Drawing by BZTAT
“When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, freed from normal restrictions, and are opened to a wider world, where colors are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize.” -Madeleine L’Engle, (Walking on Water 1980)
My good friend Jill Pugh sent me this quote the other day. I love it! But it has gotten me thinking…How true is it?
It is true that when I create, I go to a different place in my thoughts. I could also say that, at times it is a very soulful experience. I am free from normal restrictions and the world, indeed, is a wider place.
I am given to pondering the complexities of human experience as I spend hours in front of the canvas, developing bright and deep colorations.
But it isn’t as pure an experience as it may seem.
I impose my own restrictions on myself in the process, even as I am freed from some external ones. Some are purposeful and welcome; some are demons I am working to destroy.
And often, when I create, I am pondering external restrictions from which I cannot totally be freed. Those thoughts run from, “How am I going to pay the rent this month?” to “I need to stop in the next hour to go up and feed the cats.”
Artists do have unique perceptions and insights, and we do have the opportunity to enjoy a creative process full of wonder. I recognize that all are not able to do that, so I try to share my process with others so that they can get a glimpse of what it is like.
But I am human, as are all artists, and we put on our pants one leg at a time too.
And even if our pants are covered in paint, we are best inspired when we open ourselves to a wider world beyond the canvas.
Life is an Adventure!
BZTAT
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Great post Bz! Although I don't consider myself to be an artist, I do know that what little writing I do is also impacted by internal and external influences. My writing style in my journal, which is seen by no one but myself, is very different from my writing style as BJC, which is very different from my professional writing style. Some of that is being aware of who my audience is – what they want to hear, and part of it is self-censorship – do I really want to share this information with this audience. But writing is and always has been my form of self-expession and creative outlet – even if I don't do it as often or as well as I would like.
I move through many states of altered consciousness as I work, each lasting only minutes, kind of like moving through stages of sleep but faster. There are periods when I'm fully aware of my surroundings and let thoughts crowd in and out, but then follow fading stages where I am still making conscious decisions about my work. Occasionally I move into the deepest part where I an unconscious of my surroundings, only of me and my materials and feeling the flow from my eyes and other senses to whatever I'm working on. But I think anyone who gets deep into any creative endeavor, even if it's not “art” but pure science or math or study, experiences the same stages.
It is an interesting paradox how the arts both transport us and ground us; take us somewhere away from others yet connect us to others in different realms. We choose the voice according to which audience or which purposes we seek.
Maybe now is a good time to eliminate the “even if I don't do it as often or as well as I would like” part, Vicki.
The creative process is an interesting study of “consciousness”, huh? Your description is very well put. I would agree that creativity transcends disciplines, and that others experience similar processes in creative endeavors outside the arts.