Are you stuck in the yes/no, right/wrong thoughtfield?

Hi everybody,

For my first blog I would like to talk about judging our art out of existence.  An all too common predicament!

When you start your creative pursuit are you relaxed?  The answer is probably no.  Most people take quite a while to disentangle themselves from the yes and no, right and wrong thought-field.  You are not required to compete – either with yourself or anyone else.  Can you get out of your head enough to enjoy the process and not set the goal of making a product?

Most  of us have a lifetime concern for achieving objectives and measuring one’s accomplishments in tems of money, awards, or recognitions.  Creating meaningful art, has nothing to do with that kind of process. Too often we treat the creative process as if we are accomplishing a task rather than enjoying an experience. 

The creative process can not be measured according to an objective, quantifiable standard.  Once you can accept that fact you are free to be truly creative.  I believe the creative process to be 80% mental and 20% physical.

I leave you with this thought:

“Pursuing perfect creative efforts is missing the point of the experience.  Forget the outcome, enjoy and work with complete abandon, you are not being graded.”  Christine Stoner

More on this topic tomorrow…

Artistic Problems

“When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” Samuel Johnson
Sometimes when you lack motivation to fix a problem, it can be that the problem is too big or too small. Small problems often simmer for years because the short term price of fixing them is less than the pain of having them unresolved.
We give up on big problems because we see them as far too difficult to solve. What would happen if you re-size your problem in order to solve it? More another day…..

art, music, literature, dance

“When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail.” Abraham Maslow
Changing the tools that you employ to solve a problem will change your thinking about it. Random tools are key in shaping ideas. You have probably used some specific techniques to solve problems. Your dependence on these old worn techniques is hiding some other interesting solutions. Forcing yourself to use a different tool can open up lots of new solutions.

Artists, Musicians, Writers, Dancers and all you insanely beautiful people!

“There is nothing that is a more certain sign of insanity than to do the same thing over and over and expect the results to be different” Albert Einstein
Are you doing the same old thing over and over with your writing, painting, drawing, dancing etc?
Why not try just cutting the corner off your methodology and trying something from left field. It may even create complete chaos, yet an unusual order which may allow you to work in a different way thus travelling in a new direction. Go to it! You’ve only something to gain and that is insight into that something unknown…..

For Artists, Musicians, Writers, Dancers etc.

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions”. Albert Einstein

A poem for artists

I saw this poem in a book yesterday, perhaps it relates to some, I know it did to me!

The Important People
I used to watch
the important people having lunch
and wished I could eat with them

I used to wonder what the important people said
and wished I could talk with them

I wanted to know
where the important people went
and wished I could go with them

I tried to guess
what the important people did
and wished I could do it with them

And now that I have lunch with them
and talk to them and go with them
I know that they look important
only from a distance

The important people
are no different from the people
who sat with me
when I used to watch
the important people having lunch

When you are comfortable in being your own person and doing your own thing you stop worrying about how you compare to others. When you quit this crazy comparing you are more likely to appreciate your own greatness and enjoy being acknowledged not just for what you do but for who you are. As artists, we can be seen as “quirky” by some, that’s what makes us so appealing, we are different!

Yin and Yang for artists

Yin and yang have been used by the Chinese for many years to describe the relationship between interconnected cyclical events. The two opposing yin and yang elements, like night and day, cycle through periods of strength and periods of weakness. When one element is at its peak, the seed is being sown for its decline and for the opposing element to gain in strength.

Yes, we see Yin and Yang all around us, night and day; tide in and out, a waxing and waning moon. How could we know happiness if we haven’t known unhappiness? How could we know light if we haven’t experienced dark? This Yin and Yang applies to all of life and especially to the economic woes we presently experience. We have had the good times, now we must see the reverse (and some learning can come of it.) Unhappiness is a chance to see the situation differently and from under the surface, a chance to grow and learn. This is the law of nature with which we are totally connected and a part of.
So, if your work sucks as I write, do not lose heart, you are changing and evolving, good times are ahead!

For Artists – A Way In

For many, the simple act of using their higher creative mind allows for gentle yet powerful changes in one’s life. For when we open ourselves to creativity, we open up to our divine inner selves and the creativity held within us and our lives. Being creations, we are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves. Any act of pure creative expression that comes from within is an excellent doorway into your Inner Garden. And it all begins ery simply with you, exactly as you are right now. May you have peace on your journey inward.

An Artist’s Blocks to Creativity II

Creativity can be hampered by a too hectic environment that does not provide quiet time for reflection and introspection. It is also hampered by:
A sterile environment that does not feed the senses. Is your home minimalist style with no plants, rocks, wood or fresh air? Or is it “too hectic” in that it is cluttered with stuff that attracts dust and confusion?

Demands for quick production of results. Do you demand of yourself, “I must finish this piece by Thursday”? Do “shoulds” and “musts” rule your life?

Harsh words from ourselves or others. Do you swear and curse at yourself silently? Do you swear and curse at others and sometimes not silently? Do others swear and curse at you?.. not good and very destructive to any creative effort.

Live by rijid rules and barriers that prevent you from gathering information and/or from connecting to others? Do you cherish your inbuilt flexibility to go with the flow yet still retain a somewhat sane lifestyle? An atmosphere of “flow” is conducive to great ideas. In other words, can you allow situations to “play themselves out” rather than taking control to get the result you want?

Of course you do none of these things because you’re a true artist in every sense of the word!

An artist’s obstacles and view of him or herself

Most of the obstacles to creativity can be found within you. Some of them are:
. fear of criticism
. lack of confidence
. state of mind (e.g. experiencing negative stress)

Probably the biggest creativity stiffler is our belief that we are not creative. See it this way, if you tell yourself that you are a “creative person” then you have beliefs about yourself that support that identity. If you tell yourself “I am just an ordinary geek” well then you seek out the skills needed to express this identity and belief. “Ordinary geek skills” where do you find them and why would you want to?

If you believe you are creative then there is no need to learn how to become uncreative….if that makes sense?

An artist’s blocks to creativity

I have read lots about how to become more creative but recently found an interesting article on creativity stifflers (is that a word?)

What took my interest was the quote: “Experts and consultants should be viewed as collaborators, not dictators. If you rely on someone else to solve your problems and tell you what to do, your creative abilities will shrivel rather than flourish from lack of exercise.”

Is there someone telling you what to do? And do you follow along just to keep the peace? Well then, perhaps your creative abilities are “shrivelling rather than flourishing from lack of exercise.”
The more you depend on your own ability to think, the more proficient you will become at thinking up new ideas. And that’s what being creative is….seeing the familiar in a new way. The question is, does the way you interact with others affect your craft?