Tag Archives: stuck

Creativity, spirituality, and passion

Creativity has many faces, but when you boil it down, everything comes from the same source. Creating something can be a spiritual experience, and when you feel passion, you’re eager to launch yourself into the project.

When you’re stuck in your creativity, where do you feel it? I usually feel it like a wall in front of me. It’s a major effort to pick up the paints and get started. I push consciously through this gloom and make something, anything! So, if you feel into the stuckness or resistance, where do you feel it? Try to pinpoint what the exact feeling is like. Usually, it comes down to a vague fear or the fear of change. Every time you put paint to paper, there is change. What if you don’t like what you create?

You won’t.

The best strategy I know is to keep pn going. Put another layer of paint on, add some ephemera, write a poem even if it’s for yourself only. You can look at someone’s work that you admire. What element do you see that might look good in your art? Then make your own version of that feature.

When you’re in the creative flow, you feel the fire in your heart, and it’s a spiritual experience. That’s why all these above elements go together. You could exchange creativity for TRUST, spirituality for FAITH, and passion for PURPOSE.

By showing up and making stuff you grow your trust. As your trust grows you know faith. If it has worked before it will work again and again. When everything flows you feel as if you’re on purpose with your life. Ah, you say, this is what I’m supposed to do with my life.

The next morning:

I don’t feel anything; I don’t see why I should go back into the studio, I had a good day yesterday, that’s enough. Sometimes you have to go through the whole procedure to grow more trust. It is the simple act of sitting down or stand by the easel and push brush to paper.

Purpose is action

We think our purpose is something nailed down and sealed in the eternal times of our soul. In my experience it changes. It’s not something that can be controlled, only followed. Via action, you create your purpose. We fight this because we think we should be better, or have a greater goal in life. Creativity is change. It’s a constant flow so we need to learn to follow it. We crave that passionate flow. We try to recreate it, but you can’t, because no day is like the previous. All we can do is to make ourselves available to the flow and see what happens. It’s both mundane and mystical.

Starting on February 4, I’m offering a free 5-day creative self-care boost in my Facebook group. I will talk about this subject and also kick start some creativity via video or live stream. I haven’t decided yet. However, it will help you to get going and kick off February on the right foot. Sign up HERE unless you’re already on my mailing list.

I have made some art lately, but been lazy about taking pictures.

Here is a whimsical dog that doesn’t care for gossip! 😀

Creativity when resistance is overcome

The Dancer, an abstract



My etsy shop is chockful of beautiful unique things. There are some heart items just in time for Valentine’s Day. You can check them out HERE.

I hope you join me for the 5-day boost. You won’t regret taking another step toward deepening your creativity.

Here is another blog post that might inspire you: Creativity on fire.

For now, toodle-doo,

Maria

Are you stuck?

Are you stuck right now? I have been stuck many times, and since I’m a DOER I’ve always struggled and fought against the condition. It happens when I don’t have clarity of where I’m going.

It’s ok to be stuck. Actually, invite the sucker in and sit with it for a while, fix it some tea, and see what it has to say.  Stuck came to me like a brick wall, and I sat by the wall and asked what it needed to be happy.

brick-wall
brick wall

Security, safety, it said.  I don’t want to change; it’s too risky.

To get unstuck involves change.

If you have an idea what you want to do, but stop yourself before you even get started, you have fear. My brick wall was solid fear, but when I accepted it, relaxed into it, and had the conversation over tea, it released somewhat. It became more reasonable.

Embrace the fear, allow it a voice, and see how you can accommodate it and watch it melt away. Make a friend of fear, and know it’s not the end of the world.

When you are struggling and trying to break through with force, you’ll only get more stuck.

Making friends, relaxing, allowing, embracing all of you in a caring manner is the way to release the resistance.

Stuck no more!

It might take a few tries, a few conversations with your fear, but after a while it will melt away, and the path forward gets clearer every day.

I have been painting quite a lot lately.  Here are some pictures of my latest art.

Hold them close
Hold them close

fantasy fish
Fantasy fish

flowers
Flowers

Lots of soft shades of blue and turquoise. I’m really into those colors lately.

I have a sale right now in my two etsy shops. 20% off everything until midnight Sunday November 27. EARTH AND FAERY and GREENE EARTH ORIGINALS. The above paintings are for sale in the last etsy link. Christmas is coming…

I wish you all sorts of great creativity in the coming week!

xo

Maria

 

 

Do you feel inspired?

Do you feel inspired today?  I can’t say it’s a day I’m raring to go in my studio this afternoon. Sometimes it feels as if I’ll never be inspired again, but that is never the case. 🙂

It usually means I got stuck in my habits and forgot to look at the world with wonder.  Habits are inspiration killers. It’s so easy to get stuck in the mundane.

Here are a few ways I get out of my own  lack of inspiration.

  • I like to go to the library and look at those big art books.  For one thing, the silence and the people reading and sitting at the computers feel like companionship, and just mingling with others can spark inspiration. Besides, I LOVE those beautiful pictures of famous art.
  • I go out in nature. The shapes and the colors are always new and if I pay attention I always see something I didn’t notice before.
  • Hang out on Facebook for a while looking at art in all the art groups I belong to.  Such wondrous variety!  There is the danger of getting stuck on FB though.
  • I do a lot of research on the Internet. I find that the Internet is a great source for how-tos. I really like it, but it’s easy to get stuck there too. There is always an upside and a downside to everything, right?  Say you want to know how an ocean wave really looks before you paint it. You search the term and gazillion pictures come up. That is genius at our fingertips.
  • Friends to cheer me on! Especially other artists.

inspiration
Inspiration

  • Visit some local art gallery.
  • Give yourself a challenge to paint something different, using a different color palette.
  • Go shopping for art supplies. Yeah!
  • And, last but not least, just ignore any feelings of lack and paint anyway. Ugly is okay.  Art journaling really helps too, or plain ole journaling to get that focus back.
  • You can talk with some naysayer in the family and get inspired to prove them wrong! Anger and disgust are good action propellers. 🙂

I would love to hear what you do when your inspiration is flagging.

Have a wondrous creative weekend!

xo

Maria

P.S. I could use an art sale about now, and I have many pieces to choose from in my etsy shop. HERE.