For the youths.
When you hear, “This is how I made it”
Don’t be fooled!
You have only heard one out of the five ingredients.
You will only make it,
if you discover your own other four.
You will have to:
a) define what is success to you
b) how rich you really want to be & purpose
c) how to solve your OWN peculiar problems and
d) how providence plays out in your journey.
This is less frustration, as not all you are told may add up.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
There comes a time in your life,
you will be isolated from your loved ones.
It could be scary for many people especially
if you are elderly or an extrovert.
What could bring about such isolation?
Many reasons.
You are posted out of base because of a new job assignment
before your loved ones join you eventually.
Your people have a cause to travel and you are “home alone”.
And it is the first time in your many years
of being in the company of your wife, husband, children,
and friends even your partner at work.
It can be debilitating if you depend on such individuals
for helping you out with tasks and companionship.
If this experience should arise, it would come.
I read of late where some people were relating
their sober feelings, as their long term friends —
having passed to the great beyond.
The emptiness that creeps in.
This applies more to the elderly though.
The true friends to relate with and
you find that you miss them even if you were at
loggerheads with such individuals.
Now this…
From now put it on your mind, the
possibility of being alone.
Start being active in things or relating with others —
to engage yourself in your solitude
even if your loved ones and friends are still around.
Learn a skill, may be painting, crafting, writing,
gardening, sports, volunteering and so on.
Hobbies that you enjoy — that demand your
full attention even when your loved ones or
friends are just around the corner.
Be intentional about this…
Create that atmosphere once in a while.
Study the feelings you get, so that,
should such a separation either temporarily or
permanently occur, you will be able
to cope both physically and emotionally.
Activities you come up with during
“time-out” exercise, will enable
you to know yourself and how to cope with yourself.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
In my opinion, there is nothing like the best perfume for anybody!
There are thousands of scents or fragrances out there, no doubt.
But when you enter a perfume store near you or
choose to buy a perfume online the varieties can be very intimidating.
You probably don’t know what to pick.
Having said that…
Let me give you a short guide.
do not necessarily mean you’ll like them.
Therefore, discovering your choice is about looking
for the personality you want to project.
that covers you many hours or days.
But there are some products with subtle scent and
that means you have a bottle with you to pat your body
with during the course of your day.
Subtle sweet smelling tends to wear out quickly.
So the choice is yours and it’s all about your personality.
Since you are unique,
luckily you can discover your own preference
amongst the many scents out there, waiting for you.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
There are very bad people whom
you can’t threaten by wishing them dead.
You will have to wait forever,
as these unrepentant ones continue to do more damage.
They can’t be moved!
While they are aware of their evil acts and possible
repercussion of being paid back in their own coins,
some of them strongly feel nothing bad will come their way.
It is their perception of life.
So what do you do, when you find such unrepentant
and wicked people in your circle or society?
Simply treat them like a bull in a china shop!
Before they carry out more irreparable damage,
you have to avoid them or simply lure them out.
Then, isolate them.
In addition, if you can,
make them lose their nefarious power
of creating more damage.
You deserve fresh air instead of this people.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
There are so many contemporary African artists and
painters scattered across Africa, in the Americas and
the rest of the world.
The online platform has brought collectors to
the artist’s doorsteps and at convenience for all.
Let me digress a little bit.
Before now many artists had never made an inroad
into the collector’s space.
Also, reputable galleries have a hard time
in discovering the up and coming creative individuals.
The resources may not even be there to investigate
and locate these African artists.
There are also the challenges of logistics in
getting across to them.
Yet their works are profound, instructive
and have great appeal for the soul.
For instance, it was by the very conscious effort of
late Okwui Enwezor who brought more African artists and
others at the fringes to the attention of the art world.
In 2002, Okwui, as a curator, cherry picked
fringe artists of diverse styles to exhibit at the
Documenta 11 at Kassel in, Germany.
May his soul rest in peace!
(Yours truly also exhibited his photographic works
at that big five yearly event.)
Today, many artists still struggle for recognition
and attention for their works.
The alternative route beyond the physical galleries
includes the online galleries and the social media,
such as Instagram.
These are managed by the artists themselves;
while some are hosted by third party website platforms
such as Saatchi and a few others.
Many even make their artworks available as
merchandise such as T-Shirts and more.
So you can now have at your finger tip quality
African paintings and artworks,
even prints by African artists, right where you are.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
Living and life is never clockwork.
Your mind is loaded.
Your focus is being distracted, here and there.
You have a schedule of goals and time frame.
But… battling distractions is becoming more difficult for you.
So, you around for solutions.
Some of these are:
Wishful thinking will not boil a piece of rock
even in a pressure cooker.
You need to work.
Of course there are days you
just won’t feel like doing anything!
You don’t have to be ill or in a bad mood.
But you just can’t get yourself to do anything.
You simply want to sit down, play
or just wander in your thoughts.
Targets and goals you had earlier mapped out
are left unattended to.
Peaceful you feel, but also feeling guilty as
you think of lost time, never to be regained.
Now, what has life taught me about this scenarios?
Hear me out…
There are many elements that control us or influence
our day to day existence.
Everybody tries.
We all try to do our best to be productive.
We are not talking about lazybones who are not
worthy of emulation here.
So what do you do if you feel lethargic?
As long as there is no threatening situation
you must attend to; let your soul flow.
I personal have developed this sweet habit.
I sit comfortably in my chair, in a quiet place,
putting my phone aside, and just allow my mind to wander.
I have a piece of paper and pen to scribble whatever.
I may sleep off or not.
I pardon myself of not meeting up with my schedule
of productivity.
But rest assured that there is a consolation.
That you can’t do your best, with a heavy mind trying
to resolve some subconscious issues.
When you are in the clear, you will know.
The mental energy resumes.
The inertia gradually comes.
Fear is reduced.
And you get back to your being focused
on fine-tuned activities.
Let your soul speak to you.
Let your soul return the spark to your consciousness,
your mind and physical body.
Enjoy your melancholic mood.
Enjoy your wandering mind.
A subtle moment will kick you to resume your activities.
Trust me it is never a wasted period for
your productivity and mental well-being.
Your life is not lived by a list of “what to do”,
all the time.
Our essence, circumstance and elements
around us affect and influence us, whether we
are conscious or not.
Smart people ride the waves of these moods.
And it shouldn’t be frequent, though
So watch out for this.
And become focused again.
Let me hear from you as a high achiever.
How do you handle these hesitant moments
of your wandering mind and lethargy?.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
False Relief.
These days, we slip into our phones – as an escape –
while not giving a “timeout” and thoughts
to solve our personal problems.
It is a battle we must be aware of.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
You can buy your art from a reputable gallery,
directly from the artist or buy from an auction house.
Today, artworks and paintings are increasingly being collected
through online gallery but you must apply caution.
Art and paintings being a physical item,
you probably want to touch and feel.
But by virtue of distance from a gallery of your choice,
or limited collections in a gallery,
then an online gallery is the way to go.
You may ask for the assistance of a genuine art expert
who could put you through.
However the final decision and choice ought to be yours.
If it is for investment purposes, it is only a guess
how the art work in question and the artist would be
in a higher demand and the future price.
And if auction houses are interested in reselling
such works that would be a welcome expectation.
If you are collecting for the joy the artwork brings you,
that is also a good thing.
In fact, in many cases, most people buy paintings for beautify
their spaces and for emotional connections.
There are reputable online galleries or an extension of
their physical gallery of reputable ones.
What you do is take your time to go through their collections
if you are in their physical premises or through their free catalogue
if you request for them.
And again, you can browse through their websites
safely and shortlist your preferences.
And place your order for your collections.
You are only debited after receiving the work
and you are satisfied with it.
The online galleries serve as major advantages for many artists.
There are no gatekeepers being curators and gallery owners.
This is good for upcoming artist and African artists
and others around the world.
You as a collector have much choice, at your fingertips.
If an artist has built up a reputation, you can order
from his or her website.
Upcoming artists, contemporary artists from Africa and others
use third party reputable online galleries like Saatchi
as an intermediary to sell their works.
Fine art America is another one too.
As for me my works are on the platform on Saatchi Online,
when my work is sold.
I ship to the collector and once he is happy with it;
days after, Saatchi is notified and I get paid.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
Trifold wallets for men are folded in two places.
They give room for more slots for your coins, paper money and cards.
They can also have a buttoned flap to cover the whole wallet,
for additional protection.
Depending on the design and the thickness of the leather,
it may not necessarily be bulky.
Some people may also get their wallets engraved or personalized
with their initials or name.
A very well handmade wallet is a lasting gift for a husband,
friends and loved ones.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?
Having a wrist watch is a common fashion accessory in our world of today.
They come in leather, metal straps or even nylon.
And more materials.
To choose amongst them depends on many factors.
• And more reasons.
My advice is that if the design of your watch allows it,
you could go for any materials for your strap.
Metal or chain straps come in different glittering makes;
and you could be ok with that.
Some chain straps are subdued in appearance though.
On the other hand, leather straps are a choice
for those who like that classic look.
Leather straps could be in real, exotic animals skin or faux (not real) .
Your taste and budget are yours.
However, real leather grows with you if well made,
especially if it is hand sewn.
As it ages, it has a patina in appearance – vintage.
And that commands respect with a lot of stories
of your journey while using it.
The patina shines, as it has absorbed your sweat,
the atmospheric materials and develops a character of its own.
You can see this in old leather wallets, shoes and so on.
But if you have a sensitive skin, you may not go for leather.
Go for the steel or nylon straps.
However if you desire leather by all means, use where you
wouldn’t sweat too much or in a hot or humid environment.
If you can change the strap of your watch, then you can interchange as you feel.
I leave you with these designs of mine.
May be you’ll like them.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?