The Nude In The Vase

My mom just finished the book the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. She worked through the 12-week study with a group that met weekly, which can be a powerful experience, depending on the group and the facilitator. It is a LOT of work. That works.

So Mom decided to start a new oil painting the other day. She and her friend Mimi were having some Creative Time and Mom painted a vase with some flowers in it. Her words were, “That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”

So she took her palette knife and scraped off everything she had done, wiping the knife on another blank canvas for a future painting project.

Then she took a deep breath, found her Artist’s Way Zen, disconnected her Mind from her Brush, and painted. She just painted.

She took off her glasses.

She took off her expectations, her criticisms, negativities, others’ needs, her own needs, the clock, the calendar, her friend's presence in the room, her iPhone, her iMac, her i-Whatever – she took it all off and just PAINTED.

In the end, a beautiful female nude appeared.

If you are not interested in art and giggle when you see a unclothed bum, then you are missing the point. And that’s okay. Just skip this blog post.

But if you can, if you will allow yourself to feel this, it is amazing and it is beautiful.

The painting is still in process, as many are, but it is a testament to the magical mystery in letting art and creativity and life flow through your Mind and Hand and Brush…or whatever medium you use to engage with life.

Maybe you write, or talk, or sing, or care for others, or enjoy looking at different fonts, or draw comics, or sharpie marker over images in magazines – whatever – it is beautiful.

Let it flow.

I’m so glad my mom did.