Paint n’ Paper, getting messy, having fun and looking
at your life...
Lately, I keep hearing people say ‘I wish I was more
creative’. The thing is, they ARE creative!
We all are! It is our birthright, no doubt about it.
Unfortunately, we are often conditioned by non-enlightened education
systems to believe that we are not creative. We are
too stuck in the ‘logical mind’ which of course,
is not the true home of creativity anyway! We need to
get into the feminine, intuitive, left side to release our
creative selves. Largely, it’s a matter of onfidence,
that’s all! And permission.
Judging. While you are creating something is not
the time to be thinking about the finished result! Avoid
this, as it is the stifling death of creativity!
Try instead to focus on the feeling of painting
or making it, the process, your enjoyment of the
texture, colour etc. Get childlike! Get excited!
Get daring! Get sensual!
Afterwards... Is not the time to start judging it, either!
Put it away and have a fresh look later. Often what
looks good initially turns out not to be good later.
And vice versa.
Permission. I hereby grant you permission to create
in the way YOU choose! There are no rules here.
Rules about lines or pots needing to be straight or eyes needing
to be the same size or even level need to be dropped as they
may result in dusty dry bits of art! Let it all go a
bit wonky... Cos nature, if you look around you, definitely
has a kink in it! Which is more interesting –
the perfect round white plate pressed out by machine, or the
wonky colourful one someone touched and made by hand?
Failure. You also need permission to create something
that is rubbish, no good, a shocking waste of materials.
Have that as an aim, even! Otherwise it’s such
a barrier to getting started.
Use a Container: No not Tupperware! When I’m
going to do a painting I often begin with a vague ‘containing’
idea in mind, like ‘a blue and white swirly painting’.
Or ‘something purple with a face’. I
find having this overall idea boxes me in enough to get on
with the painting, yet without confining me so much I don’t
want to do it! Starting something with ‘no limits’
can feel more scary... the proverbial ‘blank canvas’.
Or you can scribble on the page to break the ice.
Identity. Forget about all that ‘Being An Artist’
stuff. There is no such thing. No-one pins an
‘I am an Artist’ badge proudly on your lapel,
even after years at art school! (Make such a label for
yourself, if it helps!!) Everyone can create. You do
not need to ‘be an artist’ to make a picture.
Or ‘be a musician’ to write a song, come to that.
We are multitudes! Also, just because I might call myself
‘An Artist’ and perhaps you don’t, does
not mean that my paintings will be any better or worse
than yours! We can all do it.
Materials: Buy cheap materials so you don’t get
hung up about using them! Kids crayons, student
oils, are fine.
Here’s a meditation that might help. Ask a friend
to read to you, or record for yourself.
Creativity Meditation: Sit comfortably with a straight
spine, yet relax the body. Feel yourself
connected to the ground as you breathe deeply through the
nose. Imagine absorbing red light up through your feet,
your body, filling until it reaches your head. Exhale
and let it go. Now you see a staircase. Go up
it, and discover a room. Have a look around. What
can you see? Hear? Smell? Clear out any rubbish
you find, asking angels or guides to help if needed.
Now you notice a strange object or structure in the middle
of the room. You move closer to explore it, miniaturising
yourself and entering in if needed. You explore the
structure, which is about your creativity, with the help of
angels and guides to clean, change, improve it if you wish.
Then gently come back to the room and reflect on what you
experienced.
Get Creative - Exercise: Choose a topic. For example
‘my life from age one to five’. ‘My relationship’.
‘My ideal relationship’. ‘My Mother’.
‘My dreams and wishes’. ‘What I really
want’. Etc. Whatever first pops into your
head. And get ripping with magazines, just tear out
pictures that grab you. Don’t judge it or analyse,
fuss, just rip. Allow only ten minutes for this.
Grab your glue and stick the pics onto a large piece of paper.
Put them where you first want to. Add paint, words,
scribbles, glitter, lipstick, sand... whatever appeals.
Then take a break and look at your image. NOW is the
time to ask ‘why?’ (or whaaat?) See
what insights arise, especially relating to the topic you
chose for the exercise. Get with a friend and seek their
insights too. The subconscious mind knows, if we just
allow ourselves to plumb that hidden wisdom. What are
you depicting? A feeling? Energy? Alternate
realms and realities? Or are you trying to show ‘reality’?
What is ‘reality’? Is there any such thing?
Or are we all experiencing various shades of it, through our
manifold beliefs, lenses, preconceptions and prejudices?
Celebrate. I use my art to celebrate and affirm my life.
For example, I just made some pretty jewellery celebrating
a big realisation I made recently about femininity.
Choose something meaningful to make celebrating what is happening
in your life right now. Then make it, then display it,
wear it, share it. It becomes a shamanic power object
of course... encouraging more of the tendency you are celebrating.
The power it holds is largely a function of the intention
you put into it while making it! Have fun!
NEXT ISSUE: Heightening The Senses – Getting in
touch with a more juicy experience of life.
Jeli Lala’s Ashram of Jewellery and Art’ –
Gifts, Crystals, Tarot, Art, Healing, Café –
is at no. 1, Sukma St., Tebesaya, Ubud (Near Bali Buddha,
facing Jazz Café. She has studied yoga and other
spiritual practices for over ten years. She writes “In
this column, I share some of my personal experiences and spiritual
methods – hopefully, you’ll find this interesting,
and maybe it will give some ideas for your own journey.
Come visit!”
Jeli welcomes comments and may be contacted on:
Email: jelila@jelila.com
Website: www.jelila.com or www.imagine-retreats.com
