|
There is so much going on in the world right now that is hard and painful and needing healing. It is heavy.
And you really really want to offer what you can in your creative work to make it better. You want your creative work to matter in relation to the topics and issues that you care the most about. This is a ton of pressure to ask of yourself. It would not be surprising at all if you feel stuck behind this stuff. Great ideas and lots of inspiration, but when you sit down to do the work, it is not flowing out of you. This is the thing: in order for you to work from your heart, you need to get past your anxiety and pressure, you need to let go of the thinking mind and all the analysis, clarification and problem solving that you are spinning with. Those things are good and have their place, but in order for you to get to the deeper creative work that is truly healing for our culture, it needs to come from your heart. This means inviting play and pleasure. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but the access to the creative unconscious is through play and pleasure. Letting yourself enjoy the way the words sound, the way melodies dance, the way colors play on the page and clay feels in your hands. And following what is compelling is the way to enter. The stuff that matters to you is going to be there and you will find a new way to understand them by allowing your creative play to take over. You can trust the process. If you are an artist or creative who works from the heart and cares about making your work matter, I invite you to come to my winter workshop. It will be a way to come home to yourself and open your channels of creativity. Taproot Winter Workshop February 17th from 1:00 to 3:00pm or 6:00 to 8:00 pm EST Click to Learn More and Register
0 Comments
What if getting your artwork out into the world does not have to be so painful?
What if in fact it was a joyous act. I know, I know it seems a little nuts. For many of us artists, it is just so confusing about why it is so difficult. I have been working on this issue and I'm excited to be working with artists and also leading a group of artists and creatives in dealing with this issue. I just want to plant a seed about this. This is the thought: if you are making art that is in alignment with your purpose, values, strengths, and your temperament and you are putting it out there in a way that is also in alignment with your purpose values, strengths and your temperament, then there is flow. You can have ease in this process. There isn't all that friction of feeling like you are off from yourself. I believe so strongly in the value of your artwork getting out into into the world. If you are someone who makes work from your heart, from your depths, your sense of discovery and process and unknown, it's so important to get this out in the world and I have been working on "what would it take to get the work out there?" It's about getting in alignment, setting up structures, understanding about connection and the exchange. I welcome you to join me here more and follow my videos. If you'd like to talk about the group. I'm doing interviews right now to understand what people are going through.
If you feel daunted or cringy about sharing your work with others, or having conversations about it, you are not alone! Sometimes it feels like you have to have a very thick skin to hear what others really think.
If you are someone who works from a vulnerable and heart felt place in your creative work, it can seem like it is not worth it to connect with others about it. It is worth it! Without a depth of connection around your creative work you can lose momentum and purpose. It can seem like a worthless endeavor and a waste of time. This is because the creative act is, at its core, a place of communication, an utterance, that needs to be received in order to be fulfilled. And when it is received well, you will feel inspired, valued and energized. It is important to get interaction around your creative work, but it is not easy to get really good conversation. There are three basic ways that we might get that interaction:
If you are going to put together a group to talk about creative work, here are a few tips:
I am in the process of creating a coaching group for artists and creatives who make work from the heart, from a depth of vulnerability and professionalism, who are working on getting their work out into the world. This kind of conversation will be an important component of it. If you would like to know more about it, please subscribe to my newsletter http://eepurl.com/buTz61, and email me val(at)taprootartsinsight.com. I have yet to get the group description on my website, but I am definitely talking to folks already, so please do not feel shy about contacting me! val (at) taprootartsinsight.com. You may also be interested in my Taproot Winter Workshop on February 17th. Click to learn more. Tapping the darkness- a winter’s journey
As the days begin to get long and the pandemic is making a turn for the better with vaccines on the way, the elections behind us, and voices of justice and calls for equality being heard around the world, we are slowly, slowly turning toward spring. Before we emerge, I want to invite artists and creatives of all sorts to join me for a nourishing and integrating Winter Workshop. What: Taproot Winter Workshop When: February 17 from 1-3 pm est or 6-8 est Where: Zoom Who: artists and creatives of any sort, any background and any level of experience who share in the values listed below. Cost: donations gratefully accepted- link available when you register Join me for a rich exploration of the gifts of winter for your creative practice. So often winter can feel isolating, and this winter in particular has been magnified in this way. But there is a lot to be said for what the dark and quiet time can offer. Winter is like the night of the annual cycle. It is a time of rest, integration, editing and redirecting, dreaming, internal growth, deep nourishment, and healing. Bring your journals and we will do some visualization to invite our deep inner work to direct our attention. This will be a very safe container for personal exploration and reflection. The winter has already been doing its work, as we edge towards spring, this will be a wonderful way to find grounding, affirm your place in the world, get yourself aligned in your direction, set intentions and prepare for the year ahead. So much healing to be done and as artists and creatives, our voices are a balm to our cultures. This will also be a great way meet other creatives who value the process of discovery that can happen in creative play. This is not a promotional event, but I will mention my upcoming small group offerings and will be happy to talk to folks about it after the workshop is over. For those who are interested in the small group- I think of this workshop as a grounding for the year. What you can expect to gain:
I have a favor to ask. If you know anyone who fits the description below could you send this along to them?
I am looking to interview some artists and creatives, so I can refine my understanding of how I can be of help as I am developing new group offerings and support materials. These conversations, which are private- not published in any way, are a lot of fun for both of us and often are quite helpful and inspiring. Specifically, I am looking for people who value creating work that is authentic, meaningful, and high quality, whether they feel like they are achieving those values currently or not. And they may not have gotten as far in their creative career as they would like, but they have a fair amount of experience and or training. They may also be developing their business or work direction, whether that is selling their creative work or some other self-employed business like teaching, consulting, coaching or body work. I know how hard this path can be because I have been on it for a long time. Every one of us is different, and I am deeply aware that in order for me to be of real service, I need to be listening well outside of my own experience. I am interested in talking with as diverse a group of individuals as I can within these values, whether that diversity is based in cultural heritage and personal background or types of work and level of experience. I am looking to understand more about the challenges and personal struggles, as well as what has helped, what needs have not been met, what questions they grapple with and how I can be of service. I will also be asking questions to help me understand how best to be found by the people who could most use my support. In exchange for 1/2 hour of interview, I would like to offer 1/2 hour of coaching. This can all happen within one phone or zoom call, or it can be 2 separate appointments. I should mention that, though this is not intended as a sales strategy, I am always listening for ways that I can be of help. If, in the course of our conversation, I feel I could be of service to someone, and we might be a good fit, I may ask if they would like to talk about what it would look like to work together. And it is totally fine if they do not want to have that conversation. If you know anyone who would fit this description, please pass this along to them. If you would be interested and willing to do this interview/coaching exchange, please use this link to schedule an appointment. Or email me at val@taprootartsinsight.com Thank you so much for your support and interest! Warmly, Val Entering a new piece of art can be tough - especially for those creatives who have some experience. You want it to be good. And that gets in the way of the open play necessary if you want to dive into something new. There is a sense of permission that we need to give ourselves to make something that is not all that good. Or maybe even really bad. You have to risk the unknown - and sometimes it will surprise you in a really great way - and other times not so much. That is ok. So you can see in the video below that I revel in the process of slamming and shoving - a very physical way of entering a piece - which allows me to skip entirely that pristine white canvas or paper or page or space. And I can slide seemlessly into pushing the clay around until I find something that is intriguing or catches my attention - and then I slow down and start to dance with the clay. What I said to my co-working group (I had started this process in a co-working session - look for a link below - it is a wonderful group!) is that I had started with "I don't know how to do this" and gotten all the way to Ugly. This is a place I celebrate because it is a way of entering and really being open to discovery - there is absolutely nothing to lose - nothing precious. So I have complete freedom to create. This is all in service of staying in the not knowing as long as possible so that I can invite the creative unconscious to play. Only later do I figure out what I have been up to and what it all means to me. I run a co-working group. If you would like to know more about it or sign up to join - click the link below. It is free and fun and I welcome newcomers! -Winter can be such a challenging time, especially for those of us further from the equator- where winters mean cold and snow and very short days.
And this year the normal isolation that comes in winter has been exasperated with Covid. There has been a lot going on culturally with the pain and strength of the Black Lives matter movement. It has been painful, but for me anyway ultimately hopeful. We are seeing things that so many have been in denial about and I feel the surge of energy has so much potential for positive change. And this is what can happen for each of us in winter. It is a time of self-reflection, assimilating what has been going on, and making the internal shifts that allow us to move in the directions that we want to. It is a time of re-evaluating our direction, bringing healing to our deep wounds and nourishing our souls with the deep connections that we feel in being part of this vast earth and this complex set of cultures. As creatives, we can feel it as a fallow time, or a time of playing in the unknown, or a generative time. Dreams happen at night, and winter is the night of the annual cycle. So connect with your dreams! For myself, so much has been going on and some of it is ready to share. Today I mostly want to let you know about the videos. I have been having so much fun making little 3-5 minute videos while I walk in the woods. They are mostly thoughts that come from my coaching for artists and creatives, and my hope and desire is that they are nourishing and helpful. It would be super helpful if you would be willing to click one of the links below- the you tube channel or the Facebook page- check out a video and hit follow or like or comment! This will help the google algorithms value them enough to send on to others! Also if you are not on my newsletter mailing list, now is a good time to join! You can get these short little uplifting and inspiring gems sent right to your in-box. I should mention that there is a reconfiguration about to happen there too- choices you will be offered in how much and what kind of content- so keep your eyes open for this! There is a message that we get as creatives that in order to sell well we have to have a singular voice, a brand that is recognizable. Ok- it might be easier for people who are getting to know your work to recognize you, and it might make people feel more comfortable with that sense of recognition. But it does not serve the world and it does not serve your own creative exploration to limit yourself.
We all have very different sides to us. It would be disingenuous to limit yourself to only one part of yourself in your creative work. It is like the woods I was walking in in this video, where it had recently snowed: it looked very different that day than the day before, expressed itself differently, but was in fact the same patch of woods that I know and love. It changes with the season, with the weather, with the quality of light and with time passing and parts growing and dying. As do you and I. We are affected by all the things happening to us through our lives, and we naturally express ourselves in a variety of ways. The thing is that our audience needs the diversity of who we are because they too are complex beings. Our integrity and authenticity in this is a gift to them. It does not serve anyone to stay small. I say go ahead and do all of your work and when it comes time show it, create the record, put together the look of poetry, create an exhibit, you can curate a unified body of work and talk about how of the pieces fit into a whole in your writing. Trust that it will be naturally unified because you are a whole person and all of the parts of you fit together, all of what you are learning and growing with fit together. You may not know how they do while you are making them, But when you look back over time, the connections are going to be the key to your greatest learnings. I would love to know your thoughts about this idea- have you felt the pressure to limit yourself? What is your experience and what is your fear? Please comment below! Warmly, Val PS if you know anyone who could benefit from hearing these words, please pass this along or share it in any form you have!  There is a deep need I have in this time for quiet, for reflection and peace, but not as an escape. It is more a way to let in what is happening in the world and be with it.
|
Click to set custom HTML
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
