A few months ago I took the plunge. Not that I needed more excitement in my life or more challenges to stir any unbearable monotony. I really had enough on my plate, working six to seven hours a day at the studio and tackling domestic chores. But how can one resist the temptation of peeling deeper layers of our creative self?
After some serious considerations I decided to sign up for a two and half months of the Creative Visualization Program (CVP) with Nicholas Wilton.
This would entail reviewing in much more depth all the Principles of Art, such as Values, Composition, etc. The main attraction for me, though, was the section of Mind/Soul.
For decades I had been searching for the direct path from Soul to Creativity. The quest eluded me time and again. How do you start a painting from pure intuition, bypassing the guards at the gates of Thinking? How can one trust Intuition unreservedly and still create work that is strong and relatable? The years passed and I was still looking through the rails of that forbidding gate.
In February of this year I took the plunge. It was a very serious commitment of time, energy and finances. There were classes every day, homework to explore the Principle taught that week, new processes to get used to. It was a new way of thinking, of feeling, of working and of expressing myself on canvas. How could I trust my intuition and let go? Would I really be able to override decades of a different way of creating?
I had signed up for this course to learn that. And learn I did. I still have to remember to “play” (hardest thing) first, start the painting intuitively, then bring the intellect into play and straighten the course, i.e. make sure the Principles are at play where they should. It is a constant dance between Heart and Brain. Although this is a difficult change, it is definitely exciting! Creating became much more pleasurable and fun. And I get to know parts of myself that lay buried, waiting for the light of day. The work is difficult, challenging, testing. But it is the only course that matters to me.
So the answer to “Is there a time to stop the inquiry?” is a definite No. There is never a time when one stops growing and changing and I believe that would apply to any profession or personal life. Not only is the human brain endowed with amazing plasticity but the human Soul is thirsty for growth that brings expansion, joy, discovery – at any life stage.
A few months ago I took the plunge and came out a changed person and artist. Now all I have to do is keep on working, peeling, discovering more and more layers of my Self and my creativity. For me there is no better way to spend my life.
To be continued.