About The Girl

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California, United States
Not-so-silent observations that splinter my conversations. Harnessing the steady flow of random thoughts and musings that continuously interrupt my daily conversations. Paired here with my artwork and photographs from recent adventures. Non sequitur (pronounced \ˈnän-ˈse-kwə-tər\)- a response which, due to its apparent lack of meaning relative to its context, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing.

Friday, June 11, 2010

LAYERS






“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.”
Julia Cameron

I am grateful for spontaneous reconnections today! I just spent the morning catching up with a dear friend and discussing creativity on a deadline....

Is the term working artist a contradiction? John Cleese was once quoted as saying something along the lines of if you want creativity from your workers you must also allow time for play. Sometimes being creative under pressure and on a timeline is soooo hard! It's like walking into a bookstore with excitement and no list and then all of a sudden every book you have ever wanted to read evaporates from your mind! Why is that?

When nothing is due I am inspired by simplicity, honesty, process, destruction, scribbles, a crumpled napkin, swirls of gasoline in a puddle of water, patterns of leaves on the ground, tire tracks in mud, patterns of shoelaces...for me the courage and work comes from finding(or perhaps more accurately surrendering to) the creativity and inspiration when a piece is due, when a show is in its final stages, when expectations are set and schedules are on.

If I can begin to think of time and schedules like artistic processes...layers...I love knowing something is beneath something else in a piece - there's a quality of something hinted at and mysterious and almost secret...very inspiring! What happens if I allow what has already inspired me to rise to the surface, to reveal itself or its shadows in these times of creative ebb?

"To be productive, any level of work requires the willingness to empty ourselves of what we think we want and know, and a corresponding willingness to open ourselves to what emerges as important and needful."

Grace Unfolding, Greg Johanson and Ron Kurtz

What might have space to arrive if we dare to empty ourselves of expectations?

5 comments:

  1. i just finished that book! did you read my recent quote on facebook from it?

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  2. YOU get credit for turning me on to Grace Unfolding months ago during one of our walks...I think you had to read it for your training? Definitely some gems of wisdom in there and very appropraite timing for me to revisit them. I am grateful!

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  3. I am afraid if I dare empty myself of expectations, there would either be my "to do" list or a lot of nothing.

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  4. Creativity for me is a sum total of my experiences leading up to a given moment. Letting go of expectations and presupposed determinations simply opens the door to the creative abyss. By remaining open to all the possibilities the stage remains an open sky where the process is akin to freefalling. Layers, or depth of exploration pair risk with exhiliration, while time serves as a parachute that slowly guides me back to earth.

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I am always grateful for your comments. Thank you so very much for sharing!