Today is finally the coming out party for Becoming a Life Change Artist: 7 Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life. My co-author Fred Mandell and I are very excited. It’s also Teaser Tuesday for writers on Twitter, so here are a few excerpts suggesting how the process of life change begins for each of us:
Every life change begins with a creative dilemma—that is, a situation requiring a choice between two difficult alternatives. When Shakespeare’s Hamlet ponders, “To be or not to be, that is the question,” he is articulating the ultimate creative dilemma. Of course, not all creative dilemmas are expressed in such stark terms. They come in many different forms and many different sizes and you do not need to be Hamlet to encounter one. We all encounter creative dilemmas throughout our lives. The only question is: Are we going to respond to them?
Mia, a stay-at-home mom for the last twenty years, tells us, “There are two me’s to fulfill.” Should she remain a stay-at-home mom, or should she move forward with her desire to return to school? A successful attorney feels burned-out by his “adversarial” role. Does he continue to do what he’s good at but no longer believes in, or does he pursue something with more social meaning? A corporate executive realizes she is living according to what others expect of her, not what she wants for herself. Does she continue in the boardroom or does she embark on an uncharted journey of self-discovery?…
Creative dilemmas are sources of innovative breakthroughs in art as well as in life. Without them the history of art would be a series of boring reproductions rather than the lively bursts of expressive originality. Our lives, too, would take on the familiar but boring patina of repetition if it were not for the uncomfortable but necessary tensions that give rise to our creative dilemmas. When we understand creative dilemmas as the entry point into the creative process, we are more likely to face them for what they are, even welcome them, as unsettling as they may be, as opportunities for personal growth and reinvention…
Frida Kahlo Without Hope, 1945
The great Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) could have easily given up before she even started had she not had the courage to confront a major creative dilemma. At the age of eighteen she was in a life-threatening trolley accident that left her bedridden and in a full-body cast. She had planned to study medicine and become a doctor but now immobile and near despair, she had a choice: to surrender to the debilitating effects of her accident or to find another means to express herself. Her mother constructed a special easel and Frida began to paint. No sooner had she started than she faced the dilemma of subject matter. She had little interest in the traditional subject matter of painting such as still lifes or landscapes. Or, dare she paint what truly interested her? The art world was not used to images of women’s organs or miscarriages. But Frida decided to make her body and her suffering the subject of her art. She decided to paint her own reality. “I paint myself,” she wrote, “because I am alone. I am the subject I know best.” Her commitment to face her creative dilemma gave us a body of work that forces us to face the realities of women and their bodies in entirely new ways.
Barnes & Noble
Indie Bound
Penguin
Congratulations on your big day!! It has finally arrived. The book looks great and I wish you much success.
I can’t wait to read the book.
Dear Barb, thanks so much for your warm wishes!
Absolutely right there….right now. I am so excited for the book release!
You know, Kathy, nearly everyone I know is grappling with these same questions. Especially women–but men too. It takes great courage to do the thing that you want to do and let other things slide. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to realize that each thing that I choose to do is a choice NOT to do something else. I used to think it was all possible, but now I really see that I have to conserve my creativity and protect it from all outside attackers. It’s funny: in the summer I do my writing on my screened porch, and lately there are TONS of hawks wheeling about in the trees, screeching and babbling at each other. A friend of mine looked up the meaning of hawks in her animal guides book and told me today that when hawks are hanging nearby, they are there to remind us that we’re under attack and that we have to do the things that are necessary, that we have to tend to what is truly important and eliminate all the extraneous stuff. Boy, are those hawks talking to me! Today I noticed that every time I left my work and started surfing the web or checking on amazon numbers, the hawks would practically come and screech right at me through the screen. They are not subtle, hawks.
Hope you’re getting lots done–and that you have fabulous success with this very important books, and that the hawks don’t come for you as well.
Barb and Lisa, I’m really touched by your support. Thanks so much for stopping by and I do hope you the book helps you trust your creativity to make the life changes you dream about!
Maddie, first of all WOW-thanks for taking the time to stop by here on your own “on sale” day. Second, what discipline to be working on your writing on this day. I can understand the temptation to spend the day communing with Amazon! I was traveling today and checked out book stores at two airports–saw neither of our books
I think those hawks were definitely sending a message about discipline, the need to maintain focus on our work, not just when we’re dispirited or bored but when we’re excited by happy events. I will keep that image of the hawks in my mind. It’s an important message to me because time is flying (no pun intended) and there are still some things I need to say/write. Look forward to celebrating with you later this month!
Hi Kathy!!
Admittedly – I just watched the video of the man painting to his favorite music of the moment. My daughter came around the corner and she stopped to watch. Her comment was not about the man and his beautiful creation but was directed to ME !! She said, “Why are you not painting anymore?” My instant reply was – ” I got off track and out of balance”. My own answer surprised me as it was the simplicity. She added, “You need to do that again – promise?!” (No kidding – her observation was perfect)
The blog above added dimension to my “out-of- balance” comment by including the other areas of my life that are “not quite Dottie-like” at this moment. I see the situation in a more complete way. Can’t wait to read the book!!!
Thank you for communicating your journey.
Congratulations for once again, deciding to do something and then simply bringing it into a reality regardless of the number of “brush strokes” required.
You have led a very inspired and artistic life – the canvas shows the journey.
Much love,
Dottie
Dottie, how lucky you are to have a daughter who will ask you important life questions. And how marvelous that you had that insight. Too many of us (self included) put our own creative self-expression at the bottom of our priority list. We always have good excuses, but they are just that–excuses. Years ago my drawing teacher gave us as homework that we had to draw 5 minutes a day. His rationale was that anyone can find 5 minutes. And if we ended up drawing for more than 5 minutes, all the better. So my suggestion to you–and reminder to myself–is to find that 5 minutes each day when you give yourself over to art. I hope we will both do that for ourselves because we deserve it! Love, K