Why do you do what you do? That is kind of playing with words, but seriously, what keeps you going in your current direction?
I journaled about that this week, asking myself, why do I make art? Why do I WANT to make art? There are several reasons of course:
I like it.
Something inside pushes me to create in whatever media of the day.
I love working with my hands.
I like to experience the process, the revelation.
I like to be surprised.
I love to feel that I’m a tool for something greater, but more often than not, it’s a regular day in the studio, where nothing really extraordinary happens any given day.
BUT, basically, the true answer is: I want to create to reach beyond my 3D existence and learn more about my unseen and hidden life. I want to be connected more deeply to the Divine, and I feel art does that for me, besides meditation, which I experience every day.
The unplanned result of a painting sometimes takes my breath away. It’s no way I created that. I availed myself to the process, but what came through was MORE than me.
I believe we’re supposed to live that way, to offer ourselves as a tool to the Divine who then speaks beauty and inspiration through us. You don’t have to be an artist to live that way.
The role of an artist is to be a catalyst for beauty, but also trigger a longing to know MORE about life.
It’s hard to explain when you stand in awe in front of a painting. What is that awe? Certainly not triggered by the brushstrokes, though you might admire those too.
It’s that undefined something, the diamond in the coal, that makes me want to show up for my art every day. I fail to show up a lot, and I fail to be inspired, but there is something pushing me along.
The more I can express that Something, the closer I get to my true, magnificent self. That is the adventure; find out more about the radiant magnificent being that I am living in a multi-dimensional universe.
It is the greatest adventure!! What is pushing you from inside? It’s time to blaze new trails, discover the diamond within. It’s ultimately the only way to live if you want to be ALIVE.
Writing in your journal and digging deep around your “why” is a grea exercise!
Lots of love to you! Have a great weekend.
Maria
P.S. I just posted the above ready-to-use art journal in my etsy shop this morning. If you have a fear of the blank page, check it out. EARTH AND FAERY.