Trusting yourself can be an iffy business. I can say that I do for the most part, but then something happens to make me doubt my choices as in “am I insane?” 🙂
It happens to all of us since we live in a society that does not promote trust. It actually promotes the opposite.
However, we have a choice. If you have the insight that you’re your ultimate judge of what is best for you, you can cultivate trust and see it grow from within.
We seek validation from others. That’s something ingrained in every cell from childhood. It’s a revolutionary concept to know you can trust your own inner wisdom and act on it.
How do you do that? You decide to begin trusting yourself. The trust can show up as a gut feeling, a sense of right or wrong, a strong desire to NOT do something that others want you to do. Ask your body before you make a choice. It will tell you the truth. You can tell the difference between avoidance and truth. It might take some practice.
It take guts to go against the grain. It’s likely you will encounter resistance from others and yourself. The more you trust and see that you chose the right thing, the stronger the trust grows.
Then there is the spiritual insight: life is everlasting so there is nothing to fear. Trust is the very essence of life. A small child has nothing but trust until it’s taken away.
What does this have to do with art you ask.
In art making, do you look for validation from others? Is what you painted okay or do you trust your own process however difficult or stumbling it appears?
I made this mixed media art in 2015 and put it in my etsy shop for sale. It never sold, and upon critical review I decided that the big bird was not right. At the time I liked the art.
We change and so does the art. I decided to reuse the canvas so I covered the art work with lots of papers that I proceeded to paint. I have come this far now but I’m filled with uncertainty.
Should I paint something popular like a mermaid or some cute primitive animals or….? An abstract maybe?
The mind jumps in with suggestions all the time. Play it safe. Paint what sells, be smart. MONETIZE!
That takes away a lot of individual choice, doesn’t it? I wrote about the wisdom of the body to create a while back. It all comes back to trust. Do you trust yourself to make the right paint choices or mixed media combinations?
Who cares? Is it a matter of life or death?
Screw it all up and start again. There are no right answers. The art will tell you via your “good feeling” if it hit the mark of something awesome.
I’d say 90% of my art never hits the “awesome” status. Awesome is when something unexpected appears that could only come from the deepest inner inspiration. It is inexplicable yet unmistakable.
Every time I paint I wish for that genius to step forward. It takes a lot of patience and ruined canvases. It takes commitment. Hard traits to cultivate. It takes a lifetime (or more.)
However, I have traveled the path of creating art on canvas for a long while now so the trust is there. I cultivated it by showing up at the project.
Maybe this one will be AWESOME!
What are you creating today?
Have a great weekend.
Lots of love,
Maria
UPDATE: here is the video I created as I finished the art project above. VIDEO.
P.S. Check out my awesome 🙂 self-paced paper creating e-course. Lots of varied papers and ephemera and some art journaling spreads how-tos as well, about 9 videos. ONLY $24. LIFE’S SONG.