artists Archives - Adulting: Second- Half

Creatives

I saw this beautiful passage the other day. It’s all over the internet but unfortunately, I do not know whom to attribute it to – maybe the artist/writer did that on purpose??? The other day, I purchased a fabric/textile piece of art on eBay. I haggled with the seller because as much as I was intrigued by the item, I did not recognize the artist’s name. The eBay seller had a lot of flea market, vintage type items and I assumed that this piece was something which they had picked up at a yard sale or such. The seller sold it to me at a lower price, but when I received the gorgeous, one-of-a-kind item, I got a note from the artist. This is an excerpt from the note: “Dear K, I just wanted to say thank you. These are my creations and not massed produced. I go by a pseudonym to keep my identity private. I have been creating art in various forms for many years. Fiber arts is my newest medium. My work has been featured in Time Magazine and other international publications. I’ve sold to clients around the world, but it was time for a change . . . . .Blessed be (and it was signed with the pseudonym in parentheses) P.S. – You can reach me through my friends on eBay for now.”

My fellow creatives (and that includes just about everybody, in one way or another), don’t dim your light. Don’t be your own harshest critic. Hone your own beautiful, unrepeatable, “unique brand of magic.” If this is too daunting for the self-recriminating, self-conscious part of you, create a pseudonym. Get an alter-ego. Have a pen name. Do whatever you need to do to release that part of you that is dying to connect with the Creative Intelligence which is energizing and teeming, all over this world. We are all part of it, and we all need the fullest version of your part of it. I saw another quote that goes along with this theme and once again, I can’t find its source:

“Applaud creativity, even when its results bother you.”

Creativity is Life.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

2330. Have you ever played the bongos?

Overlooked Superstars

“It happens all the time. Superstars get overlooked. The passersby rush past the musical genius playing on the sidewalk. The future bestseller sits at the bottom of a slush pile. Groundbreaking work is met with skepticism or ignored. It all presents an opportunity for the intuitive and aware. Be on the look-out for the good stuff. Be the one who sees it, senses it, lives it.” – Holiday Mathis

Whenever I’m in a quandary about what to write about on the blog, I go to Holiday Mathis’ daily horoscopes. She typically writes something profound (such as above) before she even gets to the individual astrological signs. Some of the best music that I have ever heard, some of the best artwork which I have ever seen, and some of the best words I have ever read, have come from obscure places such as street corners, graffiti walls and out-of-print books that I picked up at a garage sale.

When we were away last week, sitting in a swanky hotel, two extremely stylish women decked out in pricy, designer gear from head to toe, were gushing to me about a ring that I was wearing on my right hand. I had two rings on, one expensive, beautiful 14K gold ring bedazzled with diamonds and the other one, a hammered brass ring, holding a broken shell, that I had purchased from an artsy street fair in a local town a couple of years ago. I asked the regal looking women which ring they were inquiring about, and it was the street fair ring. They wanted to know the maker, and unfortunately, I had no idea. The artist had not put a maker’s mark on it. I do love the ring though. It is truly one-of-a-kind. It is special.

I love to support the underdog, especially in the arts. If someone’s creative work touches me, I do everything that I can to support it, whether that means a purchase, a compliment, a nice tip, a referral/promo, etc. It takes courage to put one’s creations out into the public. To do this opens a creator up to criticism, to ridicule, to rejection and creating takes a lot of time to do, without the likelihood of great reward in return for their time and effort. This is why I believe that we miss out on so much of what the world and all of its individual creators could offer to us. We often respect and worship all of the wrong people/places/stuff. We get a lot of copycats and a lot of same old/same old. And thus, we don’t get inspired to be more creative and imaginative, ourselves.

Go to Etsy and look up something you like, say perhaps, “turtles.” You won’t believe the offerings that you will find, in every kind of art form, at truly reasonable prices. Go to local hole-in-the-wall restaurants that aren’t chains. You might taste flavors like you have never experienced before in any kind of restaurant. Pause and listen to that saxophonist on the corner. Many famous stars today, including Justin Bieber, were originally street performers. And if you find a creator that really impresses you, support them, any way that you can. It means so much to them. And honestly, it means so much to the world.

Even if you don’t like astrology, go to Holiday Mathis’ website and just read her opening paragraph every day. In my opinion, she’s a writer and a thinker and a wise woman who deserves a whole lot more attention. She’s a star among those who write about the stars. And also, allow yourself to put your own creations “out there”. If nothing else, this will help you to appreciate, even more so, the bravery, the vulnerability, and the imaginative effort and sacrificial time, the creators whom you admire, have in spades, by the offerings which they give to all of us. Creators give us an intimate piece of themselves.

(It is my belief that WE are the vehicles of creations for our Creator. Do not withhold your gifts, and also, bring attention to other creators’ gifts. The world will be a much better place for it.)

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

2481. Would you join in a revolution?

Monday – Funday

Our youngest son was here at our house yesterday, helping us to put up Christmas decorations and to watch some football with his Dad. I asked him what he thought about yesterday’s blog.

“It was great,” he said.

“What did you think about the poem?” I asked.

“Mom, I didn’t read the poem. I consider you to be like a version of SparkNotes,” he responded.

That gave me a giggle, and then I started thinking to myself, wouldn’t that be a wonderful pseudonym to write under: “Spark Notes.” ” Sparky Notes.” “S. Park Notes”

In other news, I mentioned that I read a lot this weekend. An amazing artist and painter, Paul Lewin, was interviewed in Spirituality & Health magazine, and he was asked this question:

“What would you tell readers who are interested in making art but just don’t know where to begin?”

His answer: “I would suggest starting with something simple and enjoyable, something that is free from the pressure of needing it to turn out “good.” Learning to enjoy the process is one of the most crucial aspects of living a creative life.

When I was growing up, the concept of having hobbies was much more popular, something that you did for pure self-enjoyment either by yourself or with friends for a fun time. Nowadays it feels like there is a constant pressure to make everything “good” enough to post on social media. I couldn’t imagine having such high expectations for my art during my early years of creating art.”

The author Matt Haig talks about his when he came back to playing the piano after years of staying away from it, because he felt that he would never be a good enough pianist to become famous. He writes this:

” . . . I have access to the ability to play music, and enjoy playing music and that is enough. The joy of the music is in the music. The playing of it. The listening to it. And it is a joy with a wide open door, welcoming all.”

I have recently started taking art classes after a long hiatus of doing any type of visual art. It was something that I dabbled in more when I was younger, but then I became a mother of four and that’s when I put my focus more on my children’s art and their creative abilities. (and this is not something that I say with pride. If you are a young mother or young father, keep up with your own creative pursuits and interests, as well as you can, despite your busy schedules. It is honestly not fair to yourself, nor to your family, to “lose yourself” in them and their pursuits.) I honestly started taking the painting class that I take now, out of curiosity and for the excitement of lighting up my creative spark. And I love the class. But I have noticed that there sometimes is an air of “I must achieve” in the classroom. Comparison of end-products happens. People discuss their art backgrounds, and art degrees, and level of competency, and ability to sell paintings, and making “framable” works, and I’m not immune to this underlying feeling of competition, and also insecure feelings of inadequacy. Interestingly, it is the days that I go to art class, feeling just the vital need to get “lost” a little bit in a creative pursuit, with no thought as to the outcome, and no notice of the distractions outside of me, that I often produce my best work. And the end-product doesn’t even matter at that point. Usually I just smile down at my painting, and it smiles back at me and it seems to say, “Yep, you enjoyed the process of getting lost in making me, didn’t you? Wasn’t it fun? Wasn’t it magical? Isn’t life just grand?”

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Notebooks and Knickknacks

I know that I have a fair amount of fellow writers who follow this blog. Thank you. I feel so honored by this fact. I was thumbing through my current “inspirational notebooks” (see above) realizing that I would have to start a new one soon. I only have a few pages left in this one. My inspirational notebooks are a huge part of my writing process. Anytime I see a thought provoking quote, or I get a meaningful greeting card from someone, or a particular picture in a magazine moves me, I tape it, or I handwrite it into my notebooks. (I probably have about 3-4 filled notebooks now) Obviously, my notebook is messy and scribbly. It’s just for me. It’s not a scrapbook. It’s not for show. (I’m not nearly that neat nor patient.) Also, I’m an old fashioned gal. I like tactile stuff. I like paper calendars and pretty folders where I keep longer printed articles. I like to touch and hold things that have meaning to me. I remember things better if I hand write them. Here are a couple of recent quotes I quickly jotted down in my current notebook seen above:

“There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.” – Chris Morley

“Fate described – No matter how hard you try to for something not to happen and it happens anyway.” – Kristin Fontana (I thought that is was a really interesting take on “fate.” Fate is usually used in a romantic context, like “It was fate that they should be together.” Usually I think that fate would be described as a happening occuring, despite all odds, because it is just meant to be. But, in these last few years of witnessing loved ones suffering from serious illnesses, I understand Kristin’s description of fate, much better, unfortunately.)

Since I just shared these quotes on the blog, I write a light squiggly line through them, so that I remember not to repeat them here, but I can still read them, and let them continue to inspire me. I refer back to my notebooks many times. As my regular readers know, I consider this blog and my notebooks to be my “museums of thought.” My notebooks are my own personal “museums of me.”

On an aside, the sea turtle peering at my notebook in the video is one of my many knickknacks. I wish that I weren’t a knickknack lady, but I am totally and completely a knickknack lady. My knickknacks inspire me like my notebooks inspire me, plus I love to support local artists, and small shops, and antique collectors. The sea turtle was being sold by a street artist at a local fair. It’s paper mache and I adore him and his sweet face. The artist was an older, bearded man who almost seemed shocked that I wanted to purchase his little paper creation. Unfortunately, he wasn’t getting many visitors to his small, inconspicuous stand. I was thrilled to make him happy and I am grateful that he was willing to sell the sea turtle to me. I love my happy, little sea turtle (and the artist loved the sea turtle). We creators know that we are bravely giving away a little bit of ourselves (and a little bit of sweet, vulnerable love) with each of our creations that we share with the world.

Now circling back to my fellow writers, what is your writing process? What inspires you? How do you keep your notes? Is everything in your head? Computer files? Do you allow yourself to be inspired in your own special way? Are there new processes which you can utilize to dig deeper into getting to know your truest self, and thus helping you to find your truest writing “voice”? Answer me in my comments, if you like, but most importantly, answer these questions for yourself.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Strikes Me

This was artwork posted on Twitter this morning. It struck me. I had to pause on it. I love it. Do you know what I do when I find artwork like this, when I am scrolling on Twitter? I print it out. I paste these pictures that wow me, into my journals, on my calendar, in various notebooks, so that in times that I just need the pick-me-up of visual candy that is just my taste, I have it right in front of me, to peruse and to enjoy. Artists are so generous to freely share their beautiful works. Sometimes I look for ways to buy or to support their work, whenever I can, because they make my world a more special place. Creative people make us look at the ordinary, in extraordinary ways. And oftentimes they do it for free. They do it because they love to do it and they are compelled to do it because they are deeply connected to their truest selves. And that’s why we feel so moved by their creations. It comes from an otherworldly, eternal place which we sometimes forget about its existence. Artists are the reminders of the beauty surrounding us, and the beauty within us.

And Think Smarter posted this great reminder on Twitter:

We are taking our youngest child of four to college on Friday, as she opted to start in the summer for a lot of good reasons. My emotions this week are Hurricane Mama. But I keep reminding myself that is because I have experienced so much love, and so much pride, and a load of growth, and constant wonder raising this family whom I love more than life itself.

What Think Smarter didn’t say, in this particular post, is that “The price of safety and comfort, is banality, and dullness, and having to live with the “what ifs” and the “I wonders.” Always live fully. Always live life to the fullest. It’s worth the risks and the losses. It is.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.