10 Tips For Maintaining a Writing Practice

October 18, 2019 Melissa LuVisi

I truly love writing… most of the time. But it is like exercise, it is something that has to be done regularly (if you are an aspiring writer) and it is not always enjoyable. Last week was hard for me. All it takes is one emotional blow or a bad day at work and the last thing I want to do is sit down and get my daily writing done. It can easily become an internal fight. Which is why I’m spending this quarter focusing on habit building. Right now, I’m not concerned about the quality of work. I’m concerned about consistency, habits and frankly- showing up.

I put together this post to jam out some writing and share 10 tips to help you commit to the writing groove.

Sacramento Artist Spotlight: Sarah Golden

October 18, 2018 Melissa LuVisi

Before I went on my writing hiatus I met with Sacramento’s artist Sarah Golden. I first saw her work at the Urban Hive, a local co-working space. Normally, I’m not drawn to a pale palette or the color pink (which was prominent in this particular series) but her work stopped me dead in my tracks. The first series I saw used color and simple shapes to pull the viewer in closer to the canvas. I was surprised at how moved I was by her work. It’s stunning.

Abstract work is a hard sell for some people. If I had a dollar for every-time I heard someone say, ‘Oh I could do that,’ I’d be rich. The thing about abstract work is that it comes down to the artists’ style and use of composition. It’s almost like a signature. Sarah’s abstract paintings remind me of poetry or music. Her use of negative space weaves your eye in and out and around corners.

Let's be a little more like Bansky!

October 9, 2018 Melissa LuVisi

We all need to give less fucks.

If you know me, you know that in moments of discouragement or frustration, I turn to art. Lately, I’ve been learning a thing or two from Banksy, an artist notorious for his political street art and controversial pop-ups. Bansky, who once broke into a museum and installed a fake painting that sat on display for months before it was noticed. Banksy, who recently installed a shredder into the frame of one of his own works so that the piece would self-destruct after being sold at auction. Like Damien Hirst and Marcel Duchamp, he gets his audience thinking.

Are there people in your life trying to dictate how you should be living? Are there voices casting judgement on your dreams? Audit the naysayers. Take charge, like Banksy, and don’t let a stuffy, fearful culture keep you from experimenting, taking risks, and having fun.

I was going through an awful depression last year, and there were people spreading rumors, saying cruel things about my running my social media marketing business, raising my brother and purposely trying to damage my reputation in a small community. I’ll be honest and take accountability, my reaction was full of self-deprecating victimization and I defensively said some not nice things while drinking copious amounts of booze. Not my proudest moment. However, once I finally got myself out of bed, I realized….I don’t want to be that person in anyone’s life and we all are capable of growth!

Practice Makes a Habit!

October 3, 2018 Melissa LuVisi

Like anything, writing is a practice and an art. It takes daily commitment in order to grow.

6-7 months ago I accepted a job to help run a software company as the head of marketing and sales. Doesn’t that sound glamours? Even though it’s dental software, I love it! Because I love business, watching something grow and ultimately at the end of the day helping others run their businesses well.

Before accepting this job, I was running Lu Curates Media. My own media company! I was writing copy for a multitude of clients across a wide range of industries. My clients over the years included a purse company from Tel Aviv, Israel, a major department/discount store with over 100 locations in the South, art galleries (of course) and non-profits.

In writing their newsletters, blogs and social media copy, it was hard to scrape out the words for my own blog but I at least I had a little more flexibility to do it. Or so I thought, or is that just an excuse to justify my not pursuing something I value?

I recently finished this book named, “Girl, Wash Your Face!” by Rachel Hollis. Heard of it? (I’m also doing her #Last90days DM for deets) It has come into my life exactly when I needed it too. I have written 3-4 versions of this blog post and it’s been filled with excuses for why I took a break from writing.

I strongly, and deeply believe that we are the curators of our own lives but we have to stop making excuses or lying to ourselves. If it’s a mental health issue, an unhealthy relationship or a bad eating habit. We can’t just continue to let these things run our lives and stop us from doing the things we love. I love writing, doing business and hope that this blog inspires people to start curating their own lives. Let’s do it together!

What’s your art? What drives you creatively? And what can you do today to take one more step towards that thing?

Today, I’m writing and posting this blog post

Art Factoids

September 26, 2018 Melissa LuVisi

In my post last week about SF, I made a little art historical reference that may have been missed by some. One thing that is incredibly annoying about the artworld is it’s pretentious intellectual currency. There is an air the permeates these circles making it hard for commoners such as myself to break-in. I always have a hard time wrapping my head around it. Now that I officially do marketing and sales for a living I can’t help but wonder from a business and industry standpoint - don’t we want the masses to buy more art? Don’t we want people to become collectors so more artists can subsidize their lives and world becomes filled with more creative energy?!