Sensical: The Evolution of a Painting

While on the brink of sleep Sunday evening, I had a sudden burst of inspiration.  (Must have been Gus.  Or the video of his creator, Steve.)  Whatever the reason, once again I was reminded that a little time, silence, awareness, and creative expression can lead to unexpectedly magical results.

Many, many weeks ago I started a painting for Hali Karla's class in Wild.  (WILD is a workshop of several courses hosted by spiritually creative Lisa Dieken.)  Hali's fabulous class led us through a sensual exploration - painting through a mindful connection with taste, touch, scent, sight, and sound.  I had a dleicious time with music, strawberries, and finger painting on a huge poster board.

The final instruction was to let intuition take us where it may with the painting.  For whatever reason, I got stuck.  Big time, nothing-coming-to-me stuck.  The painting was moved to the side of my studio where it languished in sad incompletion.

Until today.

The original painting of the five senses.  Fun, but it definitely wasn't finished...

In that sudden burst of creative inspiration last night, I SAW the completed piece.  It took everything I had not to jump out of bed at 1 a.m. and race downstairs to make it happen. 

Fortunately, I let myself sleep.  And today I went to make my vision a reality.

Perhaps before, I was so caught up in what I was going to paint ON the poster board that I was limiting my own creativity.  

It took a bit of looking-outside-the-poster-board-box and releasing of fear that I might irrevocably ruin it to really make this piece what it wanted to become.  (Thanks again, Gus.)

(Of note, when I went to work on the painting I discovered what I had painted on the back of the poster board a few years ago.  It was something from one of Connie Hozvicka's classes - something from a random prompt that I no longer remember.  I do remember it was a "dump" of sorts...dumping all of the highly-charged words and phrases that came to mind in one place.  It was a TREMENDOUS emotional release.

(I've not shared this publicly before, but wanted to give you an idea of the charge that the reverse side of the painting was holding!)

I'm wondering if that negativity was embedded into the piece...which is why it was necessary to tear it up and release it all!)

I tore the painting into one inch strips then wove them together.  It took a few hours of weaving and pulling and adjusting the strips, but the final result makes me unbelievably happy:

It never ceases to amaze me that when I let go of what I think something should be, what it is emerges.  And when we let something be what it is?  Simple, breath-taking beauty.

So here's to the patience that lets our insight naturally develop,

here's to those peaceful moments when inspiration calls,

here's to our senses and the mystical world they experience,

here's to those precious souls that guide us in exploration,

here's to the mindful presence that allows us to hear our own callings,

and here's to the creativity expressed through each of us simply Being Who We Are.

Namaste. 

Comments

[Tracie]

That's so brilliant!!! Brilliant I tell you! And gorgeous! Inspiration is a beautiful thing . . . it always comes, but in it's own time. And like Leonardo DaVinci knew (that smarty)....it often comes when we're resting. Love it Lisa!!!

[Tracie]

oh I'd love to see the backside NOW.......

[Leslie]

Amazingly gorgeous!

[hali]

oh, you KNOW i LOVE this!!!
i know so well that place of stuckness - where we are sitting with how we think its supposed to go or feel (inside the box), frozen - when our spirit is just hanging out, watching, waiting for us to let go of that and go - 'oh, yeah' this one is supposed to be so out of the box, so not what i thought in my stuckness. just the flash moment of awareness and the momentum kicks in and wa-lah! fresh perspective, art, joy, life, sensation... and we are re-fueled with the satisfaction of engagement and resolution and a damn good piece of creativity sitting before us in testimony to the beauty of the process.
thanks for this circle of inspiration, Lisa!!

[Ken]

That piece turned out beautiful, Lisa. It feels... powerful. It really speaks to me.

[colleen talbot]

FARTS!

that is so real....

I just love this piece girl, and your vulnerable sharing. xx

[Sherry Smyth]

This is inspiring. What you did with that original piece shows how when we let ourselves follow our intuition it won't let us down. Gus is a great mentor!! :)

[Natasha]

Wow! The transformation is inspired and real. Sometimes it is the stepping away that gives is the space to see. I have only painted one sense from Hali's class in Wild, but I am inspired to finish today. A perfect winters day activity to combine with the laundry and baking cookies with Miss 5. I just realised how much I need to paint today.

[Theresa]

That is absolutely beautiful! I love how much depth and vision there is in the piece. It sparks much more the original. You were correct in going back to it. Three cheers for patience!