stepping into and out of line

The rain pours down on an October evening, one that is neither terribly cold nor that warm either. Autumn is taking its toll very fast, with a few cold spells happening on the previous weekend. I count the days before I can expect some snow or chilly spells, but I am finding that the weather surprises me so often these days. Some have even joked with me that they are simply unable to decide what to wear, on any particular day. It seems perhaps best in these situations to stock up on a variety of options.

I am reading a book by Vinita Hampton Wright called The Soul Tells a Story. This book describes how Hampton Wright gradually came to realize that she wanted to become a writer, even though she had little encouragement from her family, and was expected to teach music when she graduated. Hampton Wright notes that being 'called' to do something meaningful or creative with her life often didn't come from a conscious decision, but rather came from "losing" control and finding her unique ways of being in the everyday. Creativity often takes the form of 'witnessing' (p.32) what our inner creations or narratives want to say, rather than trying to control the narrative from the very start. What I create is not a result of a self over-riding everything, but flows from a space that cannot be predicted. Rather, it "unfolds"before the writer's eyes.

I agree with many of of Hampton Wright's conclusions about writing and art.  In particular, Hampton Wright spends a lot of time exploring the social opposition that can arise when people choose to embark on a creative endeavor (see pp. 28-32), which lends credence to the view that the artist is a solitary trailblazer, But I also think that there is a complicating element of how my art connects with another person's art. I get a sense that art is never done in isolation, but, more so, consists of circles of resonance with other beings and their 'art'. The example I think of is how much I have been inspired by others to write, and how the creative process has often been nurtured by many people I have known along the way. I even come to the point where I cannot separate 'my' creativity (if there is a 'my' here) from the synergistic elements I have encountered with others. Of course, being original and speaking one's true voice often requires stepping out of the lines of social circles and influences. Hampton Wright notes how many good works of art go unrecognized within an artists' lifetime, due to the lag in time before an idea becomes accepted by a society.

I wonder how much 'art' really gets on a page. Though most peoples' first exposure to art is through a formal class where it is thought to be a noun, there is also an 'art of',which refers to a way of being that transcends individual objects. Many people, due to causes and conditions,may never have the sufficient encouragement to 'create' a work of art, yet their life in itself is a special kind of art, or way of being. Perhaps these people are meant to provide a different way of being that cannot be captured on paper or canvas after all. But there are still others whose life forms the inspiration for an artists' creation. I am thinking of that complicated, tumultuous relationship between Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, which Miller (perhaps loosely) adapted into his play After the Fall. I also recall how Somerset Maugham was inspired to write about a character based on the artist Gaughan. Here are examples which blur boundaries between 'art', 'artist' and 'inspiration'. 

I suspect that many people do find their most creative work in the process of isolating themselves: perhaps by going on a retreat, or turning to their own energies to find wisdom within. Sometimes, however, it may be too much to ask a person to 'look within' for the source of creativity. No matter how original a creative idea is, it eventually needs to ground itself and even inter-mesh with other perspectives. Similarly, I think that there is always a tricky balance between stepping out of a line to pursue one's heart and passions, and coming back into the line to convey one's learning and refine them in a social context. Both seem to be necessary parts of a creative life. But they are also parts of an ethical, wisdom life. Without the ability to turn to my own experience,I would be easily drawn into destructive lifestyles or inauthentic views of life. But without the ability to share and learn from others,I would simply be using creativity to create an artificial barrier between myself and the world. The middle path, here, might be not attaching to either one's own identity as creator or others' identities as audience/judge.

Hampton Wright Vinita, (2005) The Soul Tells a Story: Engaging Creativity with Spirituality in the Writing Life. Downer's Grove: Intervarsity Press