THE ARTISTIC BLOG ADAPTATION
I want to mention before I officially begin today’s blog, that many of my blogs will be adaptations from my courses and from my book itself, “The Art Of Becoming An Artist”. I may or may not go in the actual order of the book. I may take some creative license and switch things around if it seems like the right thing to do. But many of my blogs will be excerpts, adaptations, approximation, imaginative variations, altered, reworked, alterations, and modifications of the book!
Of course, feel free to get the book and skip the blogs if you prefer. Or skip the book and read the blogs… A lot of it will be quite similar.
Whichever you chose, I hope you enjoy!
And whichever you chose, I hope with a great big part of my heart, that it helps you get to your amazing and joyful creative world.
CREATIVE SAFETY
So in my first blog, I talked about safety. About how artists simply have to have some kind of a safety net in order to feel safe enough to get to their art. Really. You do! It’s been critically important for all of the wonderfully creative participants in my courses, and for all my incredibly creative clients, to feel safe enough to get to their art. For me, too, actually. I’ve struggled my whole life to feel safe enough each and every time I sit down to do my writing. (Yes, even today to write my second blog…)
I think I’ll probably tell you a bit about my own journey in my next blog. If I’m asking you to trust me enough to listen to what I ask, it might help if you know more about me.
I’ll tell you now, it was that personal journey that lead me to develop the courses I’ve taught for almost twenty years. And it was that same experience that lead me to write the book. But somehow, most importantly, it was also that journey that allowed me to feel safe enough to write it!
So next blog! All about me…
And I believe with all my heart, that it is profoundly important for any of you who are interested in getting my book to be able to feel some safety as well. Safe enough.
THE CREATIVE STEP BY STEP
Now the problem is that I know exactly how the course is supposed to proceed. (There have been many, many, many courses, workshops, presentations, etc.) Notice the words, “supposed to.” Because, naturally, it never does proceed that way. It’s a program on getting to your creativity… It is, therefore, different every time. It’s creative.
But I do know the steps that we need to take in a course to feel that safety. Again, notice that I said steps, as in, one step at a time, or step by step, or baby steps, or any other way you want to say it. It’s a process. That’s one of my most important words. Process. We’ll be doing a lot of process.
UNFREEZING YOUR CREATIVITY
And if you are interested in exploring the book, “The Art of Becoming An Artist”, then I need you, reader, purchaser of the book, creative human being, person waiting and/or hoping to be helped along in your process, to get to your art, to get further into your art, to unfreeze your art, or get it flowing better, or cascading, flooding, flowing, flourishing. (Flourishing’s good. I like flourishing. Think I’ll stop there.) I need you to enter into this process. With me. Step by step. Did I mention that?
Now the problem is, if you buy this book. People read books. They start at the top of the page or the Kindle or the screen, and go to the bottom of it, then they turn the page, or touch the screen, or hit the button. And they read the next page. And so on and so on. Until they fall asleep, or have to eat lunch, or go to work (the money paying kind. Not art…), or get bored. Then they come back the next time they have the urge, and read some more. Until they finish reading the book.
But that’s not what I want you to do. I don’t want you to read this book. I really, really, really, do not want you to read this book. I need you not to do that.
I want you to do the process.
THE ARTISTIC PROCESS, PROCESS, PROCESS
Don’t read it. Do it. Just do it. (Hey, haven’t I heard that phrase somewhere?)
Please. Trust me. Just for a little while.
If you don’t like it after a little while, you can stop. There’s nothing that can make you keep going. I certainly can’t. I’m not even there. You can stop anytime you want. (Just please do give it a second. There’s a whole pile of specific places where people are tempted, at that instant, to cut and run. I’m hoping you’ll give it a chance if you hit one of those places. Even a little chance.) Or you can stop. Or you can completely ignore what I’m asking you to do, and just keep reading.
But I’m hoping you won’t.
There really is a reason why the actual subtitle of the book is “Don’t Just Read This Book – Do It!”
Take care, all!