There is always some overlap between the work you create for someone else and the part of you that's calling to be expressed. Indeed, when you buy a piece of art, you buy a piece of the artist.
[Sold: $500]
My very first commission work and maybe a Godsend message of encouragement for expressing myself as the poem reads "Sing the pain. Come out of your hiding oh the caged bird, and sing the song of freedom of humankind."
It is perhaps my most awkward looking piece [or perhaps the feeling that crystalized inside me] as I was not even taught in "Shekasteh (broken) Nastaliq", yet I decided this font would be the best to use for such a poem. The awkwardness, more than coming from not knowing the font, came from my hyper criticism. I would make every stroke with utmost reverence and presence and stability (copying the work of GOAT) and yet the technical imperfections would unsettle me. The struggle between virtues/heart and aesthetics would continue in the space and I would even hold my breath at times to make a stroke right. Later, I developed a ritual of praying and meditating before making an art to help me let go, accept, and breath easier. It took a while to integrate all these states and know that if I'm ever going to see beauty, it would be through acknowledgement of the many manifestations of beauty rather than looking for it through a defined lens.
Did I put you to sleep or did I give you an aha moment?
Let's give this statement a thought. It frequently shows up on my herbal teabag stubs and I take it as a sign: "Beauty is not caused. It is."_ the words of American poet, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).
Or this Persian poem by one of the most committed contemporary poets, Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980): "What's clover lacking from a red tulip? The eyes must be washed, another view must be held."
Over the years, as I learned art and spirituality to be the two sides of the same coin, and as I gave myself permission to "just do" what the spirit is calling for, perfectionism gave way to relaxation, mind-body connection, and being in a state of flow. My strokes would follow easier and more and more of the virtues would transmit into my creation, making it impossible to deny the beauty that was landing.
Now it's your turn..
Have you let go of expectations and embraced the call of spirit for making an art? How much have you integrated the world of virtues and aesthetics? Or, do you continue to hang in there with all you've got, not sure how it's gonna go?
Put your pen on paper and make your very first dot..
I would love to hear from you! You can do so by going to my contact section and sending me a message_ your creative voice matters to me. Always.
With love,
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