Rediscovering an Artist's "Way"

It's a windy day in the mountains of Puerto Rico, a good day to have fresh thoughts about new beginnings. I've been thinking about art. When I first realized that I could make something pleasing to my eye that spoke about what I saw, I was about six years old. The strong desire to experience life through art has never left me since that early time. It delighted me that I could share my creation with the world. My discovery of art was facilitated by my French grandmother, Alice; she was the first artistic person I knew. She would let me skip my nap and sit at her table gluing glitter, painting and drawing. I felt special to sit at her usually off-limits (!)table.

One day, she disappeared and we never heard from her for seventeen years. Her own childhood was marred by absence and abandonment. She spent a number of years in a Boston state home because her mother was hospitalized for a mental condition. After Grandma left, I didn't know if she was still alive. I was a child. I didn't know that sometimes adults have arguments that they don't resolve. Her absence was like an empty windy space. I seemed to looked for her, though not consciously, as I walked in the fields. She was in my thoughts as I collected seed pods and branches. I'd bring my finds into my upstairs bedroom and paint them red, orange, and yellow; finishing off with a liberal sprinkle of glitter. What would Grandma Alice think of this?

When Grandma Alice returned, I was living another life in another state. The Grandma of my childhood never returned.

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Consider ...

*ZEN*

As I continued to draw whatever came into my field of vision, it became ever clearer that seeing/drawing was indeed a Way, in the Oriental sense of the word. The tea ceremony, Noh dance, aikido, judo (do in Japanese means "Way," while in Chinese the word for Way is Tao) are all such Ways: lifelong disciplines that lead you to where you really live, that liberate you form the programmed prejudices of your time and the pretensions of the little Me, to reveal the truth that is your own Truth.

Seeing/drawing...it is my Way of meditation.

Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing ; Meditation in Action

by Frederick Franck

And this...

*Art Validates Life*

I have said before that creativity is a spiritual issue. Any progress is made by leaps of faith, some small and some large. At first, we may want faith to take the first dance class, the first step toward learning a new medium. Later, we may want the faith and the funds for further classes, seminars, a larger work space, a year's sabbatical. Later still, we may conceive an idea for a book, an artist' collective gallery space. As each idea comes to us, we must in good faith clear away our inner barriers to acting on it and then, on an outer level, take the concrete steps necessary to trigger our synchronous good.
What dream are you discounting as impossible given your resources? What payoff are you getting for remaining stuck at this point in your expansion?

The Artist Way by Julia Cameron

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*Discovering the Artist in Women*

I thank you all...

While blogging, I have had the good fortune to meet and experience many incredible artists who not only display their art in progress, new and old, but also have shared their hearts through their own struggles and successes with the creative process. I want to honor Dianne at Intuitive Painting, Kim at Creating Space, Mary Ann at Blue Sky Dreaming. And the designer/painter creators, Lala Ema at My Castle in Spain and Susan at 29 Black Street; the writer, painter, photographer, Sarah Laurence at her blog of the same name and the painter creator Sukipoet. And though I don't know if Julie at tangobaby is a painter, I do know that she creates with every breath of her being so she must be on this list. All of these women are inspirational because they embrace their creative nature. No, not just embrace, but celebrate creativity in every aspect of their lives. I thank you, creative women, for your inspirational example of how to fully live life. You have reminded me to engage life with passion; I love you all for this gift.

If you would like to nominate any of these blogs for the blog of the day award; simply, click on the icon, which is located on the sidebar, and make your recommendation. (You will need the blog's URL.)

Painting: Windswept John William Waterhouse