Heartsong Studio

“What are you drawing ?” asked the teacher.
“A picture of God,” said the girl.
“But nobody knows what God looks like.”
“They will in a minute.”

A woman confesses: “Now art - that really is dangerous. Everyone laughs at you when you get it wrong, and then you have to live out your natural life under a rock.”

How do things change so much from child to adult ?

If they don’t know, kids will take a chance. Growing up means taking on responsibilities and with them come obligations and that means rules. We can’t help it. We have to go through this stage called adulthood.

The thing is, adults usually make the rules. Ask any kid.

A lot of teaching, including art, used to be done this way:

The rules were given and then enforced. Good thing human beings are resilient.

I remember having lots of unstructured time to indulge my enterprising little self and create all sorts of worlds. It’s called playing, but the bulk of all the important learning we ever do takes place in the first years of life.

Why can’t adults keep on playing ?

The adult mind takes what it perceives, weighs and measures it in comparison with what it already knows, and makes a belief. Beliefs are formed into rules to keep things nice and safe, so we know what to expect.

As soon as you say to yourself: “Now I’m going to make a work of art,” all your fears, beliefs, theories, and rules stand up and assert themselves.

I confess. I’ve always longed to break the rules.

There’s a lot to be gained by doing this when things get too stagnant or stuck, but a lot to be lost if you’re just being pig-headed. Don’t we all feel a little tug towards breaking the rules every once in awhile ?

Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1606-69 said:
“Of course you will say that I ought to be practical and try to paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I’ll tell you a secret. I have tried and I have tried very hard, but I can’t do it. I just
can’t do it! And that is why I’m just a little crazy.”

Really ground breaking artists don’t follow the rules.

Rules and principles of art were all rationalized and theorized after the fact. Great artists created their own way, and so can you too find your own way.

It’s not necessary to learn ‘the rules’, if they strangle the heart out of your unique expression. If it’s holding you back, there are gentle ways of breaking every rule. Everything you need to know is already there waiting.

The secret is in knowing you cannot get it wrong if you truly listen to your heart.

My artist friend Marie Armstrong offers these ‘rules’ for how to be an artist. I see them as “rules for breaking the rules”.

* Never dust.

* Wear an outrageous outfit to a somber occasion.

* Let a child use your sable brush.

* Use a whole roll of film photographing a frog.

* Get your dog to critique your paintings.

* Find beauty in the weeds in your garden.

* Decorate every plate of food you serve.

* Have a special relationship with someone over 90 & someone under 6.

* Try to paint the moonlight.

* Keep your hand open so money can come and go freely.

* Hang your laundry in an artistic composition.

* Believe you can do anything you can imagine.

* Talk for hours about the colour yellow.

* Never colour between the lines.

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I felt scared and incompetent, yet attracted at the same time. I heard about a workshop in Marrakech, and it grabbed my attention on a deep level. At the same time, doubts and fears surfaced. How could I even consider this trip ? How can I be responsible and leave my ailing husband ?

Do these feelings parallel yours when you feel drawn to make art, perhaps for the first time ? I know I’ve had the same roller coaster feelings when attempting art that’s a big departure from my usual experience.

True to my own advice, I asked in my heart to be shown if it was wisdom or whim to go to Marrakech.

I got nothing at all.

Answers don’t always come in a form we might expect. When you ask inside for guidance, are you expecting drum rolls or spectacular rainbows ? These expectations are from the ego mind, and tend to blind us from seeing what’s already there.

I volunteered when a friend gave a demonstration of divining insight into ourselves using the I Ching. My question asked if it was reasonable to go to Marrakech in my circumstances.

The “Y’s” guidance set me back on my heels ! It was a firm encouragement to follow my heart.

Deep in my belly, it just felt right. Not till later did I recognize this was the answer I hadn’t seen. I had finally noticed it. It’s that subtle. My inner and outer journey had started already.

You can start your journey too.

Take your inspiration inside and reflect in the mirror of your heart. If your idea is wise, you’ll find a calm strength within. When doubt or fears rear up, use them to guide you in asking for support. If your idea is a whim, it will soon fizzle.

Learning to trust your internal knowing is a large part of the journey.

I registered for the workshop.

It’s at this point, when the next step is to make some commitment - lay out money for a canvas, or classes, or whatever the material costs will be - that reality challenges your heart again.

Then the doubts began the next round of gnawing:

— “How can you possibly accomplish this thing ? I need self confidence.”

We need confidence not in ourselves, but confidence that we are always cared for.

— “How will it all turn out ?”

How can you predict exactly how your idea will turn out, when it hasn’t been born yet ? True creativity has little to do with foresight - and everything to do with true heart connection and faith.

Little by little, you grow more perceptive to distinguish between whims from your mind and wisdom through your heart.

A journey starts with the first awareness of something calling, and grows over time.

As I write this, I am about to leave for Marrakech. I can feel the delicious balance playing between my mind and my heart. I’ve also started a new canvas reflecting my journey to come. So far, many running legs are emerging . . .

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