Saturday, September 05, 2015

A Private Journey

Hi folks,  We all have our loads of baggage. It's rare for someone to reach the lofty age of 50 without some extra baggage piled on. Most people have baggage by age 10. It is painful to me when people act like their life has not happened. The idea that we must jump around and quote positive thinking statements, refusing to feel anything but good vibrations makes me cringe. Though I love good vibrations, I want to feel everything. Whatever I can feel, I want to feel.

I do not fear the depths of sorrow. This feeling is part of me. Sadness. Yep. Anger. Yep. Agony. Yep. Striated in with all that, is pain and then happiness. Silliness. Peace. Joy. Love. A myriad of shades and colors of feeling are out there. My emotional story is just as complex as any rich soil. When you refuse your feelings, you are making yourself an arid or, even worse, sterile dirt. Embracing all of who you will help you share a better story. Don't expect anyone to exactly understand this need to experience your full range of emotions. This will be a private journey.  

It is important to feel as an artist. Every time you shove something under the rug, you shove some of your story under that rug too. Live your life this way. Air things.  Scribble in your journal. Record yourself. Play that music. Head over to your psychologist. Try confessing to a minister. Whatever gets the stuff hidden out, do it. The best artists have to keep in touch with their white hot centers with all the contradictions and confusion. They also have to think deeply, So stick your head in those clouds and see what dreams may come.  Our thoughts and our emotions are intertwined like the chemicals in DNA. Let them mix together.

Dig into your emotional story. Search out the shades of your emotions. Feel them, and they will bleed into your work. Feelings just do that. 

I will be back next week with more of the "Stuff" that makes good art happen.   


Here is a doodle.



Quote for your pocket. 

What your heart thinks great is great. The soul's response is always right. Ralph Waldo Emerson


2 comments:

Vijaya said...

As always, sage advice. Feel everything. We cannot know the joy without the sorrow.

Molly/Cece said...

Hi Vijaya! Feels.