Secret #4 – Surrendering to Creative Cycles
A couple of years ago I started seeing my creative endeavors differently. My skills had changed from just scrapbooking and rubber stamping to include all sorts of media. Although I didn’t really consider myself an artist, I did realize that there were times when creativity just flowed and other times when I couldn’t even color a picture with my son that I liked. At the time, a friend suggested the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I have always been a book lover so I immediately got the book and read bits and pieces but didn’t really work my way through the book until I happened upon a local group through Meetup.com that was just forming to go through the book together and offer support to each other. Two years later, our group is still meeting and has worked through several books to enhance our creative journey. Currently we are working through “Walking In This World”, Julia Cameron’s follow up to “The Artist’s Way”.
When I was reading the chapter on Secret #4, I realized that I have been more accepting of the peaks and valleys of my creative cycles since meeting with the local artist group and accepting myself as an artist. Having the support of other creative individuals, regardless of their specific artistic discipline, has given me new insights on how to keep myself motivated and that everyone experiences those cycles. In this week’s interview with Leah Piken Kolidas, she referred to the concept of filling the well, that even when you are not creating, the things you experience everyday can inspire future creativity. Even the way sunlight falls on a dust bunny can lead to a creative idea. This week I also found out that you can not rush the creative process. I have been in an upswing in my creative cycle but last night I tried to finish a project quickly and the results showed it. It is now back on my worktable to be reworked. My new mantra is…
Trust in the process and it will never fail you in the end. There is no schedule for a reason. All of life’s experiences play a part in what we create, even housework. 😉