On becoming an artist

I'm posting this from Provincetown where I have spent the week relaxing and getting back in touch with my creativity -- reading and re-reading the books that remind me that everyone is creative, it is just a matter of being present to our creative side.  A new book that I have been enjoying is called "On Becoming an Artist" by Ellen Langer, a social psychologist who describes a path to what she calls a mid-life renaissance.   Ellen describes the findings from many experiments that describe how we are our own worst enemies when it comes to nurturing our creativity.  One of the worst things we do is compare ourselves mindlessly to others, rather than being mindful of our own intentions in the present moment.  In fact, Ellen believes that "mindfulness" is the key to just about everything creative, and her book helps bring that concept to life.  I have tried to practice the Buddhist concept of mindfulness for years, using yoga, meditation and the like.  But Ellen's definitions and examples from real life make the concept much more real and down to earth.  For example, how many times have you started something, only to give up at the first little "mistake"?  Ellen's point is that it is our perspective on mistakes that is the problem, not the mistake itself.  In fact, most great works of art have qualities that could be considered a mistake, but the artist has capitalized on them to make the piece truly unique rather than a carbon copy of the original.  So, Ellen encourages us to take up a new creative endeavor, do it just for the pleasure of the experience, and stop evaluating the results.  This is what she means by "becoming an artist," and I think she is on to something good.

Comments

[Tammy Vitale]

This reminds me of an art class I was taking in, um, 1974 or thereabouts. Pen and ink assignment. Going great until a big blob of ink wound up next to the tree I was drawing. I make it a broken limb. Nothing like being up against a deadline to make you even MORE creative!