Deeply Involved In The Process
I've been going
deeper....painting entirely for process and not for product. This is an
immense and terrifying thing to commit myself to- I am exploring
unmapped places within myself and it has been a journey filled with
emotional highs and lows. Today, when I came up for air, I randomly
opened up a book and was gifted with this passage. I dedicate it to all
of my friends, who are also seekers on the creative path.
-Lisa.
"The call to create is a calling like no other, a voice within that howls for expression, shadow longing to merge with light. It is an act of faith to respond to that voice, to give it our time, and in return, if grace be with us, we are blessed with a piece that can be of use, a piece that has light and a life of its own. One honest poem can spark a revolution, one play thaw a frozen heart. And who knows what works have been inspired by Michelangelo's David., O'keefe's paintings, Rodin's sculptures? What one of us conjures inspires another.
For there is power in the work we are moved to create- prophetic power, redemptive power. Art that emerges from our inward journeys is a revealing art, a tale-telling mirror that collapses time and expands dimension. Our creations contain the past and the future, the known and the unknown, the breath of spirit and the flesh of politic. As we respond to the world we are part of, what we create adds to its essence, changes its shape, heals its wounds.
No matter what the medium, art reveals us to ourselves and heightens the level of human consciousness. I find myself in another's poem, see myself in another's image, become more myself through another's unfolding. Art is a mirror not only to the soul of the artist, but to the whole of civilization that celebrates its creation.
We as creators hold in our bones the lessons of history, the paths to the future. The lines we draw are lifelines, lines that connect, lines that hold the contours of the ages to come. It is up to us- those who know that urge to create, who have felt the tug of that inner voice- to create the world we want to be a part of, to release the words we want to inspire us.
Simone Weil once wrote," The work of art which I do not make, none other will ever make it." It is up to us, to you and me, to heal ourselves and by that, the world. So let us give our time to the work that heals, to that creative journey that will lead us home.
And in the moments when we are fragile, forgetting our gifts, forgetting the power of our creative works, let us return to this creed and call forth The Muse:
ARTIST'S CREED-
I believe I am worth the time it takes to create
whatever I feel called to create.
I believe that my work is worthy of its own space,
which is worthy of the name Sacred.
I believe that the moment I open myself
to the gifts of The Muse,
I open myself to The Source of All Creation
and become One with The Mother of Life itself.
I believe that my work is joyful, useful
and constantly changing,
flowing through me like a river with no
begining and no end.
I believe that what it is I am called to do
will make itself known when I have made myself ready.
I believe that the time I spend creating with my art
is as precious as the time I spend giving to others.
I believe that what truly matters in the making of art
is not what the final piece looks like or sounds like,
not what it is worth or not worth, but what
newness gets added to the universe in the process
of the piece itself becoming.
I believe that I am not alone in my attempts
to create, and that once I begin the work,
settle into the strangeness,
the words will take shape, the form find life,
and the spirit take flight.
I believe that as the Muse gives to me,
so does she deserve from me:
Faith, Mindfullness and Enduring Comittment."
-Jan Phillips- Author of "Marry Your Muse: Making A Lasting Comittment To Your Creativity." & "Making Peace: One Woman's Journey Around The World."
-Lisa.
"The call to create is a calling like no other, a voice within that howls for expression, shadow longing to merge with light. It is an act of faith to respond to that voice, to give it our time, and in return, if grace be with us, we are blessed with a piece that can be of use, a piece that has light and a life of its own. One honest poem can spark a revolution, one play thaw a frozen heart. And who knows what works have been inspired by Michelangelo's David., O'keefe's paintings, Rodin's sculptures? What one of us conjures inspires another.
For there is power in the work we are moved to create- prophetic power, redemptive power. Art that emerges from our inward journeys is a revealing art, a tale-telling mirror that collapses time and expands dimension. Our creations contain the past and the future, the known and the unknown, the breath of spirit and the flesh of politic. As we respond to the world we are part of, what we create adds to its essence, changes its shape, heals its wounds.
No matter what the medium, art reveals us to ourselves and heightens the level of human consciousness. I find myself in another's poem, see myself in another's image, become more myself through another's unfolding. Art is a mirror not only to the soul of the artist, but to the whole of civilization that celebrates its creation.
We as creators hold in our bones the lessons of history, the paths to the future. The lines we draw are lifelines, lines that connect, lines that hold the contours of the ages to come. It is up to us- those who know that urge to create, who have felt the tug of that inner voice- to create the world we want to be a part of, to release the words we want to inspire us.
Simone Weil once wrote," The work of art which I do not make, none other will ever make it." It is up to us, to you and me, to heal ourselves and by that, the world. So let us give our time to the work that heals, to that creative journey that will lead us home.
And in the moments when we are fragile, forgetting our gifts, forgetting the power of our creative works, let us return to this creed and call forth The Muse:
ARTIST'S CREED-
I believe I am worth the time it takes to create
whatever I feel called to create.
I believe that my work is worthy of its own space,
which is worthy of the name Sacred.
I believe that the moment I open myself
to the gifts of The Muse,
I open myself to The Source of All Creation
and become One with The Mother of Life itself.
I believe that my work is joyful, useful
and constantly changing,
flowing through me like a river with no
begining and no end.
I believe that what it is I am called to do
will make itself known when I have made myself ready.
I believe that the time I spend creating with my art
is as precious as the time I spend giving to others.
I believe that what truly matters in the making of art
is not what the final piece looks like or sounds like,
not what it is worth or not worth, but what
newness gets added to the universe in the process
of the piece itself becoming.
I believe that I am not alone in my attempts
to create, and that once I begin the work,
settle into the strangeness,
the words will take shape, the form find life,
and the spirit take flight.
I believe that as the Muse gives to me,
so does she deserve from me:
Faith, Mindfullness and Enduring Comittment."
-Jan Phillips- Author of "Marry Your Muse: Making A Lasting Comittment To Your Creativity." & "Making Peace: One Woman's Journey Around The World."