Insecurity is Essential to Creativity
There is a lot of talk about the confidence it takes to be a maker, but Christoph Niemann points out the necessity of insecurity.
Fruitful Monotony
It has been a long time since I have read Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness and his reference to fruitful monotony. I am thinking of it this morning, as my period of retreat with my paintings will soon come to an end.
The Poetry of Handwriting
Handwriting is returning to its ancient magic– now that keyboards are dominant, young people are fascinated with hand written forms.
The Herald's Summons
The herald, or announcer of the adventure...is often dark...or terrifying; ...yet if one could follow, the way would be opened through the walls of the day into the dark where the jewels glow. *
This painting is part of a series I am working on. There will be 22 paintings representing each of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. For those of you unfamiliar with the Tarot, arcana means secret. The archetypal images in a Tarot deck, for example– The Hermit– have no fixed meaning, but just as in a dream, have a particular message for you each time you choose this card. One discovers the meaning of the image in a similar way that you go about unraveling a dream. A good painting operates by the same process: you discover something new each time you see it.
Leaping Greenly Spirits of Trees
I am not sure what prompted me to sign up for the Tarot Conclave in Philadelphia. My concerned friends asked me some pointed questions. My husband, fairly indignant at my having just touched down from Santa Fe, had some more. I normally travel for the art classes I teach, and they are carefully planned and scheduled well in advance. But, like work with the Tarot, this was intuitive and completely spontaneous. I simply packed my sketchbook and went; not even I knew what to expect.
No Praise, No Blame
William Stafford's philosophy of teaching, "no praise, no blame" is something I aspire to. He felt it is not our job, as teachers, to deal out praise or blame, but rather to create an atmosphere where, in the end, the teacher is envious of the work the students have done. I want to cultivate an environment that is not oriented to what others' think, or what the teacher thinks– but that arises from the inside, brings out surprises, and elicits the best each student has to offer. "I would rather be envious of my students' work than encouraging them." (Wm. Stafford)
The Silver Apples of the Moon
After teaching a class at Ghost Ranch, I was invited to stay in Taos at the Mabel Dodge Luhan Retreat, where I will be teaching next May. I was walking with Marguerite in downtown Taos when we wandered into the Ortenstone Delattre Gallery. Neither of us had ever been there, or ever heard of Pierre Delattre. He was sitting behind his desk and stood up to greet us– shining silver hair, shining eyes. In retrospect, it is like the archetypal stories where the children lose their way and find themselves inside a magic castle or enchanted forest. I was instantly spellbound, and wanted to see everything that was in this gallery.
This Isn't A Contest
There is a way to come back to ourselves, to create with gusto, when the world can feel like a giant steam roller of information and competition. This weekend a couple of our friends, who have converted a room in their home into a gallery, invited about a dozen of us to come over and see the exhibit, drink some wine, eat fresh baked bread, and have a conversation. It wasn't about evaluating the work, dealing out praise or blame, or selling. It was about ideas and friendship, creativity and play. I made discoveries about other artists that enlivened me. Our friends even re-designed the labels for the wine they served:
"You Can't Discover the Product Until You're Making It" –Stephen Colbert
There was an article this week in the NY Times on Stephen Colbert's new role as the host of "The Late Show". In spite of the fact that he has been preparing all summer, he said: You can't discover the product until you're making it. This is the one of the characteristics of art, whether it is music, painting, teaching or theatre– if you already know what you are going to do, it loses vitality, and the delight of surprise. It is the paradox of being immersed in preparedness and open to the moment. This is both terrifying and a relief– for when we can forget about ourselves and the thing we are making, we become a vessel for creation– which is always more than we could imagine.