creativity | Dare Boldly

Day 2. Monday, July 28th, 2014

It is the official first day of the course. I am excited. Eager to delve into collage, art-making, being in community.

We are eleven. Four students in the downstairs studio space with the instructor, Jonathan Talbot, at the front of the room where two long tables span the width of the space to accommodate his needs. The other six are in the beautiful upstairs studio. Big windows looking out at the forest beyond. Bright sunny space. I had chosen to be in the downstairs space the day before because I didn’t relish the idea of lugging my six heavy tubs of art supplies up a half flight of stairs. I’m grateful this morning as the downstairs space, though darker, is cooler.

It is already warm outside by 9am.

Jonathan gathers group and asks, “How long does it take to win the 100m race?”

He answers his own question. About 10 seconds if you’re an Olympian. But it takes a whole lot of time getting there, he adds.

Art-making is like that. it takes time. Effort. Patience. Practice.

We practice. Practice. Practice. Experiment. Test. Attempt. The difference is, in art-making, there is no winning or losing, there is simply that place of exploding ideas, that space where judgement falls away and all we are left is the act of creation making something out of what wasn’t seen before, visible.

The edges of your substrate are your limitations, he tells us.

Don’t play to your limitations. Play to the elements of your creativity.

I like that.

Play to the elements. With the elements. Be one with the elements and let creativity play with me as I play with being creative.

Yes!

: Day 2 Art Journal Entry

: Collage Creation 1

: Collage Creation 2 – with acrylic transfer

To read the Day 2 poem from Aug 28, Rest Again at the End of Day, click HERE.

I taught at the Peace Academy last night.

Thirty creative peace-makers gathered together to explore the creative core of being human. Of making peace with our inner muse.

What a gift to be in the presence of each person who came and shared their time with such grace and ease to create a magical evening of wonder together.

There is nothing quite so enlivening and rewarding as watching faces light up with smiles, and relief, as the realization hits — being creative isn’t scary. Being creative is how I am born to be me.

Life is an act of creation. And we are miraculous beings created to be loving and joyful in a world of peace.

Last night the muse lit up the hearts of everyone in the room as we created together — acts of peace that sang on the magnetically charged air of creativity in motion. Words of love that flowed onto the page, that streamed into the air around us.

We drew and made paper airplanes and tossed crumbled up pieces of paper onto the floor. We scribbled and brainstormed, we chatted and mindmapped. We were all present in the act of creation. We were all present in the art of being human. And we were all blessed by one another to be together in the act of making peace happen.

And when it was over, when the last bit of paper was filled with words, when the last idea was drained and examined, when the last line was drawn in the sands of possibility, it wasn’t over. It was just the beginning.

Always begin again.

Never let the end of what was become the end of what can be.

Always begin again.

Open up to the beauty and magnificence of the essence of being human.

Explore. Dig in. Dig out. Dig under. Dig into the soils of creativity, rich and fertile, at the heart of being human.

Always begin again.

To create. And be and become and emerge and evolve.

Always begin again.

It never ends, this being creative, this creating for creation’s sake. It’s just sometimes, we forget, or have lost the way, to our hearts. But when we take the time to stop and listen to our heart’s calling, we awaken to the truth of our own magnificence.

We are all acts of creation. And life is forever changed when we let go of playing in the shadows of our fears and step wild and free into the waters of life flowing all around us.

Life is forever opened up when we give into the brilliant truth of our being who we are and where we are right in this moment of creation. This is our birthright. To be free. To be creative. To be great. And in our greatness is the difference we make in the world. Unique. One of a kind. Priceless.

We are each of us born to shine. To run and laugh and sing and dance and play and leap and cavort. To be silly and serious. Funny and wise. We are each of us born with untold gifts to share and to be known.

We are each of us magnificent.

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And… over at Make Peace Happen I share today’s poem on peace: Peace Be Among Us