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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Letter for a year from now


I wrote myself a letter as a part of the 52 Weeks of Pagan Art Journaling project.  My letter is meant to be both the first page and the last page I read when I pick up my journal in the future.  It's more about the value of working on a sustained creative project that about the exploration of my spiritual path.  I've spent lots of time thinking and writing about spirituality not as much thinking about and appreciating my creative experiences.

I often stop at the end of a wonderful creation and sort of nod, "Hmm, that came out well" and then immediately think "what has gone undone while I was creating and enjoying myself?"


I look on my creativity as a habit that causes me to loose track of things and screw up.  That hardly ever actually happens anymore.


Even the parents who nurtured this "don't go nuts, talent isn't accomplishment" attitude now make more of what I create than I do.


In doing this, I am robbing myself of satisfaction and of ownership of some pretty powerful skills.



I have 52 weeks to practice embracing my creativity and seeing it through other people's eyes might be a big part of that.


If I really listen to the comments of the people who see my work, I might begin to tune into the "be proud of yourself for creative things too" channel.   That would be terrific for me.

4 comments:

  1. OK - seriously. How can you not see the talent yo have here. You've let us peek at your BoS which is a work of art as well as a functional tool. You can make sense of a loom, and the letter you have here is lovely to look at as well. I like how the colours swirl together and give a dreamy feel to the note. You had a post the other day about rock walls - I studied the photos for a long time and was inspired to make a point of going out to a ruined old house near me to get some pictures (in the spring - there is an old wreck of a cherry tree in the 'yard'). Your photography is always sharp and compelling...I could go on but I think you get the point.
    Sadly, creative talent isn't a valued trait in modern society which is probably why you don't feel proud of it. Most consider it somewhat fluffy and superfluous. A nice to have, but not really necessary. A pity as I think a lot of people leave off 'creating' in favour of just about anything else and have no idea what joy it brings to the creator.

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    1. OK, totally deserved outrage, Aliln. I see the things I make, I just don't carry them with pride with me as handily as I carry around the fact that my kitchen floor is dusty or I left things in the dryer (again).

      That's the plan, to develop a more realistic body-of-work image, not just look at the work ahead.

      Really hearing feedback and response is what some of this challenge is about for me. Thanks for this one. I know I will come back to it again.

      Goofball, c'est moi.

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  2. I look forward to this project of yours very much! I do not see it as a luxury for talented people to indulge in their talents even at the expense of missing something while in the process. I wish there were more avenues and endowments for talented people to have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves. The creations contribute to us all, IMO.

    The photos I have seen thus far and the making of that journal! These have been enriching to me. But I understand the need to have outside input in order to have some sense of how your work is being perceived. So I will make an effort to comment more and I hope others do as well.

    This page alone ties the flow of color, line and word together and I appreciate not only the feelings it evokes, but I have a great affinity for comics and the merging of words and visuals here hits all the best notes for me in a kind of literary way.

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    1. Wow. Thank you so much for sharing what you see! Having comments to read is a little like standing in front of a mirror with a piece of work- it looks just different enough to allow a new view of it. I am lucky to have thoughtful friends here.

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Of course I want to hear what you think!