Finding my Way

I ordered myself 2 new books a month or so ago...I knew I 'shouldn't' because I had so many others waiting to be read. But I needed to understand more about my NEED to be creative and make art, and the voices in my head (mine and others from my life) getting in my way. I made myself a rule... Actually read the first one, Art & Fear, without stopping...that is to say, without getting distracted by starting to read anything else.

Art & Fear. For me, like taking a class for $7

I'm glad I ordered it and I'm glad I dove right in. I got a lot out of it. I loved reading it as much as if I was going to a really good class, so sticking with it took no particular discipline. 

Finding quiet time to read and absorb was the biggest challenge, but that's what alone-time in the car... with only the light from my phone during Prince CuddleBunny's baseball practice... is for!

Besides a lot of underlining and taking notes, in beginning to feel ok about my own ideas, I sketched right onto the pages! I have so many projects in mind, I hope I remember them all. I suppose only that ones that should will get lost in the shuffle and process.

I think I am finding MY voice... Or, actually, understanding that MY voice, expressed MY way, is all that's needed for MY art. It's not more or less than what anyone else can produce. I can't control how others will respond, so there is no value in worrying about it. As the author explained, all artists are different in what they have to offer and how they express it, but we're all the same in that we can only produce our true and best art, at least figuratively, alone in a room, and with who we are as individuals as the source. It's about accepting myself, which isn't a new concept in the self-help world, and, certainly, something I'd heard and read before, but maybe I am just starting to 'get it.' At approximately 56 and 11 months... Better late than never.

I felt sad to get to the end of the book. I've experienced that before, but this is a first, I think, for non-fiction! I went back through it to review my underlines and notes, to better imbed what I'd found important. 

Ha!  I just noticed that the title is printed
on the mailing label.  So much for my surprise!

I highly recommend this book for those with a yen, even a mostly hidden one, for being creative! Art can be a lot of things, and I think a lot of people have an artist in them, waiting to come out from behind all sorts of negative comments or perceptions, a view that such things shouldn't be an important priority among life's demands, or a lack of confidence. Artists aren't born great, and they're not more special than you are. They just get in and DO. --And practice, and fail, and do some more.

Now I get to open the envelope that has locked the 2nd book away from my view ever since it arrived...I don't even remember what it is! It'll be a surprise gift to myself.




This post includes Amazon affiliate links.