Let me tell you a story that starts with the elf in my house and ends with your artist mindset.
These are this year’s gingerbread house and the elf on the shelf in our home.
And I don’t think you will judge me, right? 
I know, the gingerbread house somehow never quite looks like the cover image on the box it came in.
And my elf never sits in a tub or wears a fancy dress, performing some kind of genius trick like you see all over social media during this time of the year.
—He always just sits or lies somewhere high so the kids won’t be able to touch him.
Our elf is lazy. 
But I don’t care.
You know why? Because my kids love them!
They love the tradition of making a gingerbread house every year. They love the thrill of being the first one to find the elf, even though they know it’s us, mommy and daddy, changing his location every night.
It’s the simple act of doing our holiday tradition that makes them happy.
How about when you make a messy, bad painting?
On average, one in four of my paintings is unsalvageable—doesn’t matter how hard I tried and how many hours I spent on it.
But I still go to my studio every day to paint.
Why? Because it’s the simple act of aligning with my creative inner child that brings me joy, just like making messy gingerbread houses and finding our not-fancy elf brings joy to my children.
As artists, we tend to have a lot of self-doubt, comparison, and judgment.
May we all remember the simple joy of creating for creating’s sake.
My children never once complained that their elf doesn’t do tricks, and they never once were disappointed with their messy gingerbread house.
Let’s be like children.
With that, I hope you have a wonderful, joyful Christmas and a happy new year!!
Love
Ying
PS: I have big plans for next year to bring more golden art nuggets and excitement to this community. Do you have any suggestions for my content? Simply reply to this email. I’d love to hear them!
