Re-creating and The Artist’s Way

I love it when I am pushed to be thoughtful. Next week, keep watching here because I am going to share with you a post that is my response to a person who pushed me to be thoughtful.

This Week in the Art Studio

Before we get started this week, just a reminder: the next Arty Party will be Saturday, October 1. I just received a couple of new textured rolling pins in the mail…they are fab! I can’t wait to start making them a part of my pottery pieces. I tried them out as soon as they came in last evening to see what they would look like on clay. Here’s the sample:

Aren’t those gorgeous? I got them at The Craft Wizard Gifts on Etsy. They have some beautiful designs at slightly cheaper than the ones I usually find. And these are full size pins, too! I’ll have some pieces made with these patterns by October 1st, for sure.

This week has been a whirlwind. I pulled the pottery out of the kiln on Saturday, and as usual, some weren’t as beautiful as I had imagined–and others were so successful I felt I should make more! I had counted on having all the pieces for the Sip and Stroll tomorrow (Sunrise Beach, TX, 9-4, Civic Center). So back to the studio I went and began creating with the goal of single-firing one more time before the weekend.

I made it! The kiln is cooling as I type this, and I’m excited to open it later this afternoon before I head over to Sunrise Beach to begin setting up.

Here’s a photo of the results from last Saturday. Which pieces do you think I re-fired? Which do you like best?

Recreating IS the Artists’ Way

It may seem to you, if you watch any art videos besides mine, that artists go to the studio with a specific result in mind, and proceed directly to that result. They know exactly how to accomplish that result, and they expertly and smoothly create it.

Nothing could be further from the truth. As artists, we are sub-creators. While our mighty God creates directly from nothing into something with a perfect plan in mind, we as sub-creators labor under a great disadvantage in that we do not know or understand all the possibilities, all the variables, all the different materials and all the possible outcomes.

This results in a constant process of re-creating. Oops and fix. Oops and fix. Oops and fix. And just like so many other things in our lives, this is also what gives us great joy and excitement in our creating. It’s an adventure like no other!

It is because of this that I  believe the concept of talent is over-rated. Rather it is your willingness to make mistakes over and over again that defines whether you will succeed as an artist. Doesn’t that sound familiar, though? Isn’t that true in all of life, not just in art?

A common question I see floating around in the internet life-coaching meme is “what would you do if you knew you could not fail?” Well, it’s a straw man in a way, because we actually MUST fail in order to do anything that brings us joy and benefits others. It’s a great question to help us get to what would really be fulfilling in our lives, but the truth is, we know we will fail. I prefer to think of “failing forward”.

Oops and fix. Oops and fix. Oops and fix.

Our mindset, though, can get bogged down after a time of fixing over and over. We can develop a fear of trying again only to fail.

I have a book recommendation for you if you’re stuck in that downward spiral in your art or anything else in life.

The Artist’s Way

Disclaimer: this book must be read with careful discernment, as must all books. It deviates from a proper understanding of God in many ways. However, there is enough good in it that I feel confident in recommending it to you as long as you understand that you must be discerning. To be completely transparent, the only book I would ever recommend with no reservations is The Bible itself.

Julia Cameron acknowledges that there is a God and that God is involved in our creativity. She also understands how failing over and over again can produce a fear that the enemy within can use to paralyze us.

You, gentle reader, may have experienced this. How do I know? Because there are places in your life that you live safely. So safe, in fact, that you are somewhat dissatisfied, but you push that feeling down in favor of remaining safe. One of those places is probably your creativity. It is universal among all the people that I personally know that they have a story of turning completely away from a certain pursuit because of a word of criticism. Most of the time that criticism comes from within, but that inner voice got it’s words from without.

For me, it was one teacher who acted just a bit exasperated with my inability to create something. There wasn’t a critical word. Just a sense of an influential adult being exasperated with my childish ignorance. That’s all it took to send me on a different path in life.

It was only 40 years later that I discovered it really is just a matter of being willing. Once I started believing the truth that all I needed to do was be willing that I began to discover the joy of creating art.

I can recommend this book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron to those who feel stuck or blocked in any way from a beneficial pursuit–drawing, music, sportsmanship, career goals, you name it. In particular I can recommend the practice of Morning Pages, the “artist dates”, and the list of positive affirmations. This list of affirmations is not the usual flawed “I am enough” type. The affirmations acknowledge our dependency on God.  I did find that I had to reword some of them so that they acknowledge the Sovereignty of God, but at the same time they were a great starting place, and you won’t find them elsewhere in the “positive affirmation” sphere.

Ai! It’s funny how I started this post thinking I didn’t have anything to say today. And now I’m a thousand words in.

I hope that you found something encouraging here. That is, after all, my goal: to invite you into the divine magic of art and music because I know you will find the Creator of peace and purpose here.

Come see me at the Sip and Stroll! It is a fundraiser benefiting the Sunrise Beach Volunteer Fire Department, so you’ll be blessing that institution while enjoying yourself and maybe doing a little shopping to benefit local small businesses like me.

Keep on looking for the music, listening for the colors, and awakening the wonder and worship in your hearts. Godspeed!