Discovering a Sense of Boundaries (part 2 of 2)

Inflow

As artists, we need quiet to be able to hear what our hearts are saying. The more noise you let in, the less you are able to create. We need to train our friends and family to let us have that quiet time in our lives. No calls or interruptions after a certain time. Let them know when you will be available for them. Our society wants instant gratification. What it needs is a little patience. Patience creates endurance. Endurance creates quality of life.

Don’t confuse quiet and solitude with solemnity and isolation. Sometimes I yearn for isolation but we need people. People need us. We sometimes get our ideas from others and nature around us.

Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries. ~ Corita Kent


Day Jobs

I didn’t particularly like reading this segment. It comes at a time when I’m quitting my “day job”. But I’m not quitting my job to become a full-time artist. So here goes.

Julia Cameron states, “If we do not limit our inflow, we become swamped by the life demands of others. If we practice too much solitude, we risk being flooded by stagnation and a moody narcissism as our life and our art become emptied of all but the big question “How am I doing?” What we are after is a balance, enough containment and autonomy to make our art, enough involvement and immersion in community to have someone and something to make art for.”

“Art thrives on life. Life feeds it, enriches it, enlarges it.”

“Day jobs help not only to pay the rent but also to build stamina and structure. Artists need both stamina and structure. Often, a day job provides both. We as artists need other points of reference to stay on course.”

“Chekhov advised young actors: ‘If you want to work on your art, work on yourself.’ He did not mean ‘Contemplate yourself.’ He meant we ought to do those things that develop in us creative sinew. A day job can do that. So can some committed community service. So can taking the time to practice the art of listening to something other than our own concerns. A day job requires that skill.”

“Our life is supposed to be our life and our art is supposed to be something we do in it and with it. Our life must be larger than our art. It must be the container that holds it.”

“Rather than yearning to be ‘full-time artists’, we might aspire to being full-time humans. When we do, art is the overflow of a heart filled with life.” I like what she had to say here. Aspire to be a full-time human. That takes skill that I need to work on.