CREATIVE WORK Logbook
TO ENGAGE…
One of the essential purposes of creative work is simply to engage with something: with a point of interest, with an element. A kind of play. The opposite would be to deliberately do an activity that must produce a certain result, a product, or serve a specific function. When we engage with something without the pressure of the outcome, we dive into sensory observation, into a visceral pool, into a state.
To be in the state is something more than learning a couple of rules from a book. To succumb to the state is to become part of a unique connection with the element I’m engaging with. It is a practice of energetic exchange. Through that connection I gain knowledge not only of how that element works or reacts, but also of how I myself function as an entity. I learn about my unique dynamics and about the triggers that this element evokes in me. I observe my intentions and forget about them at the same time, as I step into the unknown while playing and letting the point of interest affect me deeply, even sweep me.
Such creative engagement does not follow a specific priority system regarding what should be learned first, because I’m learning everything at the same time. I’m creating meaning, creating matter, creating substance. I feel, I act, I sense, I provoke, I yield, I respond.
What, then, is the difference between an experimentarium, a lab, fieldwork, and the arts?
I think that the masculine side of the arts is the decision about what form and shape we want that creative exploration to take. That decision should not be the result of necessity or ego. It should arise from an abundant sense of goodness—even if I choose to place my art within a frame of provocation. The intention of that provocation should be to engage with higher vibrations, with our developing side, with something that is growing or simply prospering as it is. Something that supports the organic process, not the reductionist one. Eternal life. I don’t think growth and eternality are the same things. Growth can be useful in keeping life alive, but it is not the only way of maintaining life. Life is also cherishing, and art can strongly support that. Though art is a fantastic tool for innovation and development, it is also an incredible means of contemplation and appreciation, which are equally important for our existence and energetic prosperity.
LIBERATION…
I cannot imagine involving myself in the creative process without the practice of liberation. To understand our constraints and to pierce through them—or to nudge the tough spots into letting go through softness. Liberation can sometimes feel like being unapologetically present with the needs of your soul, sharpening your listening to it, and being on standby to act when your inner entity calls for something.
Without awareness of my constraints, how can I explore complex topics with my body if I am limited by shame of moving it, or even of being in it—limited by the non-acceptance of the self? How can I taste the fruits of discovery that the present moment brings when I cannot escape thinking about what I should be? How can I communicate if I am paralyzed by the fear of ostracism?
Can the solution to many of these dilemmas be found in love and courage? Love: the radical acceptance of the human shape that you are—your history, your current form, your seeming prospects, your needs and emotions in this very moment, before you succumb to inevitable passive or active change. And courage: the courage to grow in the way your soul dictates, the courage to explore through gaining and losing.
