Tuesday, November 7, 2023

On creativity and patience

 Some thoughts on creativity...from a Journalist Artist, "Heron Dance Journal," by Rod...(he doesn't publish his name).

"... your area of focus, what you persist at, needs to be based on a realistic assessment of your skills, and on how you can make a unique contribution to other people in a quality way."

Well, duh. But I have such a love of creating "X" that I never thought about if it contributed anything to others. Well, I hoped it did.

Someone asked me the other day what I loved most of my pottery creativity. I said immediately, the sculptures. And then I realized how the were all flawed in some way or another. But I do keep them around. They were made for me by me.

Heron Dance said: "I learned that sticking with the work is made easier when I’ve said to myself, “It isn’t the market’s or subscribers’ job to be consistent. It’s mine. Control what you can — your own output. From there, let the chips fall where they may.” Your faith in yourself, your work, especially initially, needs to be greater than the inertia, the indifference, of the world."

Wise words there. My 12 years of creating pottery, sculptures etc...I sold in about 3 main places, plus a couple of extra shows which meant lugging a whole lot of pots in tubs, and usually tables and a pop-up-tent. But I did sell quite a bit so would consider doing it again - for a few years...when I look back at my initial photos of my pottery creations, most of it's gone. I do destroy the items which I feel would never be salable.

I never felt that successful however! I am glad I had some retirement funds to support me as well as the pottery making! I always considered it a hobby for IRS categorization.

I did pay sales taxes to the State of North Carolina for a few years, and then didn't make enough to bother with it. I just said I'd gone out of business.

"Discovering your destiny is not about going to therapy and finding out what I really want to do with my life, but rather finding out what is wanted of me. What's the gift I have that others need? The gift the world needs?"
      -  
James Hillman, as interviewed by Wes Nisker, Inquiring Mind, Summer Issue.

I still am not sure of the answer to that question. But I still surround myself with creative ideas, inspiration, art, etc. I love that. My life would be very boring if I just had shelter, clothing, entertainment, transportation, health, and food. I need the creative happening, one way or another, for me to have joy in life.

Heron Dance Here is the article on having patience with creativity.


And if you were young when the Beatles were playing tunes everywhere you went...or maybe just have found what really great musicians they were, here's the new song which had to wait for current levels of technology to let Peter Jackson merge John Lennon's old tape of his voice with the two (or was it three) remaining Beatles, in an amusing video of all of them.




14 comments:

  1. "They were made for me by me."

    I feel that way now more than ever. I have a new printer, which I may use on occasion to print something for me.

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    1. So glad you are a creative person, and sometimes share your art here.

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  2. ...I've never been good at patience.

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  3. My attempts at watercolor, by me, for me, bring me so much pleasure in the doing. It's restful, enjoying a pursuit with out hoping to make money from it.

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    1. Completely concentrating of creativity has long been considered an "altered state of being" like meditation.

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  4. Not sure why, but Google will not let me sign in to comment on some blogs. Whimsical to say the least!
    The last three years have not been great. HOWEVER! I redesigned may sun /plant room and have begun decorating a teapot, I still have very mixed feelings about. We'll see, grasshopper....we'll see...........suzi/smartcatt

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    1. Oh that's great...glad to see your creativity coming out. The plant room sounds so nice. And decorating a teapot...I am imagining different things...animals, plants, what?

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  5. Patience is a virtue, which I'm in short supply of.

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    1. I think we all are, and more so with all the stressors we deal with these days.

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  6. Hi Barbara, Yup, birds of a feather...we are very close to the same age. I'm not in love with Tom Cruise in most of his pictures, especially the Jack Reacher series. Having read the books, the 'real' Jack Reacher was a big man in every respect...way over 6 feet tall, whereas Cruise is only 5'7". Maybe Tom is a nice guy but to me he always seems too stuck on himself. My mother did a bit of pottery in her varied artistic career. One hot item that we sold at a street fair in East Lansing Michigan was decorative beads...like for jewelry. I'd convinced her to bring a bunch of them to the show...and we sold out in just a couple of hours. Then we went home, dug up and washed the pile of them that she'd buried in her garden. By the end of the second day, they were all sold! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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    1. There's a new version of Jack Reacher, under that title, with fortunately a star who's more fit for the part. Unfortunately only one season is available...it may be on Prime, which I've found many interesting show to watch. Wow, your mother must have been quite creative. That's great that she also did beadwork. I don't think I had the patience to do that.

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  7. The video is fantastic. It brought tears to my eyes, and it makes the song mean so much more. I first heard this song without the video and was actually disappointed because some of their other work was so groundbreaking at the time it came out. I remember the first time I heard The Long and Winding Road, and I wondered “What was that?” It was just so different from anything else in rock ‘n’ roll. Same with Hey Jude.

    They broke rules and invented a new kind of music. So many other great artists owe them a debt for reinventing the genre.

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    1. The Beatles were really great in moving their own directions. And then other bands were mainly copying them.

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There is today, more than ever, the need for a compassionate regenerative world civilization.