[Written December 20, 2010]
When I moved to Denver 21/2 years ago, I started doing artwork and crafts with my three granddaughters, then ages 7, 9 and 12. We usually got together on Sunday afternoons. I also started a tradition that each girl comes over on her birthday to create a picture in the medium of her choice with Grandma. When it’s finished, I frame it for her to hang in her room.
Throughout the years, we have sometimes run into various moods that are not helpful for creating uplifting art objects–moods that we all get into like anger, sadness and fear. It’s not that these emotions are bad, but it is important to acknowledge them, work through them and get to the other side as soon as possible.
About a month ago, I got the inspiration that helping my grandchildren with this was probably more important than the artwork! So we began to talk about what it is that attracts and magnetizes people to some artwork and other artwork draws little attention.
We began to talk about creative life energy–or it could be called love–that each person has a well of love within them that can be used for creating. Once it is located, this invisible inner energy can be expanded and extended into what you are creating, often causing a feeling of warm hands and a warm heart. This energy of life and love is very real to the person experiencing it, and I gave them two examples I personally knew of.
The first example was about when I studied AIKIDO. In Aikido, you focus on getting and staying in your One Point. This is a place near your navel that causes you to be in balance and harmony with yourself and your environment. One of my instructors told of an experience he had when he was house sitting. One day, while he was in this unfamiliar house, he could not maintain his One Point. He moved into another bedroom, to no avail, and then another without success. He went downstairs, in the living room, and then into the dining room where he could finally maintain his center. Moments later, a huge tree came crashing through the living room. He was safe because he was constantly in touch with his invisible universal life energy, his KI.
The second example was when I was in the Enamelist Gallery. This phenomenon happened so often–we would talk about it at meetings. A customer would come in the gallery and fall in love with one particular piece. They would admire it, touch it, hold it, want to buy it, but for some reason would not buy it. Shortly after, someone else would come in, be drawn to that particular piece and buy it! One time it was a $1,000.00 piece of cloisonne.
This happened often enough, so that we all felt this invisible energy of love and admiration by the first person who experienced this feeling. We knew this drew the next person, to this object, who came in and just purchased it! My granddaughters and I talked about how this well of love, or creative life energy, can be used in all experiences of learning — music, sports, anything we’re doing. It may be easier to learn while doing artwork because there is no time restraint.
This is a concept that is also important in my clowning. I hadn’t thought about trying to talk about what it is and why and how it works, but I think it will be a worthwhile focus for my granddaughters and myself as we pursue our creative arts. It seems like the more one is aware of this invisible energy, the more answers come, and maybe even the experience of warm hands and warm hearts.
[written December 20, 2010]
To return to Chapter 10 Reading the senses of my body Click here.