Champion Your Work!

'You are as good as your last project. You are as good as your last pitch. You are as good as your last review. And with every day that passes, that project pitch or review will lose its wonder.' - Ross Simmonds

I first wrote about self marketing after a workshop held for volunteers and interns at my workplace. Back then; it was based on the background of employment and promotion. But, how about if a person is a creative? A writer or an actor? How do they go about having their work out there?
Last week: I came across a tweet from a blogger saying that she had written a topical piece for a program. Unfortunately, the piece was rejected and it left her deflated. She had put a lot of effort into the composition of the piece and the bad review almost crushed her. However, she did not let it get her down. She shared the same piece on a different platform and was contacted about it a few weeks later.
In the same week; the nominations for the Emmy Awards were announced. HBO, the famous home of that little show Game of Thrones had left out actress Gwendoline Christie from its list of submission for nominees. She took matters into her own hands and submitted her own work. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her to get recognition for the craft she loves so much and she got it. She received her letter of nomination from the Emmy Awards Committee and the rest as they say is history!
Personally, I participated in a writing competition for the Uganda Feminist Forum by writing an op-ed on the theme 'Silencing our fears and fearing our silence'. Acceptance into the convening depended on the success of one's submission and I really wanted to gain entry into that space. Topical pieces are typically not my forte as history serves. Since I know myself well and are very conversant of my not so lucky streak when it comes to these pieces; I kept it at the back of my mind to share the piece here. It was reflective of my hardwork and sweat for it to be hidden away like something I was not proud of.
Surprise of all surprises? I recieved an invite to the Uganda Feminist Forum! I was so giddy with excitement and disbelief that it took awhile for it to sink in. I then took to my social networks to share the excitement! To this date; I am still happy at the thought that that op-ed scored me a invite into a space that is closed to many. I still harbour the intention of sharing the op-ed on this space for I am extremely proud of myself and the piece.
With all that said: I am requesting us to become champions of our work as creatives. Let us not let the bad reviews, lack of appreciation from companies, organisations and institutions that we work for stop us from gaining the recognition that we seek. Let us take advantage of the platforms available to us and use them in our favor.
You do not have to wait for people to appreciate you in order to appreciate yourself especially when it comes to your work. Be your own Champion and let the world marvel at your grit, determination and work.

A Little Sun

There are times when I visit old posts of Simply Shanah in search of inspiration only to log out immediately for the urge to delete some of last year's posts is so strong. There was nothing good there. Going back and looking through them is like trying to find the remnants of a kindling in a pile of ashes: a little smoking ember to singe ones fingers. However fruitless my attempts are in finding inspiration from the depths of my pitfalls and the decision to let it all remain, I have realized some of my angst ridden and painfull posts are being shared. It is kind of mortifying but I am happy some of you relate with the posts and go as far as sharing. Thank you.
I put away the journal in order to revitalize my thoughts, sense of purpose all for naught. Nothing has worked so far. You, know what? I am not going to try anymore. To force myself to look for what is good in a situation however bad is no longer cutting it.
My mental state is a depiction of my life right now. Everything is in shambles. As much as I am incapable of having a handle on everything else currently going on, I am glad for my artistic side. I find myself drawing more and more when the mood strikes and the accessories creator in me is starting to join the creative party. It has been awhile since I created something in the way of accessories.
My last piece was a pearl necklace which I spot majority of the time and the need to create earrings to go with it is so strong. Maybe when the time is right. It will happen.

Seeing it is a new month; may we all let what was stay in the past and write new chapters to the books of our lives- even if it means forever starting over in your journal like I am currently doing.

Slave To A Muse.

No Artist Likes Being A Slave To Her Muse. 

I’ve never really had a muse before. I’ve never had a person whose voice, words, thoughts and personality act as sources of inspiration for my art.To date; all my artwork has been a result of my thoughts, imagination and most of all curiosity when it comes to changing up a design. Well, this recently changed and I am torn between good or bad as regards judgement.
Don’t get me wrong, as an artist, any source of inspiration is a godsend. It is an excuse to let go of all the banal and mundane things we do on a daily basis and just be: one with the pencil, one with the mood and let the wave of inspiration lead you where it wants you to go. The process of putting together an art piece and seeing it come to life is much more exciting and breathtaking than everything I have ever known. Much, much more.
The excitement when the creative juices are flowing and seeing your thoughts come together on paper and colour is the reason as to why artists should not be slaves to their muses. Not if the muse comes in form of a living, breathing person. Nope.
I am painstakingly putting the finishing touches to the name doodle I talked of here, a name that belongs to my source of inspiration. Yes, my muse. Someone I could frankly tell you never at all expected to inspire the pieces he has inspired. My creative juices have been overflowing and the artist in me loves it though loathes the thought of being a slave to a muse. The Shakespeare in me has been wrung out in ways you could never imagine and the ever evolving artwork has played background to many a poem. I have written more poems than I could share because they reveal so much. Sharing all would remove several cats out of the bag and arouse questions I have no answers to.
When I begun the artwork, it was a release of my thoughts and feelings. Little by little this ‘Labour Of Love’ (as I call it in my head) is slowly evolving in front of my eyes. The artist in me keeps looking at it in disbelief, wonderment and appreciation of my gift. At the back of my mind, I keep working on it with the intention to give it to him as a memento because they are my memories and want them to be his as it says but now, now, I am like hell NO! I’m going to keep it as my own memento. Something to look back on in my senior years as a reminder of my misbegotten youth and moment of folly.
Recently, it was revealed that Kim Kardashian is Peter Dundas’ muse for Roberto Cavalli. I keep thinking about this while working on my artwork, wondering how he feels having Kim for a muse because I do know how I feel. That one moment when he is in the process of fitting her with his most breathtaking dress for Fashion Week only for Kim to flee? What would happen to his entire collection?
Much as I appreciate my muse for the strokes of inspiration and flexing of creative muscle, I know I do not want my art to be a slave to a muse. No. These muses have the tendency to leave when you least expect it and before you know it, your entire creative mojo is off kilter. Some artists never creatively recover from the loss of a muse. They may keep at the craft but the pieces after are never as good as the ones before the muse fled, so the critics say.

Ps: The background in the picture is a collection of the artwork in its stages of evolution.

Where I Need To Be.

"When your heart speaks, take good notes." -  Judith Campbell

There is a way God does his things that leaves one in awe. At a point in my life where I was so fed up with my previous place of employment; I was handed a ray of hope amidst all the changes and everything I found so hard to deal with. God handed me a ray of hope. It was so unexpected that I tweeted about it for it was something I had long forgotten. I felt like throwing in the towel right there and then but as mothers go with their opinions, I didn’t. What I knew back then is; I wanted to be somewhere where I was happy and this ray of hope provided it. Suffice it to say; I am happy at the moment. Very happy.
I went back to where this gainful employment started: volunteering. I love it. It has brought me more experience that putting it into words would be an injustice. Some things need to be seen and been through personally to understand and this is one of them. I feel that this time in my life is exactly what I need. To be at peace and on a slower pace. The opportunity to figure out where this journey is leading to at the end of it all. But I’ll let God figure it out while I work on other areas in my life.
There is no better feeling than a peace of mind especially for a creative soul. My creative juices are flowing ever so gently which I love. Being given this opportunity to not only develop but nurture a talent is more than I could have asked for. Working Monday-Saturday 8:30-6:30 used to take not only the stuffing out of me but the creative juices as well. I barely had time to update this blog and work on my creativity too. Now; I have time maybe not for everything but it is enough.
The best part of it all is the opportunity to learn how things are done in a field I would like to be in. There is so much room for growth and development than anywhere else and the perks are infinite. And the people over my current place of employment drive HARD cars! If one is car shopping, there is the place to be. I hope to be a HARD car owner in years to come. God willing.
Let nobody ever lie to you. HAPPINESS is the TRUTH no matter the situation and areas in life. If you have to work hard at being happy then it is definitely not the right place, time and person.

A Gradual Resolution.

It’s a New Year, New Beginnings and all that fan fare people associate with a new year. And I couldn’t be any more less excited. Why? Because I miss the two weeks I had off work. I was just starting to relax, enjoy being home and before I knew it; the fortnight was done. And my brother is leaving me sooner than I thought which makes it suck more!
However short it turned out to be; I enjoyed it immensely. I got the chance  to take naps and remembered how waking up from one felt like – refreshing. I think the lack of taking one at work is what drains me most. I should look into getting alone time over there.

My Creations

The creative juices flowed like never before and I made two necklaces which I loved. Not forgetting the one I edited. Drawing, making something and reading are my most treasured moments of free time. They symbolize peace, rest and I get as much out of them as a Zen master would out of meditation.
So it’s the new year. Hmm… I try not to have resolutions because no one ever goes through with them anyway but this time round, I am forced to have one. Yes. I realized last year that I have massive anger issues and might need anger management lessons at some point in my life. I’m pretty much a laid-back girl: the kind that is not fazed by anything for I take people at face value, I rarely let little things get to me so it takes forever for me to become enraged.
Well, I suffered my most enraging moment last year! The kind of rage that is only spent by breaking several things. And I broke some. The sound of shattering glass and ceramic definitely does something for the mind. There is that sense of fulfilment and calmness that overcomes the body after expending those emotions. Last time I felt this enraged was in High School and even then I broke a little something. What’s not cool though is; the muscle pain garnered from the energy and force put behind breaking stuff. I went around with a sore shoulder for two weeks.
Seeing as I can’t go round breaking things; the need to work on my anger is real and as such I am going to try as much as I possibly can. This will, however, be a gradual process. Those of us who take forever to combust take twice the time to work on it. So, wish me luck.
And with that; may you all be able to go through with your resolutions. Happy New Year.

Seed Bead Braided Necklace.

This particular update on my creativity took me a little while to get to so let’s dive right into it. When I created the braided wristbands, at the back of mind it was a trial run for one of my most ambitious project and undertaking to date.

Finished product

I knew I wanted to make a braided necklace out of some of the remaining seed beads I had in my possession. The thought itself was challenging and took me longer than anticipated but the outcome superseded my imagination. Seeing it come to life and better than I’d imagined brought on a feeling of gratitude and pride – pride that It was I who had come up with something so pretty and gratitude for the skills however unprofessional.

Seed Beads braid

The comments I received from friends and family after posting to instagram  filled me up with joy. No one knows this but after creating the necklace and actually being overwhelmed with the outcome, I prayed. There are times when you just have to thank God for the littlest things and this was one of them. To have the gift for creativity, talent and imagination are things few people have and when you’re able to use them and come up with something better than you’d dreamed it, you appreciate.

First layout and color coordinating.

Stretchy Braided Wrist Bands.

Every clean up session brings the need to de-clutter and throw away most unused/outgrown stuff. In a bid to do so; I had second thoughts when it came to these little seed beads I’d collected over the years. As per usual, I felt I could use them in some way which made throwing them away moot.
I have been toying with the idea of making a braided bracelet and necklace for the longest time and suddenly, there it was, the thought to try it out first as a wristband then take it from there if I loved the result. I had a daily/weekly documentation of the creations on twitter (which you would remember if you’re a twitter follower) where I would post a picture for the different wristbands.
 

Before

I made four in total – green, orange & red, black & colourless and my favourite of all the seashell coloured one littered with black. The process as seen in the before picture: three stretchy strings, enter beads, then make a braid, knot the ends together and voila… a stretchy wrist band.

After

 Ps: The stretchiness varies with wrist size and string used.

A March Retrospective.

Sad to see March go. It was filled with so much inspiration that I have nothing to do but appreciate. For those of you who are in any way or form artistically inclined, you’d know how rare this is.
As I was going through my sketchbook a few days ago, I noticed majority of my drawings were done in March this year. This is due to the fact that I successfully date marked most of them this year unlike the previous ones. There were a few moments where I had to scratch my head trying to figure out when I did a particular drawing.
Aside from the drawing, I made quite a few accessories this past March. I found a new home for my little heart, made my first pair of earrings amongst others. March has been really good inspiration-wise. I am glad my muse is still with me.

On to April now. April made me a few promises that it is yet to keep.  I keep on thinking and wondering if at all it will deliver? Only God knows this. But until then…
Happy month of the Fool everyone.

First EVER Pair Of Earrings!

Ever since I tapped into the little accessories designer in me, I had all consuming thoughts of making a pair of earrings especially after making this necklace. I thought it would look good with a pair of earrings but my creative adviser suggested a bracelet. So, that is on the back burner but not the earrings making bit. No.
A couple of days ago; inspiration struck, all the creative thoughts and ideas came together and I finally got round to making a pair of earrings. Earlier, I had edited a pair of peacock danglers that were too long and kept the little red connectors, found the double chains laying around and hooks to pull it together. With accessories especially jewellery, it is imperative to keep the pieces you think you might need at a later date after editing a piece.

In my opinion it all came together perfectly. I doubled the chain on each pair to make it a little thicker and shorter instead of one slender long chain (I don’t like long chain danglers), connected to the red pieces and added the hooks. The only kink in this entire picture is the silver hooks unlike the rest of the pieces which are kind of bronze. Aside from those of you who read this, few would know.

How they would look like long

Whenever I do something creative-wise, I seek the opinion of four people. My mother (sometimes), Creative Advisers's Em or Ama (invaluable girls), and my brother. Since this is entirely of a feminine nature and because I haven't touched base with the creative advisers, I sought mum's. Told her I made a pair of earrings aka danglers and proceeded to show her. She does like them, said they look not hand made. I took that as a compliment.

The Good From 2013 Continued…

“Everyday may not be good but there’s something good in everyday.”

A continuation to this post:

24/08/2013 – Received a pink jewelry set from my cousin Shakira.

31/08/2013 – My brother’s marriage. He’s wanted to get married for so long that I am glad it happened and seeing him happy makes me happy.

3/09/2013 – Had a jewelry re-sale and made a bit of money from it.

04/11/2013 – Simply Shanah is three years old!
                   - Exchanged numbers with a boy I really like. I last exchanged numbers with a guy I’m into four years ago, I think. Much as I like him, it is blatantly obvious it’s going no where.
                  - My maternal Grand Father’s death anniversary. I’m grateful to my family for the memorial prayers they hold in his stead every year.

6/11/2013 – Positive friends who listen when you need it and give advice when you least expect it.

11/11/2013 – My girl Claire’s generous soul.
                  - Brainstorming sessions with my friend Ama. These get the creative juices flowing and I lover her for her unwavering support.

20/11/2013 – Made a pair of rings out of stones for a necklace. Second time I pimp up a ring or two.

21/11/2013 – Cut my hair into bangs or a fringe.

22/11/2013 – Made a necklace out of black squares from my sister’s dress.

24/11/2013 – Need to nurture my accessories design and see how far I can go with it.

01/12/2013 – New month, wonder what it has in store.

06/13/2013 – Woke up to news of Nelson Mandela’s death who died on 5/12/2013.

08/12/2013 – Attended my cousin Farida’s wedding. Happy to have been there and see it happen.
                   - Love the gifts from Farida’s in-laws.

10/12/2013 – Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. A fitting farewell to Africa’s purest heroes.

12/12/2013 – Grateful for beautifully fierce and its subsequent social media pages. Maintaining it and the pages gives me a sense of purpose.
                 - The possibility of attaining a new phone looms in the near future.
                 -  Hearing from my friend Ossy who I haven’t seen since November.
                 - Time; being in peace and at peace with everything so far.

15/12/2013 – Seeing the Nelson Mandela funeral telecast reminded me of my maternal Grand Father’s funeral.

16/12/2013 – The Whatsapp text from one of my oldest best friends, Joy, made my night. It reminded me of our friendship in primary school then the one at University. I can’t wait to see her after years.
                  - Sighted a butterfly and I remembered  The Alchemist. They are good omens and we should believe in them.

19/12/2013 – Catch up session with my friend Malcolm. A really old friend from Primary School and University.

20/12/2013 – My uncle Uthman’s 40th birthday celebration. I love family gatherings like these because we get to be together in one place with the cousins and catch up on everything as we are all at different stages and paths in our lives.
                  - One of my creations found a new home. I am glad it went to someone who really loves it.

24/12/2013 – I received pretty little accessories from aunt; a little pink purse and a huge cocktail ring.
                   - News from Chingy about her departure from the country. She’s wanted to go for so long that I am glad Allah finally made it possible for her.

29/12/2013 – My aunt Saudah’s graduation dua. So glad to see this was done for her for she has achieved quite a lot. We’re so close that I hardly refer to her as ‘aunt’. I love moments like these because I get to see some of my favourite people in the world like my girl Smooch. Seeing her and catching up with her means the world to me, then there is Shaffy and Baker.

30/12/2013 – What a day chockfull of surprise visits! First my girls Smooch and Baby Jara ( I was aware of their pending visit) then Leila (baby on board) and Shaffy! These are what memories are made of. The thing about family is; however long you’ve taken to see each other, there is always something that binds you and makes the eons of distance slip away.
                - I have been so creative this year that I am proud of my artistic talent. This is one of my best highlights.
                - My uncle Omar made Haj and the one to whom I am best niece is in the process of preparation for the trip. I pray God makes it possible for him and glad for it to have happened for Uncle Omar (both of these are faithful readers)
                - Grateful to God for my life, family and friends. Y'all are everything to me. 
                - Totally unrelated but I am so glad that Justin Timberlake is BACK on the music scene. Yup, this was his year along with Eminem and Robin Thicke.


On that really nostalgic  note; Happy 2014 Everyone. Be Safe.

The Muse.

I am returning to work soon and I must admit, I’m absolutely looking forward to it because the month or so leave has been hella long. I love keeping my own company but not too much of it. No. Anyway, the time off has been greatly appreciated – creative wise. I have managed to make a believer out of myself with these words, ‘The muse visits during the act of creation, not before. Don’t wait for her. Start alone,’ by Roger Ebert ringing through my head.
Instead of writing about individual pieces, I have decided to share all of them at once even if they all were created on separate days, weeks with different moods. The proverbial ‘muse’ paid me a visit during this period and I went to work on nurturing my other skills – jewelry making.

From L-R: Button Bracelet, Rings, Necklace and Chain Bracelet.

Let’s start with the button bracelet. Most of you won’t believe that it is out of buttons because it looks really good and rich. I got the buttons off my sister’s sweater and I couldn’t wait to use them. With all my excitement, you’d imagine I’d get to it right away, no? Well, it took me awhile. The mood was never right. I don’t create just to create, I create when I feel it is time.
Then there was the little rings. To be honest, I just pimped up two plain adjustable silver rings. I added on this column of jewel stones and little flowers on both and they turned out amazing. It is the second time I do this with rings. First time was so long ago in that the ring even got stolen.
My first necklace! I’ve had the black squares sitting in my stuff for quite the longest time. They were a form of embellishment on a dress that I thought looked better without them. Besides, some of them had broken off so I proceeded to remove them entirely. Making this necklace was killer on my neck and nails. The process was painstakingly slow to say the least.
The little bracelet. I enjoyed making it. I got the little flowers and leaves to hang onto the chain from a pair of old earrings as I am in the process of getting rid of really old stuff. So, these little charms were quite the coup I needed to tweak up the chain.
I have enjoyed making all these pieces especially the necklace. I had never made one and to have it look really well done is unbelievable, so is the button bracelet. You know what really is exciting, knowing that most of my friends like everything and thinking I am a creative GENIUS!

Busy Little Bee.

Lately, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, enough to turn into one busy little bee. Aside from maintaining a facebook page, making tracks in my French lessons and doing my damnest to follow what’s going on with fashion week in the comfort of my room, sofa and telly. I have had a little time to return to my DIY box of knickknacks.
I did some of it in between all that and bouts of boredom especially when most of the Fashion week shows were on repeat! I usually tweet these pictures of how I  spend my time and I thought, 'why not share them here so you could all see what I get up to when bored?’ I still maintain that in another world or life, I would be a jewellery designer. Jewellery is my poison. Give me something good and I will love you for life! If not, I will at least remember you by it whenever I wear it.

Materials for the chains are from my mum's stuff.

September has come to an end and I am glad for it. I felt a little bit overwhelmed because it is fashion month. I had to be a little more attentive this time round for the other blog. Actually paying attention has made me realise a few things and also learn from it. I’ve realised that if you like what you do be it profitable or not, you try your hardest to be good at it, nurture it and make it into something to be proud of. You learn a few things along the way- things which enable growth especially where creativity is concerned. I also know now that what I did before was just a drop in the well!

I love the braided ones on the left. and the right, big beaded bracelet.

Most of my friends would check on me and ask how I was and I’d tell them I felt overwhelmed. I wouldn’t go into details because some of them would not get it. With the end of September comes the end of Fashion Week and month! I am quite looking forward to returning to my French lessons which I had to put off. I am making progress and surely proud of it. If you could know the dream for these French lessons, you would laugh. LOL! I tell a few people in an offhanded way to make it seem like a joke and something I am playing at – honestly, the French is something I would like to see bear fruit. Yes! InshaAllah.

DIY Phone Accessory!

I made my phone bling or accessory (which ever works for you) after the longest time. I can’t believe it took me a year, give or take a few extra months. I always make my phone accessories cause of the loose/ extra materials I collect from broken necklaces to a single earring left from the loss of a partner. I don’t believe in throwing away broken or used jewellery cause it turns up being good for something else.

My mum gave me a small set of beads in different shapes and sizes from one of her broken necklaces and I had a couple of little pearls and hearts lying around in my stuff. I got both my act and the pieces together, tapped into my creative side, added everything and voila…A large strand of phone accessory!

 After putting it all together and being very much in love with the finished product, I thought to myself; in a perfect world, I’d be a very successful jewellery designer. I love to create/design, it is one of those things that come so naturally to me. This is how I spent school weekends and most holidays; making jewellery among other things for myself which most of my friends invariably took.
It always felt good having my work, effort, creativity appreciated and loved. You never think it’d appeal to anyone other than yourself during the creation process.
Okay…moment of truth, what do y’all think? Do you Love or Not?!

First Loves

Before we grew up to become sophisticated young men and ladies. Before us girls discovered boys, and before we learnt how to deal with life's little stresses and problems. We had fun little hobbies that used to bring us pleasure every time we carried them out, when we were younger.

When I was younger, I used to draw as a hobby and I loved it. I would draw every weekend and possibly after classes sometimes at school. It’s something that used to make me relax and stop thinking of school problems and other issues that a young girl is sometimes forced to deal with.

As I grew up, dealing with high-school and later university, I stopped drawing. The urge would come to me now and then but I would rarely act on it. This doesn't mean I gave up on it or forgot entirely. Sometimes we have to prioritize and in this case; school had to come first because that laid the foundation of my entire life.

A few months back, my brother returned for vacation. He saw all my art books and asked if I still drew. Sadly, I answered him in the negative. His thinking was, I stopped because I had to deal with school and exams but that didn't mean I should give it up. He knew how passionate I was about it. I realized then that we should never completely give up on something that we love no matter how busy we are.

The funny thing is, a friend also reminded me of how good I was and the pleasure I used to gain from it. Inspiration is a funny thing. After having a good pep-talk with my best friend, ideas begun popping up as I felt the excitement build. I remembered how I would get excited about a design, the finished product. The rush to draw came back and I was happy about it. I had missed not being able to do so all those years that I had stopped.

However much we may be young ladies and men, try not to forget about the things you loved as a child. They are the ones that remind you of your childhood and sometimes you need them to remind you of your innocence.

PS: I would have loved nothing more than to use one of my sketches but I don't have them scanned maybe next time.