I’d like to share this with you. It’s a true story about a way in which I hid myself a wee bit, for many years. Reflecting on it has got me wondering about the connection between being ourselves – our true selves – and the development of our creativity. I’m wondering if it will resonate with any of your own experiences.
I have a loud laugh. I mean seriously huge, noisy, cackling and very, very distinctive. I’ve lost count of the times in the past when friends would comment that they knew I was in the restaurant/pub/cafe/library (!) because they heard my laugh from the street outside. Once these comments starting coming, slowly, over a period of several years, I became more and more self-conscious, more uncomfortable. My mother’s ‘seen but not heard’ mantra kicked in. It didn’t stifle me entirely, but it made me very aware of myself, and not in a good way. [click to continue…]
We all create every day, they say.
It’s true: we do. You do.
And yet: there’s more.
I’ve heard it, felt it, sung it, seen it.
It’s art in small letters, it’s art with a heart, it’s art for a change.
It’s not Art with a capital ‘A’, for all its splendour. It’s not about years’ of learning, of end of year shows, of constant rewrites and critical reviews.
No, it’s just imagine this:
Open your throat, take a breath, fill your lungs with the possibilities and create your body’s note, your soul’s song.
Take a pen, a brush and make your mark, let this simple tool act as a conduit for what you’re holding in. Channel your being through the subtle movements of shoulder, arm, wrist, hand and fingers.
Lift a lens to your eye and look at your world afresh; get in close, draw away.
It’s for fun, for freedom, for fantasy, for finding you, for uncovering that which you know is there.
It’s creating, it’s art for a change.
The image is part of some experimental photography I’m doing. By deliberately changing the focus, so that the image is blurred, I’m finding a different way of seeing and a new way to express myself using my camera.
(With thanks to my writing mentor Joanna Paterson who gives me validation, support and much more besides.)
Don’t be obsessed by originality. Be yourself and you will be original. Acknowledge and celebrate your uniqueness. Danny Gregory, The Creative License
“When all things are equal, translucence in writing is more effective than transparency, just as glow is more revealing than glare.” James Thurber
What lovely words to find as I prepare to set off for Cambo House, and Joanna Paterson’s writing retreat! 
