Category: Reading Nook

What David Bowie, Choir! Choir! Choir! and Loss Taught Me About Art

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2016-01-18 CCC David Bowie Justin
Choir! Choir! Choir! sings David Bowie at the Art Gallery of Ontario

Last weekend I had the great good fortune of singing a tribute to David Bowie with Choir! Choir! Choir! at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Lyrics I’ve known since I was a girl, “Ground control to Major Tom…” took on new meaning in the context of the singer’s recent passing “It’s time to leave the capsule if you dare.” My throat caught as I came to, “The stars look very different today.” In a flash not only did I feel the loss of David Bowie but also the death of my mother, the passing of time and the power of art.

How can a collection of simple words, “Can you hear me Major Tom? Can you hear me Major Tom?” hold our experience of life so powerfully?

How is it that even now as I write, the music returns to my heart and raises the song’s lyrics to my mind and the tears well and I am overcome? In an instant I am transformed into a daughter grieving, reliving the pain of crying out to my mom in the days after her passing, like a baby animal howling for her mother’s return, “Mawwwwm…. Mawwwwwm….”

Art has a gift for containing the uncontainable, “For here am I sitting in a tin can far above the world,” for consoling the inconsolable, “Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do.”

Art focuses our attention on the finest details of life while expanding our vision into the previously unimaginable.

Art is an opening, “I’m stepping through the door,” into boundless exploration “and I’m floating in a most peculiar way”.

In this world where we so often feel insignificant, small and alone, art lets us know that we are in this thing called life together. We are both always alone in our experience and also never alone in it.

Art holds paradox in her hand like a jewel.

Though I may have been the only one in that room feeling the loss of my mother, all of us were tied together by the silken thread of loss woven by David Bowie, “Tell my wife I love her very much.” All of us were there, slipping into music and lyrics for comfort and understanding, like kids crawl into their parents’ bed when the world is too much.

Coming together in a room of sound and connection was a reminder that we are not alone, even when we are all alone, floating in our tin can, far above the moon.

We are Ground Control. We are Major Tom. We are in this Space Oddity together.

Thank you, David Bowie. Thank you, Choir! Choir! Choir! Thank you, Mom.

Four Keys to Healing Your Art Wounds

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Healing Your Art Wounds

If you had a pair of X-Ray glasses that would magically reveal people’s art wounds, you might be surprised to discover just how many of us have them – including professional artists!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a casual conversation about the work I do here in the studio that resulted in a sudden eyes-welling, voice-trembling story about a relationship with art that was lost long ago. Sometimes the tenderness of the topic comes as a surprise to the person sharing their experience! Even artists who feel confident in one medium, like drawing, may hold heartfelt pain around other arts, like singing or dance.

Often our wounds come from cutting comments by a teacher, parent or friend and even though these words may have been spoken ten, twenty, thirty years ago, the sense of hurt and loss is real, immediate and palpable. Art wounds can also present rather subtley. Someone may lightly describe themselves as not having a creative bone in their body. With a laugh they share how they discovered years ago that artistic pursuits were not for them. Without your X-ray glasses you might not think there was a wound there at all but then they say something like, “But you know, I’ve always wanted to try photography but that kind of thing, it’s just not for me. I don’t have an eye.” “Try it!” I’ll encourage them. “Oh, no, I’m not the creative type.”

Everyone’s the creative type.

I’m not saying that the arts are everyone’s favourite pursuit (though if you’re here, chances are they rank pretty high) or that everyone has a hidden desire to be a professional artist (though, again, you might). What I’m saying is that the arts are for everyone. All the arts. Everyone. Movement, music, stories, images, colours, words, line, shape – these are incredible gifts for each of us to enjoy, experience and embrace. Singing is for everyone. Dancing is for everyone. Drawing is for everyone. And that includes you.

If you have wounds that are getting between you and the arts, let the healing begin.

Four Key to Healing Your Art Wounds

1. Do Your Art

The single most useful thing you can do to heal your art wounds is to give yourself the gift of the art that’s been taken away from you. Sing. Paint. Dance. Draw. Drum. You don’t have to take a class. Just dip your toe into the art or arts you’ve loved and lost. By yourself. Now.

This step is simple but not always easy. Be as gentle as you need to be. Make the step into your expression small enough that you will actually do it. Today.

For 2 minutes take your pen and doodle on the corner of your page. Draw a bird. Write a poem. Turn on your favourite song and move your body to the music or sing along. Let your spirit remember what it is to be connected to the art that it loves.

2. Be Brave

As you return to your art, you might re-experience the hurt and rejection that wounded your creative self. You might find yourself getting angry at whatever or whoever drove a wedge between you and your expression. You may find tears welling up as you mourn the years that you and your art have been apart. We all respond differently as we reclaim this lost part of ourselves. When I found Nia after years of not dancing, I cried in every class for a year. A year! Yes, it was uncomfortable but I stuck with it and it healed my heart. I nurtured my way through with rigorous self-care and deep love.  How can you tend to your heroic self as you brave the return to your art?

3. Be Loving

Many of our art wounds stem from insensitive comments. We were told we weren’t good enough, that we didn’t measure up, that we had no talent or skill – and we believed it. As you start to create, you may discover that you’ve internalized those voices, that you are the first to label your creations “crap.” You may find yourself taking anything you perceive as a shortcoming in the work as proof of your lack of ability, re-wounding yourself in the process.

This is your chance to find a new way, to stand up for your wounded creative self and say, “No more! It is not okay for anyone to discourage my expression – not even myself!” Be the change you want to see in the world; nourish your creativity the way you wish it had been nourished in the first place. What words of encouragement do you need to hear? What do you love about the art and what it’s showing you? What will bring you and your art closer together?

4. Do More of Your Art

Art is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it will become.

Let your wounded creative self stretch a little. Give yourself room to breathe, a chance to work out the kinks and build some strength. Give yourself a chance to enjoy the process itself: the feel of pastel on paper, the taste of exquisite words in your mouth, the freedom of moving your hips.

Make something. Then make something else. Learn from what you’ve made. Learn and make. And then learn and make and learn and make again and again and again. The more you make, the more you prove the naysayers wrong (including yourself) and the less pressure there is on each piece to serve as proof of your ability.

Build your relationship with your long-lost art and together you will heal those wounds

“If you hear a voice within you saying, ‘You are not a painter,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh

Making a Start

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Vision Card Creation

The holiday treats have been eaten, the champagne has been popped and the vision cards have been made. It’s a new year! In some ways this is a glorious time of year. Anything is possible for 2016! It’s a new beginning, a blank canvas, a blank page.

But you know how we creatives can sometimes respond to a blank canvas and a blank page, right?

*blink* *blink*

*sigh*

*blink* *blink*

How do we start? What do we do? Of the millions of ideas and possibilities, which do we choose? What if we get it wrong? What if we make a mark and wreck the whole thing? Pretty soon we find ourselves simply slipping into the new year as if it were the old year, returning to the familiar, resuming the same patterns, living the same days the same way and waiting for the next new year to come.

So, how do we hold the space for something new to be born? How do we turn our dreamboards and vision cards and inspiration word of the year into the life we want to be living? How do we make a start?

I recently took a class with the wonderful artist and teacher Cat Bennett. She had a shocking and powerful suggestion for dealing with the blank page. As we faced our new and empty sketchbooks, Cat told us to flip through the pages and make marks, just random scribbles and lines on various pages here and there. In a moment of reckless boldness, we were over the threshold of perfect and into action.These new books were now our books.

How can we use that strategy to transform this new year into our year? By taking action.

Here’s what I mean. For years I have been carrying a dream seed in my heart: to launch the studio’s first ever do-good initiative, Give a Girl a Journal. The goal is to get journals into the hands of as many girls as possible and empower them to use them. This year, as I return to the studio, I know it is time. And yet, how quickly I start filling my schedule with the regular things! How easily my mind fills with doubt and details!

It is said that we make time for what is important to us but it is the very importance of Give a Girl a Journal and my belief in its awesome potential that makes it harder for me to dive in, to risk making a mess and getting it wrong. I feel like a painter with an exquisite vision who is afraid that with the first brushstroke she will prove to herself the impossibility of bringing the vision as it is in her head to life.

But there’s the key. We don’t have to bring the vision to life as it is in our head; we simply have to bring the vision to life.

What matters isn’t that I have the perfect webpage or press kit for Give a Girl a Journal (though that would be awesome). What matters is that I get journals into the hands of girls. Period. So I wrote an email to a group of inspiring creative colleagues enlisting their support. I drafted it and then I sat with it, knowing that once I hit send there was no turning back. I let myself feel unsure and fearful. I let myself edit and re-edit (and re-edit just one more time). Then I took a deep breath and I hit send. With that, I marked the page. With that, this year is going to see the birth of a wonderful project.

Do something, anything, that marks your new path. Even if it is messy and awkward it will still be bold and trailblazing.

How will you make this year your year? How will you make a start?

“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make every step you take. That’s why it’s your path” Joseph Campbell

The Simple Goodness of Ordinary

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An Autumn Walk

How do you say anything in the wake of what happened in Paris? No wonder the response I’ve seen most often has been simply, “No words.”
On a Friday night in a magical city, people were out and about, living their precious lives. Friends, strangers, first dates, work buddies, just people going to a game, a concert, enjoying the start of the weekend. Like you did. Like I did.

In a moment, it changed.

As I sat watching the news, curled under a crocheted blanket, hanging out with my sister, surrounded by cats, I was struck once again by the simple goodness of the ordinary.

Cozy slippers.

Putting the kettle on.

Coloured pencils.

Colouring books.

Watching TV.

Listening to music.

Eating dinner.

Having a chat.

It is so easy to forget what a blessing ordinary moments are.

This moment here, with your tea and tablet

A long shower after a longer day

Peeling potatoes

Riding the subway

Folding laundry

Raking leaves

Making the bed

Answering email

Walking home

Going to a party

Tidying up

Eating toast and jam

Falling asleep

Waking up

Smiling

Life gives each of us dark moments and when it does, we meet those moments as best we can. Perhaps it is the goodness of our ordinary moments that will give us the solace we yearn for and the courage we need.

In this moment, especially in this moment, I wish for you the goodness of ordinary.

When There’s a Crack in the Works, Let the Fresh Air In

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JRS Shibumi at the Rainy Window

If you’ve been watching the Behind the Scenes, you’ll know it’s been a bit of a tough go here in the studio this week. A tree root has broken through one of our pipes and that has meant some flooding to deal with now and some deep repairs to come.

Here’s what I’ve been doing my best to focus on as I’ve moved, cleaned and sorted, mop in hand and bleach in tow.

Sorting through our belongings is an act of self-knowing.

It’s hard not to get frazzled by disruption but inevitably the cracks let in some fresh air. When my frustration grew at stored items needing temporary homes away from the water, I found myself channeling that intensity into finally clearing away things that had been sitting there for ages because it had been easier to keep them than to face making a decision. I used a simple question to guide the way, “What’s important to me?”

Tending to our things can be an act of gratitude.

For the past several years I’ve been working on this as a practice. Instead of resenting time I spend cleaning, repairing, etc., I try to take the moment to recognize how great it is to have whatever it is I’m tending in my life (and if I don’t feel that way, I clear it!) Yes, it’s rotten to mop up backed up water in the basement but I feel blessed to have a basement and a home.

Cleaning can be an act of blessing.

We’ve all likely been in and around that energy storm of anger, overwhelm and resentment that shows up when crappy things like basement flooding happens. I didn’t want to pile that onto an already challenging situation. Instead I tried to turn the clean-up into an act of love. I did my best to move, wash and disinfect everything with care.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I didn’t feel anger, overwhelm and resentment. You bet I did, especially because the waters rose on the one day that I had an open schedule, the one day that I was going to take a bit of a breather. But what I’ve learned is that I could expand that negativity by digging into it and holding on hard or I could try, as best I could, moment by moment, to let it go and reach for something better.

This crack in the pipes was, and will continue to be, an opportunity for me to decide which muscles I’m going to strengthen. I’m going to aim for my muscles of love and compassion. And probably my back muscles too – all that lifting and mopping is heavy work!

Costuming: Not Just for Halloween Anymore

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Costuming

Have you ever dressed up as a princess? A pirate? A detective? Have you left that behind, a distant memory of childhood play? Do you revive this imaginative activity, but only on Halloween?

Let me invite you to invoke the power of costume to infuse your creative dreams.

Now, are you sitting there saying, “Nuh-uh, Jamie! I am not dressing up as a fairy.”

Or are you wondering, “Do I get to wear wings?”

What if everything in your closet was imbued with magical properties? What if that skirt invoked your inner dancer? What if those sunglasses turned you into a starlet? What if that jaunty hat transformed you into a journalist?

They can.

With a background in theatre, I know the power of costume. A hoop skirt and sensible shoes brings out very different aspects of your personality than feathers and fishnets. What we put on daily has a similar effect, so why not get dressed with intention? This isn’t about putting on something to mask the inner you or to pretend to be something you’re not. It’s about how our clothes can bring out different aspects of who we truly are.

When I started teaching Nia, a barefoot practice grounded in the joy of movement, I thought about the qualities of my “inner Nia teacher.” Who did I want to be for my class? I remembered the power and poise of my dance teacher. I thought of the precision and humour of my Nia trainer. I thought of my own enthusiasm and commitment to helping people be the star they are. These thoughts led me to outfits ranging from sassy T’s to sequins. What fun!

If you imagine who you are becoming, who you are wanting to grow into, how can some key costume changes support you? It doesn’t have to be an entire wardrobe. Brilliant and influential theatre director Bertolt Brecht insisted that a costume could be simply one evocative piece, but it must be the perfect piece.

Which one item would bolster your inner “writer” or “entrepreneur” or “artist”?

Don’t rely on what’s already in your wardrobe. This part of you may not have shown up yet. Take yourself out costume shopping, even if it’s just to look and imagine. Explore magazines. Make an inspiration board. Take yourself to second-hand and vintage stores. Try on an outrageous amount of options. You never know what you’re going to slip into and think, “Yes! This is it!” (I once bought a pair of what I called “witch’s disco boots” Who knew?) Look beyond the stereotypes to find something that has deep, personal resonance for you. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. It simply has to invite the expression of this fledgling part of you.

You are the designer of your own life – and that includes the costuming!

 

Journal Showdown

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This week Journaling Sage Akiyo Kano, my sister Shannon and I were chatting about the journals we use and how we use them. Next thing you know: showdown! We’ve decided to share videos of our “live” journals and we’re inviting you to do the same! Below I not only share a summary of the journals I use but tucked beneath that you’ll find a spot to put a link to your own Journal Showdown! We can’t wait to see what you use how and why!

As of today, here are the journals I actively use…

For Writing

Morning Pages: I use an old-school Canada exercise book for my morning pages. Keeping the journal non-fussy really works for me and keeps me free and easy in this daily practice.

Weekly To-Dos: A composition book serves me well as the place where I list and track all of the to-dos I want to accomplish each week.

Gathering My Day: Moleskin Classic Notebook, Large, Ruled, Hardcover. This is where I gather my thoughts and experiences each day.

Working Journal: Moleskin Cahier Journal. I keep this journal nearby at all times to gather information, plan and work things out.

Idea Journal: Also a Moleskin Cahier Journal. Recently I’ve started keeping all of my ideas in one place. Random thoughts and inspirations all go here.

For Art

Doodle Journal: When I started using the Moleskin Volant Notebook, Large, Plain, Softcover, I had no idea what an essential it would become for my creative life. Sitting doodling in my notebook has been a meditation and a blessing – plus improved my drawing skills!

Art Journal: I am currently using two different sizes to keep my range expanding and the possibilities going: Strathmore Mixed Media Journal 8.5 x 11 and the Strathmore Watercolor Art Journal 8.5 x 5.5. Plus I recently started using Strathmore Softcover Mixed Media Journal, 7.75 by 9.75 and am trying to find my way to gathering my day artfully.

Collage Art: I am just about to start using a Fabriano Sketchbook like this one. for working on art pieces using collage.

Art Field Notes: I have also just bought a Strathmore Sketch journal like this one but with white paper to start gathering the creative exercises I do and what I learn from them.

For Collage

365 Collage Journal: For my daily collages I use this strong, colourful and affordable journal from DeSerres. Learn more about keeping a 365 Collage Journal here.

Everything Journal: I love using a big old hardcover book to gather anything and everything from life around me. Next year I’m going to try combining the 365 and Everything.

Dream Journal: I used a book from my bookshelf. I looked for something strong with not too many pages, that would lie flat and that could add some colour or interest.

Looking at all of these journals, I still can’t quite believe how many there are – and that I use every one!

More Journal Showdowns!

We Invite You to Participate in the Journal Showdown!

Create a video or a blog post and share the link here. We can’t wait to see how you journal!