Many creative friends surround me in the various places of life. Their ability to express themselves through art and words often makes me think I have the ability to do the same. Sure, I can follow a pattern to create a quilt or some knitted piece or a recipe, but I always envision drawings and paintings in my head that just do not appear the same when the images travel through my brain to my hand to the paper.
Kate DiCamillo summed up how I feel in her latest Facebook post. Years ago when she was talking her young friend Max through a pumpkin-carving disappointment, she told him this:
"You do the only thing you can do. You keep trying to make a jack-o-lantern. It never lines up exactly with what is in your head. But the more jack-o-lanterns you make, the closer you get."
As I age, I am less afraid of having my visions turn out differently than I expected. Sometimes, what comes out on paper actually surprises me.
And the surprising result is part of the creative process!!
ReplyDeleteit's the striving to bridge the gap between the image in our heads and the work that results from it that makes life worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteSurprise and fear: the yin and yang of creativity. You deal with both very gracefully, Jewel.
ReplyDeleteYes, the creative process can have a certain unknowingness to it...A good reminder to stay open...I agree that it is important to keep making those Jack o Lanterns!
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