I’ve been journaling for years now. Writing on Substack has brought me clarity and given my brain another creative outlet. Like you when my right brain is in full gear. My left brain is silent. When my left brain is focusing my right brain is asleep. This kind of brain ping-pong keeps life. Interesting doesn’t it keep writing I love to read your insights.
So true. . . and thought-provoking (thank you!). Sometimes I write and then continue to process my thoughts by adding a layer of collage or mixed media. . . left brain/right brain? Or I start with art supplies and then find a word or phrase to apply on top. . . right brain/left brain? For me, combining writing and art leads to a feeling of integration - wholeness - that is different from either writing or using mixed media alone. Creating music must be much the same, combing written notation and hearing the notes played. Either activity can be done alone or they can be combined. Fun to think about.
"The thing is, they’re both a form of art, aren’t they? Both make something out of nothing, the very definition of creating. " THAT is IT!! Both writing and making art are outpouring of the soul. I so enjoy your ruminations on all this, and I'm sure you inspire many to try it themselves. Thank you for putting your work out there. Sharing that is a very kind and generous action.
So true. . . and thought-provoking (thank you!). Sometimes I write and then continue to process my thoughts by adding a layer of collage or mixed media. . . left brain/right brain? Or I start with art supplies and then find a word or phrase to apply on top. . . right brain/left brain? For me, combining writing and another art form leads to a feeling of integration - wholeness - that is different from either writing or using mixed media alone. Creating music must be much the same, combing written notation and hearing the notes played. Either activity can be done alone or they can be combined. Fun to think about.
Lesley, My problem exactly! It's hard for me to do both. Writing is easier in that I can sit here at my desk and pour out those thoughts onto the screen. But with art, I am physical, working with the fabric and the machine. It's really a struggle for me. I forced myself yesterday to create something with fabric to get back in the zone. It was fun, but I'm back here working on my next substack post! I don't know the solution. I feel I'm not giving my art side any love, but maybe it's just for the time being. Great post!
There is that physical component to consider as well. We are lucky to have the two activities we can turn to, not just depending on our mood or inspiration, but our energy level as well.
Whenever I write first thing (Morning Pages-style) my handwriting is completely and totally different to my usual cursive and sometimes it's like my hand is moving independently and I watch it go back and forth as though I am looming. (Something I've never done incidentally but you get the idea!) This often makes for interesting reading later. I do very much believe and value the creative process but sometimes (usually, after not pursuing for a bit) I can easily convince myself it's a shameful waste of my time. So encouraging to be validated here xo
Yes, PLEASE embrace the validation. It is never a shameful waste of time. We were made to be creative, not work-focused worker-bees, although we need them, too. Thankfully, those days are in the past for me now. I put in my time, lol.
Writing is very much a part of my life. I never do it on a regular basis, but I do it often. Poems spring out of me in the middle of the night as well as other times. And yes, like you, sometimes what I write is a working out of something I want to be clear about.
Writing is certainly another art form that creates pictures for the reader. In a way, they have to do more work to 'see' than when looking at a painting.
I really enjoy the process and the back and forth until I get it where I want it to go! Unlike my paintings, I sometimes like to have a bit of comedy at the end.
There is so much pleasure in any creative act if we allow it to be our guiding light, vs focusing on the outcome. Over the years, I've learned to never force a finish, let it emerge. I know that's how you create, too.
I often feel like writing things down helps me sort them out especially when I’m struggling with something. Maybe in the same way talk therapy helps us sort through the quagmire of emotions
This is true for me too. I enjoy art journaling. I'll start with something that's on my mind. When the page is finished, I try to write a bit to add to it, or find a poem that expresses what I'm feeling. It's a start, I guess.
EVERYTHING. Lesley. EVERYTHING here is so true to me as well. I live these words, with you, exactly as you wrote them. Thank you sweet ‘penpal’ for all of them. They bring comfort into my night, yet to become a day. A morning, I myself intend to make a ‘writing day’.
I’ve been journaling for years now. Writing on Substack has brought me clarity and given my brain another creative outlet. Like you when my right brain is in full gear. My left brain is silent. When my left brain is focusing my right brain is asleep. This kind of brain ping-pong keeps life. Interesting doesn’t it keep writing I love to read your insights.
Glad to know I am not alone in this either/or situation.
So true. . . and thought-provoking (thank you!). Sometimes I write and then continue to process my thoughts by adding a layer of collage or mixed media. . . left brain/right brain? Or I start with art supplies and then find a word or phrase to apply on top. . . right brain/left brain? For me, combining writing and art leads to a feeling of integration - wholeness - that is different from either writing or using mixed media alone. Creating music must be much the same, combing written notation and hearing the notes played. Either activity can be done alone or they can be combined. Fun to think about.
It is fun to think about and fun to do, separately or together. Aren't we lucky?
"The thing is, they’re both a form of art, aren’t they? Both make something out of nothing, the very definition of creating. " THAT is IT!! Both writing and making art are outpouring of the soul. I so enjoy your ruminations on all this, and I'm sure you inspire many to try it themselves. Thank you for putting your work out there. Sharing that is a very kind and generous action.
Yes! Most definitely. That we can make something out of nothing has always been magical to me. Thanks for your kind support.
So true. . . and thought-provoking (thank you!). Sometimes I write and then continue to process my thoughts by adding a layer of collage or mixed media. . . left brain/right brain? Or I start with art supplies and then find a word or phrase to apply on top. . . right brain/left brain? For me, combining writing and another art form leads to a feeling of integration - wholeness - that is different from either writing or using mixed media alone. Creating music must be much the same, combing written notation and hearing the notes played. Either activity can be done alone or they can be combined. Fun to think about.
Lesley, My problem exactly! It's hard for me to do both. Writing is easier in that I can sit here at my desk and pour out those thoughts onto the screen. But with art, I am physical, working with the fabric and the machine. It's really a struggle for me. I forced myself yesterday to create something with fabric to get back in the zone. It was fun, but I'm back here working on my next substack post! I don't know the solution. I feel I'm not giving my art side any love, but maybe it's just for the time being. Great post!
There is that physical component to consider as well. We are lucky to have the two activities we can turn to, not just depending on our mood or inspiration, but our energy level as well.
Yes!
I am an artist and a writer. I go through spurts of each. Right now I have to write and the art is taking the backseat.
We can call it the bounce theory of creating!
Whenever I write first thing (Morning Pages-style) my handwriting is completely and totally different to my usual cursive and sometimes it's like my hand is moving independently and I watch it go back and forth as though I am looming. (Something I've never done incidentally but you get the idea!) This often makes for interesting reading later. I do very much believe and value the creative process but sometimes (usually, after not pursuing for a bit) I can easily convince myself it's a shameful waste of my time. So encouraging to be validated here xo
Yes, PLEASE embrace the validation. It is never a shameful waste of time. We were made to be creative, not work-focused worker-bees, although we need them, too. Thankfully, those days are in the past for me now. I put in my time, lol.
Writing is very much a part of my life. I never do it on a regular basis, but I do it often. Poems spring out of me in the middle of the night as well as other times. And yes, like you, sometimes what I write is a working out of something I want to be clear about.
Writing is certainly another art form that creates pictures for the reader. In a way, they have to do more work to 'see' than when looking at a painting.
I really enjoy the process and the back and forth until I get it where I want it to go! Unlike my paintings, I sometimes like to have a bit of comedy at the end.
There is so much pleasure in any creative act if we allow it to be our guiding light, vs focusing on the outcome. Over the years, I've learned to never force a finish, let it emerge. I know that's how you create, too.
Yes m'am!!!
I often feel like writing things down helps me sort them out especially when I’m struggling with something. Maybe in the same way talk therapy helps us sort through the quagmire of emotions
Most, definitely, Anne. Writing gives our thoughts form. A piece of paper acts in much the same way as a listener does in talk therapy, doesn't it?
This is true for me too. I enjoy art journaling. I'll start with something that's on my mind. When the page is finished, I try to write a bit to add to it, or find a poem that expresses what I'm feeling. It's a start, I guess.
It's a grounding process, isn't it? Thanks for sharing.
EVERYTHING. Lesley. EVERYTHING here is so true to me as well. I live these words, with you, exactly as you wrote them. Thank you sweet ‘penpal’ for all of them. They bring comfort into my night, yet to become a day. A morning, I myself intend to make a ‘writing day’.
A comment from you is like a big hug. That feeling of "me, too" is so comforting, isn't it?
Yes 🙏🏻💗