Finding Water week 3 section 1

As I carry on with a on-line group I'll also share here my gathering on the book Finding Water Week 3 by Julia Cameron Artist Way books.

Uncovering a Sense of Support

Critical to any creative journey is sense of creative support. You must practice discernment, weeding out that which does not serve and watering the shoots you want to foster.  This week’s tasks invite you to consciously interact with those who are positive on your behalf. Reaching out to others for their belief, you will also reach within and steady your personal confidence. If you had the faith what might you try” This week’s explorations will lead you into knowing your own mind.

OK ready this beginning statement about reaching inside and steadying my personal confidence sounds like a challenge but one that could be good then the words knowing your own mind…now that scary..

Friends to the Work section 1 of 6 this week.
The truth is creativity occurs in clusters. It can be argued that successful art is built on successful friendships. It can certainly be said that friends are what enables and artists to go the distance.

Personal comment…JC shares that it’s important to have good positive friends, and as I write this I think of the Amish and the barn raising they can do in one day and sitting around my great aunts quilt and helping her add the hand stitches to bind all the layers together. The three women that day doing that gave me a wonderful bond that has stuck with me for over 25 years. The days in High School working in the art rooms with everyone doing their own thing but all together in a the class, looking on to see what everyone was working on and encouraging them to keep going and each of wanting to keep going. Not to just show off but to show and accomplishes something that we had in our hearts heart to create.

We are meant to create. Create a good meal, create a wonderful flower bed, create a clean house, create an afternoon of quiet and solitude. Etc. you get my point.

Personal comment…As I write this I could go on….thinking about it, it stirs up other areas that I’ve had with friends around it felts so good. Honestly I around me a lot of people with the teaching but not always to have the kind of support on a regular bases so I have to make do and be my own believing mirror but on days when I do have them I soak it up and I do pass it forward to other in my classes and in my support art groups face to face and on line.  So what’s it called?  “Believing Mirrors”   Keep them positive and keep them around give to them as you would have them give to you, or if you don’t have any around. Time to go get you some isn’t it?

Some things to remember, not all work will be inspired. Not all work will point in the right direction. Friends who know our work, our body of work, will be quick to notice when a new direction is struck. Friends may be able to tell us when we are working badly and when our critic is simply working overtime.

I think I would have to be honest and say not everything I create is going to be super good or taste awesome…that’s really just setting my expectation of myself way to high…perfectionism slipping in but If I’m a bet more on keeping it real I can know that I do go through moments of exploring my creativity and that I may have some bad work come out of it or exploratory works and to have a friend understand that is a blessing and a gift, hard to find I know but that can see the bigger picture of me being a creative soul that would like to keep moving forward and growing and exploring my creativity.

Belief is contagious and sometimes when we cannot believe in ourselves we can at least believe in the belief of others.

Divining Rod Task work-Try trusting your friends rather then playing the Lone Ranger. This flies in the face of our cultural mythology that tells us artists are loners. We need not be loners. (Successful artist seldom are.) Remember that success occurs in clusters and is born of genereosity. Allow your friends the chance to be generous.