Finally. Part Two. Inspired by Maya Angelou.

Do you have an Artist Wound?

(ouch)

As a long time Creativity Coach, I sit with people in the casualty ward of The Creative Hospital of Life. I see the results of Artist Wounds.

Whoah!
Katoomba sign

Should we peek at places and spaces where the wounding words have seeped? Can you cope?

Dabflowers
Sally Swain © original art
picture made from other people’s leftover paint tissues, glue, watercolour, pen.
Quite 3 dimensional

Back in January, with Maya Angelou’s assistance, we uncovered the power of words. It’s now July, but it’s never too late to start afresh with your creativity.
See ‘Words in Your Wallpaper’.

Maya says,

“Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.”

Words can seep into the blood vessels of your heart’s health, causing a joyful art-beat, or clogging up your (h)arteries.

Power (with a bit of Flower)

Let’s look a little more at the common garden Artist Wound. Just a small foray.

When you were six, your parent told you that’s not how to draw a picture. The grass is green and the sky is blue. You forever after thought you were no good at drawing.

When you were eight, your teacher told you to stand at the back of the choir because you were out of tune. You never again believed you could sing.

Lost
Katoomba sign

This is the destructive Power of Words. Words get caught in your hair, your eyebrows, your heartstrings, your would-be confidence.

damage
anything
Katoomba sign

Let’s sit with those Artist Wounds.

Let’s uncover those belittling words you internalised and have continued to tell yourself over the years.

Refuge Island
Katoomba sign

Let’s together find ways of healing the word-wounds.

The first step is awareness. This can be painful, but shining a light on your Artist Wound helps you to know what you’re dealing with.

Light
paintage excerpt
Sally Swain art

Then there are multiple creative ways you can go from here.

For example, you can write a letter to your Wound, draw your scars, drum out your dire demons; the ones that keep you from the bliss of creative flow.

There. That’s a start

for diving into your art heart.

Heart Heart Heart
Sally Swain paintage excerpt

Thank you, Maya A.

You got me going. You get a lot of us going. You help us breast-stroke our way through sludge and mud and glittering pools of richness.

Love Above
Sally Swain paintage excerpt