"Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it." ~ Tallulah Bankhead
It is now in the 20°F plus range here... so I guess it's a heat wave. My writing block has thawed, so I am continuing on with Secret Two of our Twelve Secrets of Highly Creative Women book club! See the link in the sidebar for more information and links to the other participants.
My thoughts on this week's keys to "Engaging Your Creativity" by "Honoring Your Inspiration":
Cultivating Attractions: I am definitely an observer in the world. Could be a reason that the scientific method was a draw for me. I am always open to the world around me. I almost stopped the other day in the middle of the innerbelt bridge to take a picture of the sunrise. Right there in the middle of the industrial basin of Cleveland's downtown, I saw the most brilliant orange and pink I have ever seen. Truly. But since I didn't want to cause an accident, I didn't capture it to share with you. Sorry.
I see things others don't. When I visited The Boy at school, we went to the sculpture lab. I took the photo above. The composition could be better, but the metal wall, and the colors and textures of the grinding wheels used to develop stone and other media just seemed to call to me all on their own. The Boy thought I was quite nuts. Why am I paying for an art school that doesn't teach him to see what I can see? I guess like Tallulah, I am my own unique me. Plus since he may see these items as simply a means to an end, he didn't view them as beautiful on their own.
Beauty is everywhere - and I do my best to seek it out. Otherwise I would be overwhelmed by the ugliness which is also all around us. Hatred, prejudice, anger, stupidity, we need a shield. For me, I need to see the beautiful colors and lines of graffiti and not the urban decay some think it represents. I once took a picture of a dead snake in the park because I was on a mission for "blue" things. (No really, the skin was iridescent and color was intense!) Why did it stop being beautiful just because of it's current bodily condition? I am sure that photo will pop up here eventually. Don't be afraid.
Practicing Play: I am not afraid to explore new things. How else can you learn? But, can you explain to me why it is that when someone is confident or at leat willing to stand out a wee bit and try things, others think that they have thick skin and cannot be hurt by words? People: think before you destroy someone with a careless word. Unless that person is literally driving over a cliff, don't tell them that they are if it is only your figurative interpretation of where they are headed artistically.
Communing with Your Senses and Nature: Again - I am all about communing with nature. My own senses? Not so much. The Boy is right about me needing to meditate on a regular basis. Approaching the "Personal Attractions" challenge to simply listen to my thoughts is virtually impossible right now. I truly do need to focus on building calm. I am in serious need of white space in my brain!
That being said, I am still in a stage where every medium is exciting to me. I am not in a place where I am limiting myself? Eventually I will settle, but right now, I am a pinball!
Taking Time to Capture Your Ideas: I have so many ideas for exploring my thoughts in my art journal. I will work not to censor myself there, because why bother if I do, right?
Creating a Sanctuary: I am in serious need of a sanctuary in our house. I will work on the "Building Your Sanctuary" challenge and get back to you. Everything is a process right?
Inventing Rituals: I have rituals. Here is how it goes when I am creating things:
I need new rituals. Think I'm going to try adding tea drinking at a minimum!
How you doing!?
12 comments:
First of all, I love the idea of beauty being our shield from hatred and ugliness.
Your "ritual" made me laugh. How wonderful to include procrastination, bring it in like a friend. It took me years to realize that the time I spent procrastinating was actually time for cooking ideas inside the brain-oven. It sometimes serves a purpose (in moderation of course!)
Finally, I love the photo you have here, what an eye you have. And I hope you post the snake photo soon - was it blue?
You have a wonderful eye for beauty. Love that picture! I think it says a lot about the individual person by what they choose to see. You choose to see the beauty instead of all the rest of it and that makes you a beautiful spirit.
I know how you feel about being a pinball. even though jewelry is my #1 choice, I still play with sewing and knitting and cooking and... there you go.
This is a great post. And I've been thinking lately about how the scientific process and the creative process aren't really so different from each other.
Plus thanks for your comment on my post about Luna Moth. You are totally right, by not accounting for the other phases of Luna's life, I was blind to the other phases of creativity that followed in the metaphor. Now I feel much better about being a grumpy caterpillar and a mopey chrysalis.
I think the composition of the photo is excellent. The contrasting colours. The warmth despite the context. To me, that is genius!
If tea drinking is the ritual you need, pour yourself a teacup and begin. We need your vision.
Your ritual sounds very similar to mine, lol, but I sometimes get stuck at the gathering part, allowing those gremlins to take over and prevent me from moving forward.
You inspire me to move forward, thank you!
I love your sense of wonder - that's what speaks to me as I read this post.
Holy cow girl - I have so many things I want to respond to in this post, I'd have to write more in response than you did! Can't you just come VISIT me and we can sit over that ritual tea drinking and CHAT!?! (read that in my whiny voice) I'll settle for just two comments here -
I didn't join the online book club but I did order the book from the library - hopefully it will arrive soon so I can play catch up. And if I think it's worth it, I'll get my own copy.
And second - there's this really annoying rule of life that the more beautiful the scene, the more dangerous the spot on the road you need to stop to capture it. It's true. Absolutely true.
you are right, beauty is everywhere if you choose to look for it ~ and you have a great eye for detail! i love the picture, something many others would have walked past without a second glance, yet you captured the beauty of it. thanks for sharing.
It is great that you see beauty everywhere! And so true that science and art are similar. I think being observant and sensitive to subtleties are what make an artist communicate well. your photo is pure magic!
It's not procrastination it's called 'getting in the zone' :) I do this before I do yoga and before making art. It's a bit like a dog turning around three times before they will sit down!
Once you've made your cup of tea, take a deep breath and inhale the scent of chai (or whatever) then exhale and begin.
I love how you say beauty is everywhere - so true! What a great reminder that the only way we can learn is to explore new things.
The fact that you added procrastination as a ritual made me giggle then realize yes! Why not? It is good to know others procrastinate and you aren't alone.
Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely everything is a process! look forward to hearing more about yours! :D Thanks for hanging out at my blog! :D
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