this week we were asked to consider our creative rituals and inspirations.
it made me realise that, although i have an overflowing well of inspiration, there is little order to it. i find myself drawn from one thing to another indiscriminately. one day i am all about old english vintage, and the next i am wishing i was a little more dita von teese. one moment i am all about standing up to the man, and in the next frame, i am ordering a caramel macchiato at starbucks. on sunday i want to paint, by wednesday i am a writer... and so it goes on.
but you know what? that's okay.
i am going to stop being suspicious, critical or judgmental and submit to whatever calls to me, because ultimately treasures and wisdoms will be found there. i am going to stop fighting or defining who i am creatively, and just accept it, allowing my muse to guide me. trust her intuition. trust myself.
i realise now, there is no right or wrong way to be creative. there is no pattern, no template, you have to follow. creativity is an organic process, growing in a way unique only to you. as such you can never be wrong. you can never be smaller, bigger, worse, better than anyone but yourself. and so it's okay. there is no competition. no comparison. no standard you can fall against.
today i was a photographer. tonight i will devour some interior decorating magazines and fantasise about being a homemaker. tomorrow morning i will be a probation officer harbouring quiet intentions about creating a workshop for women offenders, and by the evening i will be a scrapbooker. who knows which hat i will put on tuesday... but it doesn't matter, because they all belong to me. and i honour all of them.
28 comments:
Fantastic, wise, wonderful. Just like you.
Oh Dita! I wish I had a martini glass swimming pool. *Sigh*
Love it! The idea that your Muse is a concrete and stagnant is ridiculous! We're drawn to different people, different images, different songs on a daily, hourly, minutely basis! I think that's part of what makes women such exquisite creatures--the flavors we come it--we're like an estrogen laced Baskin Robins!! Cheers to inspiration, cheers to ice cream. :)
Merry Making!~*
Molly
YAY to a closet full of hats. Hats, and more hats! You look marvelous! :)
Ah yes - a fellow pinpall! And I mean that in the MOST respectful way! Follow every muse until you find one (or just say, six!) that suits you best. Or keep them all! May you find many more things to inspire you. Thank you for sharing!
This is awesome!
You should definitely honor your creativity as it is who you are. Beautifully written. :)
Organic process...hmmmmmm...something to think about some more, for sure.
And not to detract from your delightful post but LOVE the comment it drew from Molly - 'estrogen laced Baskin Robins' indeed! (giggles)
yes to wearing many hats - I used to feel guilty about this, but why? We can do many different things and grow our world in many ways. . . . thanks for your insights.
Hi Pen!
I love it. Embracing that renaissance quality to our inspirations is so liberating! All that slipping from one inspiration to another IS sticking it to "the man" for me. You can't pin me down! It's a little wild and magical.
Dita made it into my last dreamboard ;)
Wonderful! It's so true, your creative spirit has so many different outlets, why confine it to just one? I LIKE this idea. The freedom it celebrates resonates with my gypsy spirit.
Thank you for your kind words about my interview! I'm glad you liked it and whatever dream you want, I'm sure you will honour it.
Molly's comment sums it up for me. How can we limit ourselves to any single creative outlet? How can we resist being inspired with our vast ever-changing beautiful world? Embrace it all, I say! To use your own chosen word-just 'be'.
Exactly thank you for that gift Pen i shall honour my hat**
with all the different parts of you...which come to a close in one word - A R T I S T ! xx
A workshop? You didn't say what kind of workshop, but I know you're a writer (in one of your hats.) IF you were thinking along those lines ... I was thinking you might want to check out Writing ALone and With Others by Pat Schneider, and/or Amherst Writers and artists website? I've written with amherst writers groups just a bunch of middle class women, but alot of what they do is outreach, esp with women, in prisons, housing projects, nursing homes, etc. Using writing as a way of finding one's own unique voice and getting that voice out into the world, particularly for those who may have been silenced in our society.
Kiss to you. How's your creative goddess project coming? Isn't Leonie too adorable? Her video special effects just crack me up.
Amen.
I love the way you have reminded us all to let go of the rules and simply embrace who we are.
oooohhhh pen*!!! i LOVE this post!!! i am so like this as well... one minute this and the next second onto something else... and oh yes dita!!! i sometimes wish i was more like her too... then i wipe out my really really shiny black leather stiletto boots!!! ha ha ha!!!
but really though... i think that this way we discover SO much more... and feed ourselves with so much more inspiration. we're totally and completely not blocking our creativity. although sometimes i feel a little scattered and need to focus, i am so grateful that i can see the magic and beauty in everything!!!
beautiful!!!
peace and love to you!!!
hi pen!
you are AWESOME. i find it hard to believe you are a "fledgling" creative spirit...what you show on your blog is in FULL BLOSSOM! :) thank you for your kind words about my blog. i am only just beginning...thank you for your unique flair of inspiration!!!
Wonderful wisdom! Why confine the creative spirit? We all need to honor our many hats!
There is much of my life in your post! Hope all of your creative manifestations have a fruitful week :-)
You know, I am often the very same way! I like to dabble in many areas & I like so many different things...sometimes I think I have multiple personalities. ;)
Oh how i love your photo. Trees and birds ~ my favs.
Like you I jump from interest to interest. I like to think of myself as a squirrel and I like to collect nuts from each tree. It is after all so fun to explore and experience. At times though I do wonder if I need to focus a bit more. Naaaah.
Love the hats you wear. Looooove the picture.
Here is to all that you create as you live each moment.
So cool! Express that creative spirit of yours!
*I haven't taken off my new sock monkey hat - I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE this post! You are right...we are all unique creators and our creativity covers many facets. Wonderful post, Pen ~ :)
"you can never be smaller, bigger, worse, better than anyone but yourself. and so it's okay. there is no competition. no comparison. no standard you can fall against." Beautiful - I will print this and try to remember this - because I know this deep down - I just forget it.
This is how I feel sometimes and I'm so glad that it is a more common feeling than I once thought! We are all so multi faceted and we should be able to let whatever part of our creative self shine through when she wants to. In this way, I think we can infuse creativity into everything. What an exciting thought!
Well said. I too, have always jumpped from one thing to the next and I've always been content with that. Only recently have I discovered that I always tend to come back to photography. So I've finally decided to focus most of my effort there on that one thing so I can actually grow my skill but I still like to play with lots of other arts. It keeps me balanced and thinking creatively.
missing you...says me who have not posted in a month! teehee!!xx
what a wonderful post! I think some people are divers and some are skaters. Divers dig deep into one things, where skaters, like us, skim over the surface of many. There is magic in combining all these things in your own way.
Post a Comment