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Adam Ming's avatar

I recently did this thing where I started writing daily, but not emailing it out, instead I would share it in notes and a few people will see it… this enough of an audience for my co creation process and helps me feel the freedom and low stakes of creating for my self…

It’s like a comedian’s workout in a small club before doing a big show.

Great post! Appreciate what you do with folktale week!

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Jennifer M Potter's avatar

That's a great approach! Reminds me of the user testing we used to do back when I worked in app design. I really should practice writing for myself more. I've never been particularly good at maintaining a daily practice, but I've been making strides with some routines this past year, so I imagine it's just a matter of time.

Whatever you're doing, it seems to be working. It's been so cool to see you soar here! Very inspiring.

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Kerry Beazley's avatar

Yes! Affinity has made more sense to me over time and I've been using it for about 6 years! Hard to know what will happen to Adobe but I sure can't afford it and now, having got used to Affinity, I find it dark and gloomy going back to it! Thanks for your candid thoughts!

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Jennifer M Potter's avatar

I look forward to feeling that way, too. I'm so used to Adobe, so at least for now everything in Affinity takes longer as I track down where the various tools are. But so far I've been happy to find everything I've looked for. And pleasantly surprised when a shortcut is the same.

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Adam Ming's avatar

I’m plodding along! :)

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Viveca Persing's avatar

I find ☺️ your Sushimidgets so cute 💞 !

By the way - you wrote about Folktale Week - How can I follow this event? When is it? Can I participate if I feel like it (depending on what else I have to do...) I think I saw some of the folktalepaintings from a previous year...

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Jennifer M Potter's avatar

Thank you! The sushi friends and the fox are from an old set of stickers I designed ages ago. So nice to be able to use them again.

And yes, you're very welcome to join Folktale Week! It's happening in November, but we'll release the prompts in October. I'm sure I'll share them here, but it will be all over instagram. On my account (instagram.com/jennifermpotter), and the Folktale Week account (instagram.com/folktaleweek), too.

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Juliana Penkova's avatar

Thank you for your post. I am looking forward to folktaleweek and I couldn’t be more curious about affinity. Have a lovely day ♥️

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Jennifer M Potter's avatar

Thanks Juliana! Definitely check out that free trial. Six months is so generous! Plenty of time to know if they're a good fit for your workflow. I hear they also have sales around Black Friday, too.

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Nicole Tharin's avatar

Hi, thank you for your article. I really enjoyed reading the different ways our work as artists can be valued, giving feelings of joy, beauty, feeling seen, etc.

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Jennifer M Potter's avatar

That sounds very wise! Gently push it out of the nest and let it take flight!

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Jennifer M Potter's avatar

I'm so glad. It's partly a reminder to myself that I can't control how my work will be received and what it will mean to people. I have people-pleasing tendencies by nature, so I can get way too focused on what others might think if I'm not careful. <3

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Nicole Tharin's avatar

I have the same issue ;-). So whenever I post something, I make the wish that it reaches people who may need the message or be open to its content.

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Weronika Salach's avatar

Ooooh I’m really feeling this article, my thoughts also! Thank you for sharing ❤️

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Brandon Todd's avatar

Get out of my head! hahaha It seems like your posts are always timely for me and reflect a lot of what I'm thinking about as well. I'm sure it goes back to the fact that, as you said, this can feel like a lonely gig. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do it all and as a result, feel isolated. But one thing I love about your posts is that it is a reminder that we are all more connected than we realize. I'm not alone in these challenges. Anyway, thanks again for everything you do outside of your "actual work". Speaking of which, I can't believe it's already time to start thinking about Folktale Week!

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Jennifer M Potter's avatar

Thank you for the kind words! Haha I think reminding folks that we're not so alone must be one of my core motivators. At least it feels like it has more substance than simply writing about my art, although I probably should (and intend to) do more of that, too!

And yes! I feel like I spend all summer trying not to think about Folktale Week, but here we are!

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