Over the past several months, it’s been my privilege to sit and chat with my new friend, the lovely Meghan Arias. We talk about all sorts of things.
* beautiful things
* creative things
* spiritual things
* favorite beer things
* cemeteries and their stories
* our people and their stories
We talk about the past and the future, but mostly we talk about this:
Art + Mommy = X
X = blocked
X = conflicted
X = all or nothing
X = a dance
X = synergistic
X = not the same as before
The last time we met, Meghan and I talked about how motherhood has changed the structure of the creative process in our lives. We no longer have the freedom to wait on inspiration or feeling to create. We no longer create when it is convenient for us. Instead, art happens in and around motherhood and life. In planned spaces. Or in unplanned spaces. In studios. Or in nooks and crannies. Written in neat handwriting. Or scribbled on a napkin. Often times art happens in ways that are counter-intuitive to our natural bent.
We confessed that we don’t like it.
We shook our fists.
We may have even cried a little, but just a little, cause we’re tough like that.
And then we laughed. Seriously, we bounced in our seats. Because in the deepest part of who we are, the need to create supersedes the need to be angry about our less than perfect studio spaces.
In the midst of discussions about calendars and schedules, deadlines and shows, we decided to create a collaborative space of our own. Thus, each month from April to December, we’ll choose a word and respond creatively to that word. Simple, I know. But, simple is good, since between the two of us, we:
*write words and songs
* paint stuff
* glue paper on things
* sing
* parent 9 children
* run businesses and manage creative careers
* read lots of books
* work on our vocabularies
* and make copious lists
We have decided that our motherhood is a reason, not an excuse.
9 months worth of words. Very gestational and birth-like. It is in keeping with the motherhood theme. We have a pretty awesome list of words – some nouns, some verbs & even some adjectives and adverbs. It’s a list of words that have been sitting in our hearts and minds percolating.
Bubbling to the top for April, is the word Surrender. I’ve been carrying the word around in my pocket for a couple of weeks now. Noticing it. Looking it up. Breathing it in. Waking up with it on the tip of my pen. This time ’round I’m making pages. Keep an eye out for posts concerning our current word – there may be more than one. {What can I say, we’re Word Girls.} Meghan and I will link to each other’s blog and invite you to join us by leaving a link in the comments. We’ll then scoop up all the collaboration and share the love.
I leave you with a question & a prayer for Surrender. {From my journal yesterday morning}
A question: What does it look like to let go of control in the creative process?
A prayer:
O Love that will not let me go,
I’m still holding on. Some things are precious to me and I don’t want them to change. Others are broken and beg to be hidden. As I become aware of these holding-on places, I reveal them to you. I confess I have tried to hide and compensate and have grown weary. I Surrender. I accept this time and place. I bring my gifts and my wounds and trust that you will display your works in and through my surrendered places.
