Why ??

This last week I had a conversation, a conversation about why do we release our creations to the world?

Why expose our inner self, our feelings, our very souls. Taking the chance that we will be humiliated, scorned, laughed at or a thousand other ways to be demeaned?

Do we do it for accolades? Approval? Acceptance? “attaboys”? Money? Fame?

Well maybe .. but I think there is a deeper reason.

We have a burning need, a deep desire to create and having created the desire to create becomes the need to share.

That need overpowers the possibility of criticism and rejection so that we may release our creations into the world, to share it with others and in so doing risk 'baring our souls'.

A scary though that, putting it all on the line for the chance that someone somewhere may simply say “I like that”...

So I ask again, Why expose our inner self, our feelings, our very souls....?

Affirmation.

This is why, this is what I ( we? ) seek

Time is such a precious thing.

The moments that were are gone.

The moments to come race toward us at a frightening speed then they too are gone.

And in the moment of here and now we create and having done so we need affirmation of time well spent.

For as that moment passes and we look at what we created we can say “that was not here a moment ago but now it is” it is real, it becomes a proof of our existence.

It is our statement: “look I was here” !!

  

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

― Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays

p.s Thanks to Patrick for opening this door

Sometimes you have to step out of your box and leave the comfort zone.

Yesterday was one such a time.

I and a few others had been invited over to a friends house to sit outside in the gathering dusk to feed ourselves and the ever present mosquitoes.

Having had quite enough of the little buzzing, biting creatures this last week I was leaning towards an evening indoors with the AC on and a good book.

Well the persistence of friends overcame the reluctance and I spent more than a few hours in quiet enjoyment and awe while DEET took care of the the distractions.

A Conjunction between Mars and Saturn is happening right now above your heads, all you have to do is look up, just a little, to the South East. No other equipment other than your eyes is necessary.

There they are hanging like jewels amongst a million million other jewels.

But for us the real magic was yet to be revealed, there were three telescopes set up all pointed in the same piece of sky.

Saturn was the target.

Saturn with her rings filled the viewfinders.

Everyone who looked through those long tubes gasped in amazement.

Everyone from the absolute 'newbie' to the seasoned 'pro' stood and bowed their heads to peer into the optics and all were moved.

Discussions ranged from the obvious 'wow did you see the rings' ? to 'what does it all mean'?

Saturn held the show and held us in her magic.

Saturn, to Holst was the bringer of old age, to us 

she was the bringer of childhood …

“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million”.. ~Walt Streightiff

This morning found me thinking about what to write. It's a busy time and trying to find some 'me time' has been difficult with no respite in sight for the near future.

However a couple of things have changed;

I resigned from a committee at the Wellington Artists Gallery

and from the Critique Group at the Photographers Guild.

However I did replace them with a new group, I joined the KW Urban Sketchers group. A loosely knit group of people who share a common thread, the love of drawing, painting and sketching.

The manifesto is simple:

We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.

Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.

Our drawings are a record of time and place.

We are truthful to the scenes we witness.

We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.

We support each other and draw together.

As I try to grow as an artist, recovering that which was lost so many years ago this seemed like a good trade.

Things change and we change.

Some things had to be given up to allow other things to grow...

I have just finished reading :The Tree's in my Forest” By Bernd Heinrich.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Trees-Forest-Bernd-Heinrich/dp/0060929421

Although it is about tree's and a forest, literally . The analogy between our lives and his forest are quite clear, or where too me...

Tree seedlings can sit dormant or growing very slowly for years, until conditions change, allowing them to reach for the sun and grow.

A tree crashes to earth as a result of old age, high winds or Ice. In doing so it relinquishes its hold on the canopy space.

Sunlight floods the forest floor and the sleepy seedlings reach for the skies..

In my case the tree's that fell were the committee's. In their removal a space opened up for this fledgling artist to reach for the sky.

Well that's the general idea, now where is my pencil and sketchpad ? ….

“Sometimes, to pursue a new idea, the artist must forfeit his deposit on an old idea”. ~Robert Brault

Procrastination - That dirty word..

“Procrastination” has become a dirty word.
A procrastinator has become a sloth, a ne'er-do-well, someone not to be trusted.

However there was a time when we all took the time to “ponder” to “mull it over”, to “evaluate”, “ruminate”, “throw it against the wall and see what sticks”  and in doing so we often come up with the correct choice.

Now instant decisions are the norm..
Well knee jerk reactions can start wars …

So what is the alternative?
Procrastinate!
If a decision doesn't have to be made today, right now, this instant and lets face it most don't, then put it off until it has to be made.

The “back burner” is where our mind still works on things subconsciously. “Sleeping on it” allows us to focus on what is really important...

“Relaxing”, “enjoying” or busily doing “nothing at all”

Oh I know there are times when we have to decide and decide quickly but I wonder how many of the day to day decisions fall into that category?

The British Army adage, the six “p's” hold true.
P!ss Poor Planning Produces Poor Performance

Or if you are of a more delicate nature, the 7 P's ..
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pitifully Poor Performance

So ask yourself, how can you plan if you need a decision RIGHT NOW! ??

After a morning spent in the joyful pursuit of doing nothing, during the time that I set aside for myself and I might add, jealously guard. No tougher decision was made other than where to sit and what to draw and the world did not come to an end because of it ....

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.” ~Bertrand Russell