Nature's Heart

Nature's Heart

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Metamorphasis: Opening the creative door and saying no to fear


I have been inspired by an art contest recently. A doodle that has become more than that. It was a gateway…opening the doors to tap into my visual art side that I haven’t tapped into for a while…those door hinges were a bit rusty and difficult to open.

I came across this opportunity through Instagram when a fellow artist trinetollefsen posted this contest. She provided the base image with the instructions to print it out and doodle or elaborate on it, use it as the foundation or starting point at which to build from… It is that beautiful watercolor wash of reds, pinks, orange, yellow and green.
  
 
At first, it was at first difficult to begin…perhaps because the ideas were flooding through me…so many that I didn’t want to start for “fear” of not choosing the right idea to run with. I didn’t touch or add to the image for two days…and instead stared at it as it stared back intimidatingly with its endless possibilities. Those "what ifs" were running rampant...and have you noticed how unproductive and negative "what if" scenarios tend to be? I'm getting better at shutting out those types of thoughts, those thoughts that hold you and keep you frozen, immobile...I have found the easiest way to turn my thought process around is to replace negative thoughts with their opposites...positive...Negativity runs from positivism. So instead of "What if I mess up" I replaced it with, "What if I have fun and see where this leads me".



And then… I found myself reaching for a drawing utensil. And then...I remembered the joy to be had when immersing myself in the creative process. I had to go with my first instinct and shut out the second guesses. Shut out the noisy chatter and over analyzing thoughts and instead focus on letting go. Letting those images come to me, depending on my instinct and skill from the thousands of hours of past drawings and brush/pen strokes to allow what my heart was seeing.




 "I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work" 
                            ~ Pearl S. Buck



What has now come to be titled, “Metamorphosis” from color to form, from the blending of colors to the beating of wings is also a reflection of the emotional journey that took place during this piece. I began to tap into the joy of seeing this work transform. The joy that is found in the process of creating. I have come to realize that finishing a piece is always bitter sweet for me. When you come to decide or feel like piece or work is finished, you have to put a lid onto living in that moment to the creative processes. Essentially you have to close a door to a journey of discovering that is found during work itself and putting a stop to the pouring out a piece of my heart into the picture that materialized. So you see, you are never getting just a picture from an artist’s original work, you are getting with it a time capsule and a sea heart and emotional presence.


What is holding you back? What can you do to begin the metamorphosis process...to shed some layers and open your wings and embrace your new journey? What would that journey be? If you tend to get overwhelmed focus on one thing that you can do now to get you one step closer to that dream or goal. Is it a thought pattern that needs to change or an overfilled schedule that leaves no room to breathe? Take a moment to reconnect with your heart of what the next step is....open and step through that door.