Yikes! It's been so long, my head is spinning. Such is the life of a creative.
As some of you know, I have lead a potter's life for almost five decades, I remember when I began. Way back then, titles seemed to be more stressed than today. Much thought went into claiming your title or persona. Would I be a potter? a ceramist? a ceramicist? ( and yes, there is a difference. Oy vey). Before that I was mostly painting. Well a few decades ago, I began writing. Actually, I had been writing longer, but I never spoke of it. When I decided to share some writings, someone asked me if I would now switch titles, calling myself a writer. Again, heavy sigh, and a larger than life, OY VEY! I just want to create, I prefer the private process of self discovery, not the title, nor the marketing. It has always been a communication between me and my creator, plain and simple
This is all kind of profoundly amusing. Why? Because in my early thirties, I had met a holy man and a mystic. In one of our early conversations, he asked me who I am, I thought the question a bit odd, yet wasn't at all certain how to answer it. I felt put on the spot, I naturally rattled off a litany of titles. All were met with "think again, you're so much more than that" Neither career titles nor family titles would do. I did know for certainty, that I was a seeker of G-D, that is, if there was a
G-D. But this was so close to my core, I never dreamed of sharing it with anyone. That, is, until now.
If you're wondering about the title of this piece, well, it just popped into my head, as most of my writing does, so I went with it. I suppose it best describes, how when I was in my early thirties, I was driven to write my story.But as the time went on, I kept changing my motivation behind the writing. Funny, how the experts say, find who your audience is. Needless to say, my audience kept changing.Now, it's simply whoever wants to listen. I'm not making any earth shattering breakthroughs. I am simply sharing, what I thought was my story, but now know it doesn't belong to only me.
One last thing, when I asked my wise friend how I might respond when asked if I consider myself a writer, she simply said, oh dear one, just let people know you love to play!
Play is the landscape of the artist. Everything said after that is usually said by critics.
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when he/she grows up"
I don't know who gets the credit for this quote, but it is of no importance. The fact is how can we retrace our steps back to playful investigations of our world and ourselves?
There are those who want, no long to hear that you are a professional.And while that is wonderful on one level, because it pays the bills, but being an amateur artist, allows you freedom.
There is nothing so satisfying as exploring different media simply because you love the feel of the of the clay, or the smell or the wood shavings, or the way poetry appears as word sculpture.
I challenge you you to pick up your tool of choice, paint, music, dance, whatever it is, do it. Do it everyday. Do it with a child's heart of freedom, silliness and wisdom. I promise you will discover who you are. The you that has existed forever, the you whose spirit can not be extinguished, the you who will pass your genius like a baton to all future generations. And as you discover your largess, it is perfectly normal to sit for hours digesting your miraculous experience.
