"The Path from Darkness to Light" Mixed Media
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” Suzy Kassem
I hear so many people say, “Oh I wish I could do that”. Have you tried it? Or do you just feel you can’t? We are all born creative. It’s just that some of us were lucky enough to have positive reinforcement for our efforts throughout our life, while others had negative experiences which made us doubt our abilities. But we can change that at any time with the right support system.
Sometimes also, we are just too hard on ourselves. We start out with a mental picture in our head of what we want to do. When what we created does not turn out like we think it should have, we think it’s not good just because it doesn’t match the mental picture we had. That piece we created could be spot on terrific. What is in our hearts is not always what is in our head. It’s the reason we are supposed to create from our heart and not have a mental picture in our head. Creating is feeling, imagination, and experimentation.
If you feel you want to try something, try it! You have nothing to lose and knowledge to gain. It’s not always about talent and ability. It’s about trying, exploring, and learning to enjoy the process. The most valuable characteristic a person who wants to be creative can possess is persistence. Just keep at it! Keep learning different techniques, keep trying new things, and being present in the process.
Instead of having a mental picture for a project or painting, we need to get a “start “and respond to it without having to know where we are going. It allows us to use our intuition, show our emotions, and frees up our ability to respond to things. Learning to enjoy the process and not worry about the outcome is paramount to being a truly creative person.
When we work from our heart and get involved in the process we get into that wonderful state of “flow”. We get lost in the process and forget about what is happening in our environment. Time flies by and our pain and troubles disappear as we become absorbed in the moment. It is a place of timeless peace. We all need that! We all need something in our lives that takes us to that place. Better yet when it is an act of creativity.
Interest in what we are doing, and being totally involved in the process are what’s most important for our wellbeing. But want about the finished product? That answer is going to be different for everyone. It is about your ultimate endgame. I will admit even as a professional artist. There are days and times in my life where if I can have the process take me to the “flow” state and escape my environment, I don’t care about the outcome. I’ll take the retreat from the world!
But yes, I will eventually come back and ask about the technical aspect of what I did. That’s because I ultimately would like to have it touch and interest someone enough for them to buy it. That’s my endgame. But it’s not the endgame for every “creative”.
We should all know about good composition and work toward it in our tweaking process, but honestly the most important aspect of the creative process is how we feel when we are working on it. It is about how we build upon old knowledge to create something unique. It is about how we respond to the “start” which could be a color, line or mark, shape, texture, emotion, or an object.
Art should express our feelings. Create from your heart! Carolyn
If you are in the neighborhood of New Smyrna Beach FL this Saturday, there is a “Pop Up Sale” at the HUB on Canal Street. I will be selling some older work for 50% off to make room for a new body of work. Hope to see some of you.
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