Your Own Artistic Zen

 Now that I had been able to take some time away from the daily routine while enjoying some of this beautiful California weather, I am ready to jump back into my creative endeavors and answer a few questions submitted to me.

A friend and fellow artist of mine had emailed me the question: Tell me more about your transition into the Creative Vortex and what happens which makes it a seemingly Altered State that can work for me too. Share your secret!

The Creative Vortex blog post was my form of creative writing, to show that one’s creativity is in fact an altered state of reality having been created by ones own mind, which is simply achieved by changing ones perceptions and intent while creating for yourself an atmosphere in which you can thrive!

This Creative Vortex is a unique and funny thing! In general, as we are all victims of habit, many people including myself have a particular series of events (a sort of ceremony) that we follow in order to get our creative mind rolling. An equivalent example would be your intention to take a relaxing bath.

One will follow the steps of creating their own bathing atmosphere while using such things as, playing soft music, lighting some candles while turning off the bright electric lights, perhaps lighting their favorite incense, maybe adding some soothing sea salt and oils to the bath water, etc…and Abracadabra!... your typical bathroom has now been transformed into a relaxing bathing atmosphere for yourself! Furthermore, depending on how far you are comfortable in letting your imagination run wild, who knows…maybe this bath will transport you to a soulful spa in Hawaii as you swim in a dolphin pool! ;)

These elements of lighting, sight, sound, etc, may not directly affect your reality, however it does assist you in creating for yourself an altered state of perception, the perception of what a relaxing bath entails for you, so you can relish in it every time you carry out this ceremony. I truly believe that one’s focus and intent on creating an atmosphere for themselves where they can thrive, is vitally important!

As for me and my process: I will first tend to any daily activities I need to get done in order to focus completely on my artwork without any dark clouds lingering over my head. I will do a short meditate to set aside any lingering daily wonders and worries, while turning my every intention towards creating another masterpiece. Within my art room, I surround myself with inspiration and inspiring artwork, sketches, inviting colors, shapes, etc. This includes anything and everything that stirs my curiosity and excites my creative mind, consistently gets and keeps my attention, or inspires me to try new technics, etc. I usually surround myself with those things by keeping them close to me, whether sitting on a shelf nearby or tapped to the wall, what have you.

I also keep my favorite childrens toys scattered about the room, as a reminder to allow my creative inner-child to be invoked and thrive without boundaries or restrictions during my creations. Who says you can’t paint the sky red, orange and yellow? Haven’t you seen a sunset? I most often play instrumental music, nature sounds, meditative or new age music softly in the background, to allow myself to focus on my creations instead of getting distracted by song lyrics. The combination of utilizing both artificial and natural lighting is essential to mixing my colors and during the process of creating art. I, no longer allow, any kind of clutter in the room or those things which may make me feel confined or restricted. I will prepare a beverage and some munchies in advance while keeping them readily available. This prevents me from having to take periodic breaks that could interrupt my focus rather than staying in the creative groove.

What I would suggest to you is:

• First tend to what you can, in regards to your daily wonders and worries. Get them over with in order to focus solely on your creative endeavors.
• Ponder upon and even write a short description of your ultimate working space, of how you might reorganize it to be more efficient or perhaps even redecorate this space all together. Remember, this is your creative Zen space in which you wish to thrive!
• Keep in mind or even write a list of those elements (from your description) that you can implement now. Add that soft music or those personal elements which will create a peaceful, harmonious and happy environment for you.
• Consider all the elements of your space…including my examples of the sounds, sights, lighting, etc…implement all of those ceremonial things you feel are essential towards creating an environment that you personally can thrive in, even just by stepping into it! 
• Make a ceremony of it!
• Simply allow your creative self to flourish! 

I hope that helps for you as it helped me!
I will get to the other questions soon.Until next time...