We Bring All We Are to the Canvases we Create

Something I have learn as a teacher and an artist....when we begin ANY creative activity, we bring all that we are in that moment to the blank canvas, empty pages, untended gardens and every creative experience. LISTEN, these are not tasks to be conquered! These are not chores unless we make them work with goals, deadlines and drama....

CREATIVE EXPERIENCES ARE GIFTS FROM GOD THAT WE GIVE TO OURSELVES AND SHARE WITH EACHOTHER!!!

(if we get out of our own way)

Here is what I help my students discover.....

As I watch each person come into the studio ready for the class to start, ready to let the day melt away, ready to breathe a little deeper...I see what comes in with them. THIS is what they create with...through...around.

Sometimes it's in the body language: tense muscles, tight jaw, head down (saying, please don't read me! please! I want to suffer through this alone").

Sometimes it's clear in the first words they speak... "My day sucked. I couldn't WAIT to get here!"  "I counted the hours til I could be here today...ALL WEEK!"    " I couldn't think until I walked through that door."   "Where's the wine!"  "I just don't think I can focus on this intense painting today, do you have anything else I can do? I just want to be here."

Sometimes I see the push and pull as they begin to paint or draw...solid resistance. Stubbornly stating...."NO! I want to finish one before I start anything else!"

Sometimes I see a relaxed, grounded person enter and they are almost immediately in their zone....almost floating as they set up, choose colors, lay out the brushes and begin to play. The beauty in this fills the studio for everyone to enjoy. The energy is pure, unharnessed and joyful.

SO, WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THE CANVAS OF YOUR CHOOSING?....

YES, It is a choice! It's always a choice!

This is why I, personally,  have endless mediums that I use to express my ideas, thoughts, visions, emotions, teachings, and every fluid energy that is born from my spirit.

I choose to create with the medium that will express with the most fluidity in my current state of being.

Today I choose writing on the laptop!...Why? because I feel a feverish anger that's spilling through me with words that can not come out fast enough! SO pounding the keys of my computer feels therapeutic. THIS WOULD NOT FEEL GOOD AS PAINT OR DANCING OR EVEN SINGING!! I love to do all of these, but the words are ready to come out! The pen is not rhythmic enough....so I am beating the keys to the rhythm of my music and feeling the energy racing from my heart as I empty the inspirations from my head(through my heart center).

THIS is what I am bringing to my canvas today.

Can I offer a few suggestions if you feel stuck or slow progress in your creative expressions?...

• What if you feel stuck, but want to paint?
• What if you have something to express, but feel stuck or stressed or lack direction?
• What if the ideas just aren't coming?
• What if ALL that you've learned in bottled up inside and you feel as though you haven't got an ounce of skill or talent...quitting is crossing your mind...

PEACE!.....   Peace is where you find your starting place.

During class I often remind students to BREATHE! They usually realize that until I spoke, they were not breathing or they were breathing so shallow that they felt a release when they finally took a deep breath.

The breath is a quick way to move toward silence. 

Why silence?

Where do you think most people find inspirations?

Chaos!?

When I feel blocked, unclear or uninspired....I KNOW I have not taken time to sit in silence. I know I am disconnected. I am not charged with inspirations that come from deep within me...only ideas of the mind; surface, low energy and I am pushing myself where there is not a path that inspires me.

Why?  Why do I get to this space?....Mostly because I have not labeled it a priority in my life until there is a problem that has brought my awareness to a block or fear or worse....an uninspired artist mind. NOOOOO!!

Simple solution! Sit in silence (music with NO words helps too) close your eyes, and simply focus on your breathing....IN   and   OUT    IN   and OUT   IN and OUT(say the words if it helps at first).

After 5 minutes, open your eyes and become aware of any shift, in your body, your mind, your sense or being??  

NOW!! this is what we bring to our canvas...

• A greater sense of well being
• More clarity
• A peaceful space within
• A sense of having a choice
• Grounded-ness
• A stronger connection to what is within, around and greater than ourselves.

Try this the next time you step into a creative experience. Notice the empowering feeling when you choose your steps instead of following an agenda, schedule or curriculum.

Love Notes from Sandi <3