THE MAP > MUSE : CREATIVITY
The Art Of Removing Things
PART 1: RIDING THE CREATIVE CURVE
“Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.”
― Donald Woods Winnicott
Going through the process of writing this Muse has been a study and deeply felt expression of the subject I set out to explore and decided to call The Curve of Creativity.
It has been a reminder, a purge, a transmutation of energy and a way of opening up to the realisation of death.
It has been a humbling lesson in remembering that the artistic and creative process is engaging with the sublime and the sublime appreciates the tension they bring, but does not like a deadline.
Because it is not linear. It is a curve.
Because we literally suffer for our art.
That is is only ever about death and birth.
Passing through the dark scary woods on the way is part of the process I want to write to, an intrinsic part.
Feeling the sticky sensation, the dread of opening up and communicating, using words rather than images.
At each phase I have had a dramatic reaction to the sensation as I passed through them which I will write about in Circle soon.
It is a testament to the powerful process of writing the Creative Muse.
I thought that I could sit outside the subject, outside myself and just write about it.
But I can’t. We can’t.
Am I different from the content of my consciousness?
If I am different from the thing I observe in myself, then there is a division between ‘me’ and the thing which I enquire into.
– Kirshna Murti
Reality is not a collection of things but a network of processes
We are that part of the universe that observes itself
– Alan Watts
The Creative Curve
PHASE 1: Emergence / Generation / Ideas
The rollercoaster begins, often the result of a period of flow, the attraction to the work or ideas you have created, the breadcrumbs that you have laid out to guide you to this point, the excitement and the ecstacy of engaging with the sublime and using the energy.
PHASE 2: Collapse (resistance)
Timescales can vary, long or short, minutes or months and inevitably the down ride begins.
What is this? how did I think this was good? why am I even bothering?
This is resistance, internal, external, projection, assimilation wrapping itself up into a barrier that stops you from seeing the beauty anymore.
PHASE 3: Remove resistance do the work and dig in
I always turn a visual piece upside down at this point, or reverse a theory formed.
I then try to see how I can create balance from this point of view, to address the neglected areas, the forgotten thoughts and weave them back in.
Bring in the tools, the practice the skills set aside and remember.
Often an action or a line drawn opens that space up like a rune or spell and everything becomes possible. The best way to work with this is to not become attached to anything that arises, to remove criticism of the resulting actions.
There are rules. There are melodic rules, visual rules, there are things that we have known and we are taught to make music or images more resonant. These are the keys, these are the tools, these are the ways we find our way and these are the ones that we seek to break, in order to create.
PHASE 4: Re-entry (surrender)
Eventually we emerge at the other side with a breath of relief after struggle, to sit back and observe the result. To feel satisfied in our endeavour.
AND THEN..
PHASE 1 Emergence:
IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS.
POTENTIAL.
LATENT ENERGY BUILDING IN A LIMINAL SPACE.
SOURCES SOUGHT.
RESULTS IMAGINED.
PHASE 2 Collapse:
I CAN’T FUCKING DO THIS
The bottom of the curve.
And now the journey begins.
PHASE 3 Remove resistance:
PICK UP THE TOOLS
When we find ourselves at the bottom of the curve.
Below are some of the tools we can learn, put aside and lean on when the time is right.
“Impare l’arte e mettila da parte”
Learn the skill and put it aside
Let the beauty in.
What did you feel change when you let the beauty in?
Relief.
Time expands, there is a pause, the act of attention creates space creates time, creates peace, creates a silent pocket of time even if it's noisy.
2. Notice relationships.
Reflected colour from mugs into bowls. Once we notice and find the essence we can play.
3. Remove the unnecessary parts.
REDUCE REFINE REDUCE REFINE
Create restrictions and parameters to work within
I asked an artist and photographer Shikha Kuehn to describe how she worked through her most recent creative project, she described the overwhelm of phase 1 and how this relates to her ADD diagnosis. That the generation of ideas is where she thrives and when there is a project to do some of the things that make it possible are:
Removing the reasons why not
Creating boundaries to remove overwhelm, making visual decisions before beginning
In the examples below this manifested as a black and white only palette, painting on canvas and deciding on what emotional response she wished to evoke in the viewer.
The Dark Side Of The Moon - Shikha Khuen
The Americas - Shikha Khuen
4. Try alternative views.
Zooming in and when you find the thing play with it.
Reflections on a wet blue cafe table
The insides of an aluminium fire pit
A crystal and glitter, an orange carrier bag
Persephone - Sarah Jeffs
5. Leave breadcrumbs and deliberate triggers.
WORK TO CHANGE YOUR STATE
Creativity arises out of the state of thoughtless presence in which you are much more awake than when you are engrossed in thinking.
-Eckhart Tolle
6. Burn it down and begin again.
7. Change the activity.
IN ORDER TO RETURN
PHASE 4 Re-entry:
RELEASE - REFLECT - REJOICE
Because in the end when it’s all burned through it seems so simple.
To create we must open, let it all in and then see what it takes to get out.
AND AFTER ALL. IT’S OVER. UNTIL NEXT TIME.
AND WHAT COMES NEXT:
PRACTICE
IT’S CALLED ARTISTIC PRACTICE FOR A REASON
The only natural talent that an artist has is the desire to create.
Everything after that is a learnt skill.
Thinking does not result in creativity.
Playful doing does.
TRUTH DOES
SEE
And how do we know if something is true. A visual is the same as a word a glance or a sigh. It just is.
“Life,” she declared, “is a farce if a person does not serve truth.” Hilma Klimt
The Dove, Noi by Hilma af Klint. Photograph: Albin Dahlström/Courtesy of Stiftelsen Hilma af Klints Verk
Art work by Hilma af Klint, “Tree of Knowledge, No. 1,” (1913-1915) / Courtesy David Zwirner
LISTEN
This is the sound that swims inside me, that circle sound is what surrounds me. This is the land that grows around me and these are the hands that come in handy.
We’ve known, We’ve known, we’ve had a choice, we chose rejoice.
It’s like finding home, in an old folk song.
That you’ve never ever heard
Still you know every word
And for sure you can sing along
It’s a sight to behold - Devendra Banhart
WATCH
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Orbit | The Art of Removing Things
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Daily Meds | Unstick Some Stuck
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Orbit | RESONANCE
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SENSE
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Self Protection & Vortex Healing
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Heart Cave | Dial It Down
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EFT - What Needs To Be Expressed
When you express the thing that is within you, that is when you connect.
-Naomi Absalom
What I feel when I read and hear these words is gratitude.
So this Creative Muse is a love letter to The Collective Energies.
A love letter to my pattern.
A love letter to my family who have witnessed me and supported me through this curve my whole life.
Because this is who I am, this is how I have lived my life. And as time moves on the length of time I spend in PRACTICE rather than COLLAPSE extends.
I see you I love you.
Everything is happening exactly as it should.
This Creative Muse was curated and penned by Sarah Jeffs.
TCE Dreaming Team, artist, illustrator, photographer, Brightfeather Studio web maker.
