Discovering a Sense of Adventure (Part 2 of 3)

Week 4 - Discovering a Sense of Adventure (Part 2 of 3)

The Verb “To Be”

“The time of the singing of birds is come.” ~ Song of Solomon

What do I want in life? To be admired or happy? Happy, of course!

“’Art’ is less about what we could be and more about what we are than we normally acknowledge” When we are so worried and overcome about becoming successful, admired, etc. we miss what we really are. “We are the origin of our art. If we are always striving to be something more and something different, we dilute the power of what it is we actually are. Doing that, we dilute our art.”

“One of the things we should let ourselves do is what comes naturally and easily.” Follow that inner-guiding. Let God guide your actions, your creativity.

“Picasso remarked, ‘We are all born children. The trick is how to remain one.’ Mozart, we are told, remained one.” Why don’t we become less adult?

“If we stop trying to improve ourselves and start trying to delight ourselves, we get further as artists. If we lean into what we love instead of soldiering toward what we ‘should’, our pace quickens, our energy rises, optimism sets in. What we love is nutritious for us.”

“Instead of resisting yourself, try finding yourself irresistible.”

Watch a child as he/she learns. They move from one thing to another in minutes, sometimes seconds. We, as adults and artists, set a curriculum for learning. We go, step by step. Instead of being curious like a child, we become trapped in “how it should be done.” PLAY!

“To be an artist you must learn to let yourself be. Stop getting better. Start appreciating what you are. Do something that simply delights you for no apparent reason. Give in to a little temptation, poke into a strange doorway, buy the weird scrap of silk in a color you never wear.” I did! I bought the tray!

“It is the addition of strangeness to beauty that constitutes the romantic character of art.” ~ Walter Pater

“Sometimes we get a lot further in our art and in our lives when we let ourselves do a little of what comes easily and naturally. It is self-expression, not self-scrutiny and ‘correction,’ that brings healing and happiness.”

“Today isn’t any other day, you know.” ~ Lewis Carroll