Window-shopping, North Beach, San Francisco.
An excerpt from Bonnie Friedman's book Writing past Dark:
"In New York I saw a Buddhist monk making a sand mandala. He had six or seven bowls of colored sand - egg-yolk orange, midnight blue, dusty gray among them - and a metal cone the size of a bull's horn, which had a tiny hole at the end. The monk scooped a bit of sand into the cone and when he tapped, a trickle of sand beaded out of the hole a few grains at a time. With this he painted elaborate, complicated scenes: a procession of elephants looped tail to trunk, many-tiered palaces, flying birds, regal tigers, each intricate quarter of the design mirroring the opposite quarter in byzantine symmetry, the entire disk perhaps four feet across.
"In the hour I watched - this was in the Museum of Natural History, at the raging height of an apocalyptically hot summer - the monk shaped the tail of a lion. First he used yellow. Then he shaded with an echoing curve of red, then white. The tail shimmered like a flame.
"It was a meditation to construct this mandala. It was being drawn for the spiritual benefit of the artist and of those people who would see it. The monk leaned intently over his trickle of sand. It would take three months to finish the work. It would take hundreds of hours of steady focus. Then, when it was done - kaput! He'd throw it to the wind. Or he would take it and toss it into the sea "for," a sign explained, "the spiritual benefit of the fish."
"This is how it is with mandalas. With them, it's all in the doing. When they're done, they're gone. How can he bear it? I thought. In every tap of the funnel there is farewell. In every moment of the wrist, good-bye, bood-bye. The reward for the effort is giving it to the wind, giving it to the fish in the sea, doing it to be doing it, not to have it done."
It's up to us
It seems to me that every writer and artist experiences much the same thing. We create art, then release it to the wind. We can't know how people will react; if their thoughts will be the same as ours when we wrote the words, put brush to canvas or picked up a camera. All art is subjective. People see what they want to see, according to their unique philosophies; their life experiences and travels; their cultures and traditions. To worry about reactions to our work is futile. Our job is simply to create.
In his novel The Dork of Cork, author Chet Raymo writes about the importance of following one's passion, rather than listening to the opinions of others. "Just paint," one character tells another, who repeats it to herself like a mantra. And she paints.
All too often we censor ourselves, worried what others might think. Instead, we should focus on creating work that depicts truth and beauty.
Just paint. Just write. Just create.
Store in Chinatown, San Francisco.
Oh I couldn't bear it. I am bad enough if I sell something I have created because I will almost certainly never see it again.
Posted by: Di Overton | 24 February 2009 at 19:31
Yes, this was truly needed more today, than ever : )
xo
Posted by: Christina | 24 February 2009 at 17:57
this is the way
the tao
breathing in
breathing out
that is the nature
of all things
and creativity
can and often does
express this so well
after all
how can we NOT create?
xox - eb.
Posted by: eb | 24 February 2009 at 06:17
Constance, the first time I heard that quote was through Gabriel Byrne quoting Martha Graham. It has always stayed with me. xoxox
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 23 February 2009 at 23:53
The other day a friend mentioned her struggle of selling some pieces of her work that she liked. That is was hard to surrender.
This made me think about the point you raise here.
I've found surrendering work that is complete allows the creative spirit to continue burning and flowing.
Your post also reminds me of this letter I read often. I guess you have too!
From Martha Graham to Agnus de Mille
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
xox
Constance
Posted by: rochambeau | 23 February 2009 at 23:35
Your blog is liking me again and letting me comment. Yay! I often have to force myself to write and reading always helps. HUGS
Posted by: Tammy | 23 February 2009 at 21:41
Remember that Nike ad, "Just Do It"? I'm the opposite of an athelete - but these ads have become a mantra over the years. I'm currently working on novel and whenever writers block strikes I sit and type thinking over and over again, "Just Do It".
Great advice Tara!
Posted by: The Antiques Diva | 23 February 2009 at 13:41
oooh that mandala image is so sublime....!
Thank you for the push,darling T.
Posted by: Maryam | 23 February 2009 at 08:26
yes i agree. and in the just doing we create the journey, and let the destination take care of itself....
Posted by: simon | 23 February 2009 at 04:33
you have again opened my eyes to knew direction...I have seen Mandala's being created, and let go. I am working on a mandala series and have not quite thought of the creative process in this way, but you are so very right.
will be linking to this tomorrow,
x..x
steph
Posted by: Stephanie Hilvitz | 23 February 2009 at 00:57
I am going to just.
Do all of the above, without a thought to what it does once it ripples forth.
The point is, to just do it.
To love it.
And I do.
So I will.
Thanks, this was good for me to read today.
Love!
xo
Posted by: Gillian daSilva | 22 February 2009 at 22:50
Thank you so much! Am glad you're busy creating!
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 22 February 2009 at 21:59
Oh! Thank you so much Tara for posting this. I have been just writing for months, but just lately I started wondering what will happen to all this when it is "done" and that is making me doubt myself. Back to the process, just writing.
Posted by: Marianne | 22 February 2009 at 20:28
One of the reasons why I love working with flowers is that the end product is fleeting, opening the door to make another. It is also a safety net. If it didn't go so well, no matter, it will be gone within a week to ten days. If it went well, you hope you someone will remember. I think that's why painting is so daunting to me - too permanent. Blogging is a scary step towards permanence but I take heart in knowing that I can tinker with it if necessary.
Posted by: dutchbaby | 22 February 2009 at 18:06
"All too often we censor ourselves, worried what others might think. Instead, we should focus on creating work that depicts truth and beauty.
Just paint. Just write. Just create." Great post and so well said Tara! The day I decided to not listen to other artist, was the day I became a free spirit and really enjoyed creating.
Posted by: Enzie Shahmiri | 22 February 2009 at 18:00
Agree. I am one of those "just do it" people. Otherwise, I would never create and when I am not creating, my world is not right. It's not the finished product but the making that provides the rich experience to me.
Beautiful photos, as always!
Posted by: Helen | 22 February 2009 at 17:54
Promptly after thanking you for this post, I will run to Amazon to order Bonnie Friedman's book - so thank you for that as well. Once again, you have precisely hit a nerve in me. You know how you feel when during a massage, the fingers hit a point that sends electric pain through you, but you want him to hit it again and again. That's how many of your posts make me feel! This morning, we watched Sunday Morning which had a segment on how changes in comedy over the years were reflective of society. One of the comics featured was Steve Martin. Don said, "How did he get so uninhibited?" Wouldn't it be wonderful to be that uninhibited as you pursue your art?
Posted by: Rebekah | 22 February 2009 at 16:54
>> we should focus on creating work that depicts truth and beauty.
Just paint. Just write. Just create.
Oh yes, nicely said. That's to summarize the work I do on my little space. Happy Sunday, Tara~
Posted by: CrossRoads | 22 February 2009 at 16:43
Just create, just release. My new mantra. Thanks for this, I needed it this morning. smooches
Posted by: Leau | 22 February 2009 at 16:18