselves, not to try because it might be hard or challenging, not to have a go because we might not be as good as others...but what happens when we "just do it"?

The only failure you can ever experience in life is not having a go as you can't improve upon nothing. If you want to be the best colourist you can be, take control of your learning; try all different techniques, styles, and topics, try the images or lessons that look a little challenging, do your classes and practice them, ask for help... if you allow yourself to just learn and challenge yourself outside of what is your comfort zone then you will always increase your skills and you will always have achievements to look forward in life - things to be proud of

Don't fear failure - fear being in exactly the same place next year as you are today

If you want to learn anything in life, no matter what it is, don't allow yourself to make excuses any longer - put 10 minutes aside this week and "just do it"

**My dragon above is coloured with my Copic Markers and you can colour him too in our Mini Class Bundle 3 here: http://bit.ly/2pDhoRW

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Free Stamp + Battling Perfection

art therapy Tuesday, April 23, 2019

*Dragon Colouring Class from our Mini Bundle 3 at www.kitandclowder.com/shop

Hi everyone! I wanted to chat about the learning process this week - it's something that comes up regularly where people are feeling nervous to get started, or not good enough to keep going when they inevitably make a mistake.

I'm sure we can all agree that we are our own harshest critics. It’s easy to tell ourselves that “it’s not perfect”, or “I’m not good enough”. The biggest thing that can stop you from achieving is not how good you are right this moment, how fast you colour, or how many supplies you have...it’s your inner critic, that inner voice that controls how you speak to yourself about trying new challenges and whether your work is good enough. What we don’t realise is that every time we judge ourselves + compare with others, we are dampening our motivation, making it feel that little bit more challenging and overwhelming than it really is, and turning our dreams into chores. The good news? You have the power to slowly change how you speak to yourself and feel about your work.

If you are in one of our classes, or been sitting on the sidelines, and a bit nervous to jump in, remember that a class is not a test in how good you are, it’s a learning tool to help you to get there. The key to taking that next step, whether it is for colouring or anything else, is just to take any pressure, expectations, or comparisons off. It actually doesn’t matter at all how your colouring turned out today, whether it is “perfect” or not. What matters are the lessons you are taking away every time you try, the mistakes that you *will* make - they mean you *aren’t* a failure because you are putting yourself out there, you are challenging what you know to help yourself become better for tomorrow.

So if you've been afraid to jump in, tell yourself right now that you *can* do this, that each and every time you try you will be one step closer to your goals, but you don’t have to get there all in one day or one lesson. Actually saying the words out loud can help reinforce the power behind them (sounds silly but it truly works). It's not always easy to remember this and it takes dedicated practice, just like your colouring does, so save posts like this and reminders to yourself that you are good enough. Appreciate where you are at right now in your journey and enjoy every practice and step forward, mistakes and all ❤

Happy Colouring this week everyone - if you are looking for something fun to colour, why not grab this free stamp that's available for everyone over in our Kit and Clowder Colouring Facebook Group :)

Alyce x