Talking turkey with my creative self
At the prompting of Jen Louden, I recently asked my creative self what she was hungry for. I told my creative self I was ready to listen and I wrote while she dictated.Boy, did she let fly! I confess to being taken aback. My creative self barely stopped short of swearing at me. Let me quote her (removing the more colourful language):For months without end you've been utterly immersed in [various worthy things! Ed] ...In all this, I may have got an hour! A scatty distracted
hour if I am lucky!! ... You came back here and I was hopeful I'd get some quality time. But what did I get? Nothin'! When do I ever get that focussed, dedicated time you give [various worthy things. Calm down creative self! Ed]? When does the unhurried dreaming happen?...Wendy, I want to tell you that all that other stuff will totally wait! If you give me a day, just one day, that other stuff will all be there the next day. No-one will have eaten you. No-one will have died. Pretend the line was down, the power cut...whatever. Just do you and me the enormous good favour of a date! A joy date! A creativity date. VERY SOON! Tomorrow even...what I hunger for is your wholehearted, committed time. [Bold hers!]
So we had a date, myself and I. Four hours. I turned off the computer and put the phone out of checking reach. I said aloud to my creative self, OK baby, it's just you and me. Alone. The two of us. I'm yours. And we played. We had a ball.For an embarrassing number of years I have wanted to make a cane inspired by my handbag* so I did. It was a blast. I made more pendants than one woman could use. And the next day when I went back to work on all those waiting things, things flowed. Grace abounded. I achieved more than I had for ages.I think I heard my creative self muttering ungraciously about how if I divided that one day among all the months she'd been bloody waiting there were still some dates owing blah, blah, blah.... but I can forgive her. I say the same sort of thing mysel
f.*My elder daughter gave me a handbag by a wonderful Argentinian artist Graciela Fuenzalida for a special birthday and it never fails to bring a smile! Her faces remind me of Picasso's Les Meninas! Her bag inspired my canes.