HONORING YOUR OWN BEST PROCESS

October Raspberries. Photo

When thinking about what moves a person to create, sometimes it is nothing more/or less than being immersed in the out-of doors. I love my raspberries, which recall for me happy memories of picking them in the woods, as a child gathering gifts free from Nature. So often I am stimulated by visual cues, but this time I tried to reflect on other senses as well; the sense of touch, smell and taste. I find so often a new metaphor hides under the vines, both for writing and for creating visual imagery.

If an artist or writer can identify the conditions, situations, or rituals which contribute to his or her most creative work (play) then it is wise to make sure those conditions are in place when it is desirable to create. Not everyone sits down at the same time every day to write, or to paint or to......(name your creative favorite... compose?)

My best process means paying attention to my emotion as it connects to a situation, a place, a scene or idea. If I am unable to go to work just then, I at least write down a few words... the place, the feeling, words that come to me, metaphors, etc. I may take a picture, or sketch.

So many times I have gone back to those notes when I have enough time to devote to the idea, and have recaptured the concept and carried it out to completion. For me, my best process is not to simply produce, but to give myself and my process to the creative Source as soon as I am able.