Intuition and Possibilities

I think intuition can take us seemlessly into more possibilities. When I'm stumped and ruminating about how to fix something or how to move to the next step, I have to remind myself to ask. Put it in the form of a question, then, wait for the answer. Sometimes I argue over the answer, but I always get an answer.

So who am I talking to? Sometimes I say it out loud and sometimes I just think the question. So, who am I talking to? There. I put the question out and let's see what answer I receive.

"All of us." That's the answer I received. Who's "us?"

"Joe, Pat, Harriett -- you want names? We can give you names, but more to the point is that we are your guides. We are here for you, Kate, and anyone who finds this message. We are always ready to help with whatever you need, or think you need help with. We're just hanging around waiting for you to ask."

Reasons for this Blog

I decided to go ahead and blog (that's such a funny word and it kind of sounds like you're spewing words --BLOG -- I guess so!) because I wanted to talk to myself with a purpose and if anyone was "listening" they could pop in for a visit with their ideas on creativity and how it all comes to be. You know, that driving force that pushes, pulls, prods, then starts with the yelling and shouting when we don't heed the gentle nudges to get down to it and do what we do -- in my case, paint. So, you're invited to share your thoughts here. Welcome to Studio de la Paloma!

I read a “This I Believe” article by Loudon Wainwright III on creativity on the NPR website from June 19, 2006. He speaks of creativity as a mystery. He does what I’ve been trying to do for some time now, to find a way to speak about inspiration without sounding hokey, sappy, weird or strange. Here’s what he says.

"When I write what I consider to be a good song, when I realize it's going to hang together, when I somehow manage to get it into the boat, so to speak, I invariably find myself looking upwards and thanking something or even, dare I say it, Someone. . . .

"I believe in the power of inspiration, in the mysterious gift of creation -- creation with a small 'c' that is -- creation as in one's work, hauling in the day's catch. When I write a song, I'm happy for a few days and it's not just because I've been reassured that I still have a job, though that's certainly part of it. Mostly I'm happy, I think, because I've experienced a real mystery. I haven't the slightest idea how it happened or where or from whom or what it came. I'd prefer not to know."

I, too, believe in the power of inspiration. I depend on it. Inspiration is so much better than my own ideas. It’s exciting, exhilarating and feels so right. That’s how I know the difference.

Creativity is a subject I’ve long been interested in. I think there is Advanced Creativity called Innovation. I think innovation requires one to go deeper. Look further. Think harder. Question more. Push the obvious out of the way. When the new thought becomes familiar, do the process again.

Along with Inspiration there is Intuition. That thing in the creative process that you just put in or make because it feels right or you feel compelled to do without knowing why. That happens to me when I’m painting. I can remember putting in a checkerboard floor pattern in a painting of a mother and her daughter. At the time, I thought it was because I liked black and white checkerboard floor patterns. After the painting was finished and hanging in a show someone asked me if the floor asked the question, “Who was going to make the next move?” Maybe. It certainly worked with my thoughts as I painted the piece. Inspiration? I think so.

The Muse: Another “inspirational” something or other. Usually referred to as the feminine inspiration of a creative male, but why not the inspiration to the creative female? Like a girlfriend. Ya. Hey, Girlfriend! Whatcha got for me?

Getting Started

Ok, here's me sticking my big toe in cyberspace to get the temperature and see how I like it.

As an artist, I'm an oil painter, I'm frequently asked to write an Artist Statement about a painting or a series of paintings. It always seems like that's a sure way to freeze my thoughts. Sometimes I'm really lucid about my work and I'm hoping to use this space to capture those thoughts, and, generally write about the creative thought process.