A Flower Power Point Presentation

to be viewed one blossom at a time

Part Five:

It Takes Two to Tango

Tango is a passionate, red and black dance. Tango is dramatic, with flair and flourish. It involves two people subtly, finely attuning to each other’s every move.

The Sauce of Life
Sally Swain © original art

Creativity can be a

passionate, dramatic relationship with self. We venture in, we listen and attune, we dance the dance, we experience awkwardness, misunderstanding and frustration. We keep dancing into the flow of life.

Creativity is relationship.

Art-making is about connection – being in the flow of life. As you open to your creativity, as you spend time with painting, writing, sculpting or singing, you are entering into relationship.

You become increasingly familiar with this changeable being – this entity – called creative process.

You become increasingly familiar with what you might expect …. with its twists and twitches; its delightful and annoying habits. Especially if you persevere with your art past the honeymoon period, you zero in on the annoying habits. They are more than annoying. They are downright infuriating and it’s tempting to call it quits.

You courageously, stupidly hang in there.

This is not an abusive relationship, but your creativity can certainly seem cold, distant or difficult to get along with. It can seem that your creative process does not have your best interests at heart.

You courageously, stupidly hang in there.

You go through periods of creative drought and starvation, of neglect and stony silence. The two of you argue. You fall over a lot. You fall into a dank, dark pit every now and then. You run headlong into a triple brick wall and break bones.

But you are strong. You are resilient. You stay alive.

Your creative spirit is strong. It’s resilient. It stays alive even after years of absence, of going underground. It bounces back, or timidly shows its face, even if you haven’t spoken with it for sixty years. Or seventy.

That’s the bad news and the good news rolled into one.

The bad news: creative spirit is vulnerable.

The good news: creative spirit is strong.

How might you tend your relationship with your creativity?

Oh yeah – I nearly forgot to include a flower picture for you in this Flower Power Point presentation. 

Her Exotic Heart
Sally Swain © original art