Entries from: September 2009
Inspired by Rumi
September 30th, 2009, Comments (15)
a crowd of sorrows, mixed media on panel, 12"x12"
I'm often inspired to create a painting when I read a poem, sometimes an image so powerfully hits me when I read a line that I just have to make it real. That happened this week with a poem by Rumi called "The Guest House."
I've read this poem many times before. I think I've even posted it here in the past, but sometimes a new reading will bring out new things. This time around, I read the poem in Martha Beck's The Joy Diet (which I'm reading with Jamie Ridler's book group.) I was sitting outside by a lake, reading the chapter on truth, when I read the poem again and I was struck by the line "a crowd of sorrows" which I immediately saw as a group of three black birds swirling in a red house.
As I wrote about yesterday, I rode the inspiration train to do some late night collaging one evening and then some late night painting after that. I felt so compelled to bring this piece to life and loved the whole process. So nice when things flow like that. The collage elements you see in the previous post are mostly covered up. I never know exactly what's going to stick around when I do a mixed-media piece, but you can see bits of it in the ground and up close the layers are lovely.
Have you been inspired by any poems lately? Have a grouping of words ever pulled you to create something tangible?
Here's the Rumi poem for your enjoyment. It's a beautiful poem that has touched me in many ways. Perhaps it will spark some creativity for you as well.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks
p.s. The original of this piece sold, but there are prints available here.
The Inspiration Train
September 29th, 2009, Comments (7)
I've loved reading all the fabulous guest posts about inspiration this month. Thank you a million times over to all the fabulous folks who shared their inspiration with us while I moved. And thank you to everyone participating in the Creative Every Day Challenge for continuing to inspire me and so many others!
As I've pondered the theme of inspiration this month, I've generally felt like you can't wait for inspiration to create. That's something that I learned through doing Art Every Day Month (a challenge I run every November.) Through keeping a daily practice, I learned that when I sat down and created every day, there were some days when I was feeling juiced up and full of inspiration, but there were just as many days that I just wasn't in the mood. But when I created anyways, I learned that being in the mood or feeling inspired were not requirements of creating. What a revelation that was for me!
I think too often we wait around for that bolt of lightening to strike and tell us what to do (and that does happen, but for most of us, it's just not often enough.) But the beautiful thing is, that when we sit down and begin, despite our mood, things begin to flow. We only need to put pen to paper or brush to canvas and start. I'm continuously surprised by what comes when I simply allow myself to begin. And as a nice bonus, my mood is often a million times better once I spend some time creating or writing.
Yes, there are those fabulous days when inspiration is beating down your door, when it will not let you rest until you get moving on the idea that has come knocking. I had one of those days yesterday. It was a busy day too and I didn't have time to play with my idea until the evening. I was tired and was considering just leaving it for later, but I felt so restless and jazzed up about it, that I had to at least start even if I couldn't finish the piece.
I was on a roll, happily pulling materials from still packed boxes, finding things easily, putting the beginnings of a piece together, and then I was totally surprised when I looked up and saw how time had just flown by. I tweeted about how I'd felt such a strong urge to create and was enjoying riding the art train. It felt great to have started to bring this idea to life and with gluey hands, my muse was satisfied and let me rest. (The work in progress is above, just the beginning layers here. I'll write more about it as it develops.)
So, there are two things I want to say about this. One is, when the inspiration train comes for you, ride it out. Enjoy it. Stick your head out the window and feel the breeze. Follow it where it leads you. The second is, on all the other days, when the train hasn't picked you up, don't wait around for it, twiddling your thumbs and biding your time. Make your own ticket. Create anyway.
Creative Every Day Challenge Check-In: September 28 – October 4
September 28th, 2009, Comments (18)
This weekly post is a place for CED participants to share their creative activities.
Ways to share: Leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a post (or posts) about your creative activities during the days of 9/28/09 - 10/4/09.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.)
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to.
Join in the Challenge: To find out more about the Creative Every Day Challenge check out the details here.
If you want to sign up to be a part of the challenge, leave a comment on this post or email me to let me know. When you contact me, please let me know how you'd like to be listed in the list of participants, which resides in the right sidebar (I can list you as your name or as a link to a blog if you have one. A blog is not required to participate!) Please email or comment to let me know you're participating before you start posting links in the comments or on the "Mr. Linky" widget.
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for September is inspiration. I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month. You can find out more about how you can use the inspiration theme here. October's theme will be connect and you read more about that theme here.
Happy Creating!
Life is a big canvas, throw all the paint on it you can. ~Danny Kaye
The Joy Diet – Do Nothing
September 27th, 2009, Comments (16)
I'm currently reading Martha Beck's The Joy Diet along with Jamie Ridler's online book group. I love Martha Beck's writing, particularly her books Steering by Starlight and Expecting Adam (if you enjoy audio books, I highly recommend listening to Steering by Starlight, which Beck reads), so I was super excited to hear about this choice for Jamie's book group.
The book talks about different daily practices for living a joy-filled life, each one building upon the next. The first one is to do fifteen minutes of nothing every day, which could be done through traditional sitting meditation or moving meditation, anything where you focus on stillness of the mind. Surprisingly hard to do for someone whose mind works a million miles a minute like mine does. I did a mix of sitting meditation and walking meditation throughout the week and was so glad I did. No matter what method you choose, anything that stills the mind is a good practice.
I've found that in many cases, art making is a great way to still the mind, especially when I focus on creating intuitively. So, it made total sense to collage the cover of my newest sketchbook with images of joy. I pulled images intuitively with the intention of selecting colors, textures, and pictures that spoke of joy to me. I added a little bit of glitter and paint and voila, a joyful sketchbook to write in throughout the process of reading this book!
Sometimes just being still is fabulous, but I tend to prefer something that gets me moving physically too, like walking in nature or painting intuitively, but I'm going to keep playing with different methods and see what comes up.
Creative Every Day Challenge Theme for October: Connect
September 26th, 2009, Comments (22)
The *totally optional* theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge in October will be Connect! I'm thinking of it in terms of exploring what finding connections in your art, making connections with community, connecting to yourself, to nature, etc..
I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Join in and connect with others in online challenges like Illustration Friday.
- *Explore connections in your art.
- *Find ways to connect creatively with Nature, with your body, or with your home.
- *Connect with others through a swap (aceo's, journals, books, etc...)
- *Write about the way you connect with yourself and others.
- *Try connecting with new people through media like Twitter or visit some of the CED participants (see the sidebar.)
- *Leave art or fun messages in your neighborhood as a way to connect with your community .
- *Create your own in-person, creative group meet-up or have an art picnic with friends.
- *Take an online class to connect with like-minded souls.
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
And have fun with it!
Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us. To create means to relate. The root meaning of the word art is "to fit together" and we all do this every day. ~Corita Kent
p.s. The art in this post is a cropped portion of my mixed-media painting, Ladders. The original of it sold, but you can purchase prints of it here.
Video Interview with the Gorgeous Goddess Leonie
September 25th, 2009, Comments (8)
CreativeEveryday.com interview with GoddessGuidebook.com from Goddess Leonie on Vimeo.
Oh my goodness!! Leonie is the bestest! I absolutely loved chatting with her in this video chat. I could hardly get over the fact that we were talking and seeing each other from opposite sides of the world!
Ok, so my video half was a little wacky with the light behind me (holy halo!), I was looking down to watch Leonie's face on my screen, and I kept leaning out of the picture even though Leonie gave me the tip to stay in the center. Doh! But those are teeny tiny things. The great part is there's lots of fabulous information about Leonie's amazing courses, a truly sublime visualization, and lots of laughter and smiles. Bliss!
You can check out Leonie's Goddess School here or check out the Goddess School HQ on Ning. Term 1 begins on September 28, and there's two luminous Goddess courses you can enroll in - a Creative Goddess e-course and the Making Space for your Goddess to Shine divine decluttering e-course.
Say “Yes, and!” to Inspiration: Guest Post by Jennifer Lee
September 24th, 2009, Comments (9)
A few months ago while I was on the phone with Leah planning my Boston visit, I asked on a whim, "Hey, wanna do a workshop together while I'm out there?"
"Absolutely, that sounds like fun!" she quickly replied.
And just like that our Creative Play workshop was born. It was simple, easy and fun because we both came from an inspired and open place.
Nothing kills inspiration like a big, fat "but." No, I'm not talking about derrieres. I'm referring instead to all the "yes, buts..." we tell ourselves. "Yes, that's a great idea, BUT it won't work." "I would love to do that, BUT it doesn't make sense." "I've always wanted to, BUT I don't know how (or I'm scared!)."
Instead of saying "yes, but..." Leah and I said, "yes, AND." Yes to collaboration, to having fun and to trying something new together. From that inspired place we were able to co-create a joyful afternoon together. We built on each other's ideas and we got to share in a playful experience with 10 other fabulously, creative and inspiring women.
Inspiration is often contagious like that for me. It can start with the slightest whisper from my Inner Muse. The idea will germinate in my head until I speak it out loud and finally move into action. And that's when the inspiration factor snowballs. Sometimes it's like being on creativity crack! Ideas flood at me left and right and it's hard to keep up.
Other times, the inspiration well seems dry. The "yes, buts" seem to have more clout then. It's times like that when I just need to give myself time and space to nudge my Inner Muse. For example, this morning instead of saying to myself, "Yes, I'd love to play with the new ink and quill I bought in Boston, BUT I have too much stuff to catch up on so I better not," I chose to say, "Yes, I'll play with my new art supplies AND I'll do it first thing in the the morning to start my day creatively." By simply sitting down, opening up my journal and picking up my pen, I summoned my Inner Muse and became inspired to create.
What can you say "Yes, and" to today?
---
Jennifer Lee is a certified coach, artist, writer and yogini who find inspiration everywhere. She is the creator of the Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit and the Right-Brain Business Plan. You can find her at Artizen Coaching, her Life Unfolds Blog and on Twitter.
A Day of Creative Play
September 23rd, 2009, Comments (5)
picture by Mindy
I'm just beginning to unwind from the whirlwind of moving, unpacking, having the beautiful Jenn as our first house guest, and co-leading our fabulous Creative Play Workshop! Whew! I'm a bit pooped, but it was all so much fun! In the pic above, you can see me in the top left and then going clockwise, Jenn on my right, Kerry, Dana, Melba, Janet, Whitney, Carolyn, Julie, Margaret, and Judean. And Mindy got the shot (thanks, Mindy!)
pictures above by Jenn
The workshop was a blast and I felt so honored to be able to share it with a group of such fabulous, creative women. It was great to meet some new folks, some people I only knew online, and some old friends as we played, laughed, and created with our intuition.
Jenn and Leah
And can I just say what a pleasure Jenn is to work with? She's super sweet, creative, fun, and I just loved the way she let go with her own collage work in the class. Jenn and I are already talking about doing a Creative Play workshop in the Bay Area next year! You can check out Jenn's post about the workshop here and stay tuned for a guest post from her right here tomorrow!
After class, Jenn and I had a bit of a road trip with the lovely Mindy and Melba up to the Squam art fair. I'm so glad we went as a group (and that Mindy was driving!) because it was scary-dark up there! But I'm also so glad we went because we got to meet some awesome creative women and see some gorgeous art. It was great fun seeing so many faces you know online, in person!
So much inspiration here and so much more to share. In the meantime, I also want to mention that I've just scheduled the next Art Picnic teleclass for Thursday, October 22nd, from 8-10 pm EST. You can sign up for that right here.
inspiration… what lights us up inside: a guest post by mindy tsonas, wishstudio
September 22nd, 2009, Comments (2)
hello. it’s such a wonderful treat to be a guest here in leah’s beautiful and dreamy space. i often find myself stopping by, just like you, in search of a little something to fill my creative well. wandering through the blogging universe is something i love to do especially when i have the time to lose myself in all the delicious images and words. opening door after door here, I always stumble upon inspiration around unexpected corners.
that’s the thing about inspiration… it most often takes me by surprise and sweeps me off my feet. it’s emotional, visceral, and romantic. it’s intoxicating, compelling, and passionate. it fills me up in ways that nothing else really can.
sometimes i’m inspired by colors or textures or tastes, or maybe it’s an idea or a desire or an emotion. sometimes it’s wanting to capture a moment and somehow make it permenant by wrapping it in words, fabric or paint as a way to try to hold on to it forever. always, i’m inspired by the things that make me feel most connected to living; my creativity, my motherhood, my self expression, and the little earthquakes of my everyday journey unfolding…the things that bring me real joy and ultimately mirror the truth of who i am. when i listen to what inspires me i hear my soul gently whispering, and in connecting with this part of myself it compels me to connect with others as well.
inspiration is resonant in this way. it wants to be expressed and shared and to persist. it makes a beautiful endless circle of giving and gathering. i love this quality and have found great fulfillment in inspiring others along my own path. there is something really special about connecting with like-minded souls who understand this unending search for what lights us up inside and allows us to shine our brightest on the world.
that is what truly inspires me.
__
mindy tsonas is the hostess and creative curator of the wishstudio, an inspiring community for creative women. she also blogs at under a pink sky, sharing her own creative journey and everyday life.
Creative Every Day Challenge Check-In: September 21 – 27
September 21st, 2009, Comments (15)
This weekly post is a place for CED participants to share their creative activities.
Ways to share: Leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a post (or posts) about your creative activities during the days of 9/21/09 - 9/27/09.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.)
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to.
Join in the Challenge: To find out more about the Creative Every Day Challenge check out the details here.
If you want to sign up to be a part of the challenge, leave a comment on this post or email me to let me know. When you contact me, please let me know how you'd like to be listed in the list of participants, which resides in the right sidebar (I can list you as your name or as a link to a blog if you have one. A blog is not required to participate!) Please email or comment to let me know you're participating before you start posting links in the comments or on the "Mr. Linky" widget.
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for September is inspiration. I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month. You can find out more about how you can use the inspiration theme here.
Happy Creating!
Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time…The wait is simply too long. ~Leonard Bernstein
