luminous debris

Write three

Day 4

“A lot of disappointed people have been left standing on the street corner waiting for the bus marked Perfection.” - Donald Kennedy

Yes, the morning pages began today. And not in ideal conditions--up too late for solitude, so surrounded by children, dogs, cartoons. And in a cheap notebook--all important pieces of the puzzle for me, having delaying writing (in life) until the conditions were just right, which they never are. Perfection is a Censor. The desire to please and make nice and avoid conflict and truth are others. So I imagine that these three pages every morning will become important measures of escape from those Censors, and more. Things emerged even today, just one day into it, even with just three pages done, that are important for me, that will emerge again, those themes we constantly work through in our lives until we find the kernel, the crux, the fulcrum, the turning point.

 

Art and Fear

Day 2

Today I went downtown - just me, no kids - and bought a new copy of The Artist's Way to start this process on Saturday. I lent my copy to someone who needed it and evidently still needs it, so I'll start anew.

Hidden in the corner of the same shelf was also a copy of Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland - a fantastic little book about the perils of artmaking--and the rewards. Having sent mine to a friend, it also came home with me. It's a book that addresses three main questions:  What is your art really about? Where is it going? What stands in the way of getting it there? It explores the way art gets made--and why it doesn't get made.

I'll add my own questions - What fear keeps me from committing fully to my creative impulse? Why do I constantly hold back my full measure of expansive self? What reduces me?  How do I reduce myself?

This will be, for me, a perfect companion to this journey through The Artist's Way. As Bayles and Orland write: "it is about finding your own work." Your own voice. Your own ground.