Be forewarned, readers: This is an experimental, spontaneous, and playful post, offered in the spirit of provoking thought about
SOMETIMES we need to break out of our preconceptions about --
Expectations
Patterns
Conditioned Thinking
Conventions
and
Preconceptions
that distort our vision, hamper our creativity, and limit our ability to experience the world in all of its glory.
SOMETIMES we need to break out of our preconceptions about --
THINGS
PEOPLE
ART
MONEY
SUCCESS
CULTURE
THE NATURE OF TIME AND SPACE
GOD
AND EVERYTHING ELSE
INCLUDING
THE STRUCTURE OF BLOGS
SOMETIMES
PERHAPS AT THIS VERY MOMENT
WE NEED TO OPEN OUR EYES TO NEW POSSIBILITIES
BE
OPEN TO
NEW WAYS OF SEEING
NEW WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING
NEW SOUNDS -- NEW SMELLS -- NEW TASTES
NEW IDEAS
NEW IDEAS
Maybe we can avoid being as timid and reticent as T.S. Eliot's fearful character,
J. Alfred Prufrock,
who needs to ask:
"Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to a crisis?"
Perhaps we can always force the moment to a crisis
when necessary to advance
the honest
the true
the compassionate
the authentic
the loving
the beautiful
the creative
the peaceful
when necessary to advance
the honest
the true
the compassionate
the authentic
the loving
the beautiful
the creative
the peaceful
EVERYTHING IN CREATION IS DIVINE
AND
WORTHY OF OUR ATTENTION
"The real voyage of discovery consists in not seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust
"The real voyage of discovery consists in not seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust
"I SHUT MY EYES IN ORDER TO SEE." PAUL GAUGUIN
C
A
N
W
E
CELEBRATE EVERYTHING?
Without labeling it,
fearing it?
"WHAT IS ART BUT A WAY OF SEEING?
Thomas Berger
I hope that this little posting will be fun for the reader because I have had great fun creating it. I have been "playing around," of course, but isn't that where all creativity begins? Think about it -- every stroke by a painter, every word laid upon paper by a writer, every movement by a dancer, every piece of improvisational music -- it all begins as play; it's all part of the creative process.
So Play
Play with words
Play with paints
Play with photography
Play with music
Play with dance
Play with ideas
Play with the things you love
Play with the ones you love
Play with things that change the way you see
Play with ideas
Play with the things you love
Play with the ones you love
Play with things that change the way you see
Play as if your life depends upon it
Because it does
Have a nice weekend, everyone!
Here's hoping that
this little piece
will help you see something you might not have seen otherwise.
Just deflightful George!! (Yes, I see the typo, but I like it!) This post truly is a 'flight' of fancy and play.
ReplyDeleteFunny, the other day I was thinking about how I could 'repackage' my blog away from the format we are all forced to follow. It all seems too predictable to me these days.
Play is the source of creativity and a merry heart. Our life, and at the very least the quality of our life, does depend on our ability to see past the obvious, to experiment, to explore, to create. These ways of moving through the world are also vital components of healing - on every level. Such an important topic for us all to consider George and I love how playful you are in presenting it.
I must confess that I have been feeling somewhat disillusionned with, even tired of the blogging process lately precisely because it seems to lack the very things you are encouraging your readers to do. I have tried a few out-of-the-box posts in the distant past, but it seemed that most did not quite know how to engage or respond to them. However, your post has re-invigorated my thinking on the matter.
I am assuming those are your paintings George. They do have a playful, free quality about them, apart from their obvious design, textural and color appeal. The perfect compliments to a free-spirited invitation to think out of the box, to enjoy some uninhibited free-wheeling expression.
Well, I must leave you - a playful, creative day awaits!
What a wonderful, lovely, and spot-on post! And I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeletePlay is the most creative, healing, loving thing we do in life…and so necessary to a healthy, full, and enjoyable life. It's one of the real tragedies that some relegate play to childhood, to "useless and embarrassing silliness" when practiced as adults. I pray I never lose my capacity and desire for play, nor the joy and pleasure derived therefrom.
George, I also love these prints—especially the 3rd and 4th one. Are they your work? I've been meaning to ask. They are just marvelous, whoever did them.
I'm BEDAZZLED!
ReplyDeleteColor is jumping from the screen, and into my psyche. The blog has become my focus of creativity, with words and images. Trying out new genres of writing has been a lot of fun. So I know what you mean. I will take your challenge to press the moment into crisis, and let it work in me today as I organize a couple places in my life (the task I already had planned: digital photo filing and a room).
Your paintings are popping inside me like fireworks, especially the last one and the one by CAN WE.
Onward and upward, George!
To Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely comments, Bonnie. Sorry about the typo (misspelling of Gauguin's name, I assume). Although you liked it, I felt compelled to correct it. As you can see, I haven't gone completely wabi-sabi yet.
Returning from my trip this week, I was feeling much the way you have been feeling about your blog. I felt the desire to break out of the narrow range in which I have been blogging, to kick it up a notch, to be a little provocative and see what happens. More than anything else, i wanted to feel my own energy and my own pulse, which are best experienced when I free myself from "tried and true" approaches to things. If this helps you with your own creative process, I am delighted.
Quite frankly, I don't know how people will respond to this post. Some may think that poor George is headed for the loony bin. The point that I am making, however, is that the evolution of our individual creativity, which may be the purpose of life itself, cannot occur in an atmosphere of restraint. We must be willing to shake it up -- day after day, year after year --shake it "like a madman shakes a dead geranium," as Eliot would say.
Thanks again, Bonnie, for the thoughtful comments. And by the way, I always find something new and interesting in your blog. I have never doubted that your wisdom is woven with play.
To Grizz,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great comments, Griz. I have never doubted that you are a man at play in the fields of the world -- and I agree that fewer things are more tragic than a person who, in the name of adulthood or maturity, has lost the creative and regenerative powers of play.
Thanks for the compliments on the images. I assume you are referring to the 3rd and 4th images in this posting, not on the sidebar. If I am wrong, let me know and I will follow up.
The 3rd image in this posting is a mixed-media painting (titled "Subterranean") that I did a few years ago, working with watercolors, acrylic paints, and acrylic inks. The 4th image (titled "Corfu) is acrylic on canvass. It was inspired by a landscape I saw at sunset in Corfu many years ago.
Thanks again for the comments and compliments.
To Ruth,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely comments. You are too nice!!
I am delighted that my little stream-of-consciousness piece has helped to stir your own creative juices, which, to be frank, seem to be flowing quite well. Most of us are just trying to keep up, Ruth.
The mixed-media painting next to "Can We" was done a few years back when I was in a festive mood while trying out some new watercolors, acrylics, and acrylic inks. It's titled "Celebration," and I'm glad that you like it. It always makes me happy when I look at it.
Have a great day of creativity in everything that you do!!!
Lovely, lovely, lovely!!! Refreshing, delightful and a real joy to read through George. Those pictures are exquisite. Very celebratory on this, my wedding anniversary!
ReplyDeleteHi George - me again. Your responses to the comments are always inspiring and insightful. I look forward to them almost as much as your postings!
ReplyDeleteFunny thing ... you assumed that I was calling you on a 'mistake' in YOUR post - when, in fact I had not been at all aware of any and was referring to MY having added an 'f' to the spelling of delightful - turning it into 'deflightful'. I left the typo because I did think your post was asking us to let loose and fly.
We all seem to walk that tightrope of wanting to enjoy play and a 'free fall' into creativity, and yet we still strive for perfection. You needed to correct a spelling error in your post and I need to correct your assumption that it was you who erred not me. How complicated our need for clarity and perfection makes things! Play, as I understand it, should usually be messy with room for errors! Just shows how amazing the creative spirit is - that it can function so well in spite of our conditionned impulse to present everything perfectly.
However you spelled Gauguin and however I spelled delight - this post was a much needed change of pace.
Play on .... :-)
To Pat,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely comments, Pat, and congratulations on your SEVENTEENTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY with the farmer. I dedicate my little posting today, particularly the celebration painting, to you and your husband. Assuming that all goes well for the next six weeks or so, my wife and I will be celebrating our 20th on October 6. May you have many more years of happiness.
To Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteWow! That's really funny. You were right -- I did want you to let loose and fly, and your typo was both wonderful and appropriate. I missed it, however, because my paranoid and schizophrenic mind assumed from the get-go that I had committed an error which needed to be corrected immediately, lest someone think that I am sloppy, ignorant, or both. What irony! This is the reason, I suppose, that I continue to write about these things. The ego never totally disappears, does it? It just withdraws and prepares for another attack, preferably when one is least suspecting it. Play and creativity many not slay the monster, but they can help to keep it in check. Now let me see -- have I made any typos in this response?
What a refreshing post, full of sparkle. A timely reminder for me.
ReplyDelete...Tramp
To Tramp,
ReplyDeleteThanks, my friend. At sixty-seven, with less than two months of that left, it is reassuring that someone has found something sparkling and refreshing in what I have written or created. As I have said before, your own journey seems to have been recharged lately. Have a nice and creative day!
Lovely, lovely! Playful, yes, but why worry that some will think you're headed to the "loony bin"? What is everything, anything, if not play? Even in the middle of seriousness and rigidity, I'd like to remind myself that it's play... so relax a little! :-)
ReplyDeleteActually, maybe that's why I've not been a regular blogger lately too - the other day I figured it was because I'd not had my own down-time, play-time outside of what was involved with creating play space for others. There was certainly play this summer but not really of the sort that leads to creativity - that's what I mean.
That's ok, too (just relax!) - everything has its time. Including, obviously, the zucchini bread in the oven whose timer just beeped... gotta go!
:-)
To Neighbor,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, and good luck on your creative journey.
This is a great post- fun and inspiring- must have taken some work and time to do so thanks for that! and just took a look at your stack of books beside your bed- I have 2: Reality Hunger by David Shields and Wabi Sabi-- so you have good taste in books too!
ReplyDeleteTo Donna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the generous comments. I find that I need to stir up my own perceptions from time to time. Glad that you enjoyed it too.
Catching up on your posts, I was absolutely delighted by this one - it's my favourite so far. As you know, I like to play around a little on my own blog too - with different subjects, styles etc. I think it keeps things fresh, keeps one interested and creative. It's good to shake things up a bit, to do the unexpected, perhaps to provoke a little from time to time. I particularly like juxtaposing a 'serious' post with a much lighter one. And following a thought or idea to see where it might lead. (A blog is the perfect wabi-sabi medium for doing this!)
ReplyDeleteTo Robert,
ReplyDeleteGlad that you liked this post, Robert. I had a great deal of fun with it. I agree with your comments entirely about the need to play around with our blogs, to shake things up from time to time, and to juxtapose "serious" postings with lighter ones.