The ideas have been very angry with me for the last few months, especially the
Acrylic on Paper 420mm x 720mm Click to buy a print
I read someone’s comment on a blog page recently. The blog was about creativity and sustainable wellbeing. At my point of viewing, there was a blog comment on the top of the list and it said something along these lines:
“ people, especially creatives, need to learn how to grief the loss of possibilities, the loss of ideas. You just can’t action all the ideas and possibilities you develop in your heart and mind. You have to learn how to grieve in a whole new way”
I wonder whether a key skill for wellbeing for people who are creative should be an understanding of this and to be taught how to understand this, accept, make choices and grieve. But of course, this idea is not sexy and won’t get very far in our world of “go-getters” and “relaxed but positive peeps”. We are teaching our artists to become business people which is so necessary, but what about those skills which don’t fit in either classical creative studies or business studies? If you know of a Fine Art programme which offers “How to deal with grief and loss”, I would be fascinated to hear about it.
Today I have a whole day, which I have managed to carve out for “creative” activities. Not necessarily creating, but something related to my creative projects. Please be aware that a whole day for a mother who works from home amounts to about 4 ½ hours, a half day in others world. Having needed to sit down and write about this has reduced my “day” to 4 hours. The pressure is mounting and if I don’t get going, I will earn the right to beat myself up further…
So with 4 hours up for grabs, my projects are all screaming at me. “Choose me” “Hey remember me” “Oi I am a brilliant idea” “Jen you’ll regret not doing me” “You haven’t got many years left girl” (haha)
OMG did you know that paintings could shout?
So taking some advice from Jill Bad KMCC, I have started to write my competing creative projects, down on index cards (the mere recording of them will take weeks alone!) I will then let them “audition” for me…yes the ideas get to compete for their right to be worked on by me. I will notice which ones provoke an immediate “yes” in my body…and then just like Richard is doing on BeYourOwnBoss (#notbitterreally), I will narrow it down to 3 and then to 1.
I may not have to mourn as much as I think. Perhaps one day those others will get a crack at the whip. Perhaps one day I might be able to spend most of my days creating and writing. Some day, one day, maybe.