Sarah, you are showing us how to live one’s life to the fullest. It’s a great lesson. Being brave enough to be new at things, to do things badly, to try to figure out things, instead of just stagnate or accept that we have already learned whatever we are going to learn. Love seeing the photo at the outset of the piece.
Oh, thank you Ka. And thanks about the photo--the results of my "doing" part of work last week in my studio...I learned a lot about tea and pomegranate tannin baths. :D
This is wonderful, and I imagine would powerfully encourage any artist to continue challenging themselves. The way you live your art brings the “intimacy with life” indeed. Wow.
I would love to make a wall hanging quilt or a small blanket of all the fabrics you created in your first photo. (Tho I know they aren’t on cotton.. yet maybe they could be(?) the color combinations are fabulous!
Thank you Teyani! Yes, I think a combined something or somethings will arise from the creation of these samples. . .I so appreciate your supportive enthusiasm for the work itself--it reverberates through the interwebs and feeds my making! <3
Sarah, Another excellent post. One I learned from. I will use your title. When I'm asked if I am an artist I always hesitate - 'cause, no not really as I see it. I am definitely a learner though. This winter in sculpture, I have been able to stay that I feel more confident, more skillful. Seeing myself progress is a boost.
Well, I think you're an artist--and I think I am too. But I definitely feel like on a global level, I'm a student of life. My husband says I'm a seeker--which also feels very true. Maybe you are too? And progress is HUGE! The payoff! <3 <3 <3
Sarah, soooo good. I loved the intimacy perspective at the end. Yet before I got there, I highlighted this: “In order to learn, you have to be willing to let yourself get good and lost. To do that, you have to have faith in your ability to find your way back to yourself again.”
Thank you for this. I think many of my unfinished essays are a result of getting lost and losing faith. I think if I “liked” and embraced getting good and lost, that would help.
I love that James--thank you. And to me, for your unfinished essays--It might be hard to ask yourself to actually LIKE getting "good and lost" but getting comfortable is certainly possible--and since the way that happens is by knowing in your heart you can get yourself to the other side--how does one acquire that faith? One way I accumulated that faith, as an artist, has been by giving stuck/lost work space to breathe, but within that space, making sure they know I haven't abandoned them. They need ongoing but short visits where you come say hello to them--perhaps re-reading them without feeling like you have to solve them or whatever. This "visiting" practice goes very far. It's like you're just listening to your essays rather than trying to write them. And then maybe you move some paragraphs around, delete some repetition, or add some fresh writing. And that might lead to your suddenly being able to finish the one that got "good and lost" or it might mean that your "lost" essay helps you create a brand new essay. And when that happens, it's done it's job and can be released into the wild.
You are a wonderful writer yourself already, so the other thing you might do is to visit your finished work that is really good. It's good to remind yourself that you're already succeeding. :D
Sarah, thank you so much for this lovely reply. You make a huge contribution to me already and this is even further. Thank you. I especially appreciated this and will start a practice with it immediately:
"They need ongoing but short visits where you come say hello to them--perhaps re-reading them without feeling like you have to solve them or whatever. This "visiting" practice goes very far. It's like you're just listening to your essays rather than trying to write them."
I'm off to comment now on The Baton You're Carrying. It's a remarkable essay!
Such a thoughtful and helpful breakdown of all you’ve learned about learning! I need to think more about #4! Also—learning as intimacy with life and the universe 🥲 This touched my heart as a fellow “seeker” ❤️
Thank you Nyla! Yes, it's so helpful to understand how we ourselves "operate." I am very clear about how I learn and how I create, and I'm good at making structures for myself to support those things, but I'm not so good at understanding how I best operate on the business side of things--for instance, what kind of supportive structures I need to create to help myself market my work. I know I need a structure, but I'm not sure what kind. It's interesting.
I don’t want to casually wave at life across a large auditorium. I want to hug it close and tell it I love it. And learning how to do something well is one way to do that.
Sarah, you are showing us how to live one’s life to the fullest. It’s a great lesson. Being brave enough to be new at things, to do things badly, to try to figure out things, instead of just stagnate or accept that we have already learned whatever we are going to learn. Love seeing the photo at the outset of the piece.
Oh, thank you Ka. And thanks about the photo--the results of my "doing" part of work last week in my studio...I learned a lot about tea and pomegranate tannin baths. :D
2 is a big one for me
Alas. Perfectionism is a cruel mistress. I also think it's made worse by the cultural approval it gets--ugh. <3 <3 <3
This is wonderful, and I imagine would powerfully encourage any artist to continue challenging themselves. The way you live your art brings the “intimacy with life” indeed. Wow.
I would love to make a wall hanging quilt or a small blanket of all the fabrics you created in your first photo. (Tho I know they aren’t on cotton.. yet maybe they could be(?) the color combinations are fabulous!
Thank you Teyani! Yes, I think a combined something or somethings will arise from the creation of these samples. . .I so appreciate your supportive enthusiasm for the work itself--it reverberates through the interwebs and feeds my making! <3
Sarah, Another excellent post. One I learned from. I will use your title. When I'm asked if I am an artist I always hesitate - 'cause, no not really as I see it. I am definitely a learner though. This winter in sculpture, I have been able to stay that I feel more confident, more skillful. Seeing myself progress is a boost.
Well, I think you're an artist--and I think I am too. But I definitely feel like on a global level, I'm a student of life. My husband says I'm a seeker--which also feels very true. Maybe you are too? And progress is HUGE! The payoff! <3 <3 <3
Sarah, soooo good. I loved the intimacy perspective at the end. Yet before I got there, I highlighted this: “In order to learn, you have to be willing to let yourself get good and lost. To do that, you have to have faith in your ability to find your way back to yourself again.”
Thank you for this. I think many of my unfinished essays are a result of getting lost and losing faith. I think if I “liked” and embraced getting good and lost, that would help.
Thank you again!
I love that James--thank you. And to me, for your unfinished essays--It might be hard to ask yourself to actually LIKE getting "good and lost" but getting comfortable is certainly possible--and since the way that happens is by knowing in your heart you can get yourself to the other side--how does one acquire that faith? One way I accumulated that faith, as an artist, has been by giving stuck/lost work space to breathe, but within that space, making sure they know I haven't abandoned them. They need ongoing but short visits where you come say hello to them--perhaps re-reading them without feeling like you have to solve them or whatever. This "visiting" practice goes very far. It's like you're just listening to your essays rather than trying to write them. And then maybe you move some paragraphs around, delete some repetition, or add some fresh writing. And that might lead to your suddenly being able to finish the one that got "good and lost" or it might mean that your "lost" essay helps you create a brand new essay. And when that happens, it's done it's job and can be released into the wild.
You are a wonderful writer yourself already, so the other thing you might do is to visit your finished work that is really good. It's good to remind yourself that you're already succeeding. :D
Sarah, thank you so much for this lovely reply. You make a huge contribution to me already and this is even further. Thank you. I especially appreciated this and will start a practice with it immediately:
"They need ongoing but short visits where you come say hello to them--perhaps re-reading them without feeling like you have to solve them or whatever. This "visiting" practice goes very far. It's like you're just listening to your essays rather than trying to write them."
I'm off to comment now on The Baton You're Carrying. It's a remarkable essay!
Such a thoughtful and helpful breakdown of all you’ve learned about learning! I need to think more about #4! Also—learning as intimacy with life and the universe 🥲 This touched my heart as a fellow “seeker” ❤️
Thank you Nyla! Yes, it's so helpful to understand how we ourselves "operate." I am very clear about how I learn and how I create, and I'm good at making structures for myself to support those things, but I'm not so good at understanding how I best operate on the business side of things--for instance, what kind of supportive structures I need to create to help myself market my work. I know I need a structure, but I'm not sure what kind. It's interesting.
I hear you! Marketing is a whole different beast!
I also loved the photo of your gorgeous fabrics!
I loved the essay and especially the closing:
I don’t want to casually wave at life across a large auditorium. I want to hug it close and tell it I love it. And learning how to do something well is one way to do that.
Thank you Laura. I was particularly happy with those sentences myself. <3