Sunday, August 18, 2013

Itchy

I woke with an edge inside me this morning, a call to do something more today. It's a lovely call, really, a voice in my brain bent on creating.

Will I listen? I haven't listened to the call much of late. I've filled my world with dishes, trips to the store, paper sorting, and other inane activities. It's as if I wish the voice to just go away, to leave me alone in mundane world and go off to call to somebody else. 

That is what separates an artist from one who is not. I write this, not to chastise you, but to goad myself into action. I'm not a writer if I don't write. I'm not a painter if I don't paint. I'm not a pianist if I don't play. Artists create. If they don't, they aren't artists.

I recently met an painter who, even at a young age, was compelled to paint. Any chance he got, with any medium at hand, on any surface, if given any free time. He listened to that urgent voice early on. And he painted, and painted, and painted. And he's still listening, still heeding, still painting. 

I've been going at this all wrong all my life. I've been locking this voice in a closet, letting it out only when I have a bunch of free time, when all my chores are done (which is not often). I've said I will write/paint/dance/sing/go to the ball only if I get all my work done. I've been my own evil stepmother.

That ends today. Permanently. I'm kicking my evil stepmother to the curb. I'm getting what I have to do done, but the rest of the time is mine. To paint. To create. To play. To turn my ideas into tangible, beautiful reality. I will not die regretting all things I never got around to creating. I am a Maker (as Orson Scott Card would term it), and it's about damned time I made something.

I have 14 hours until bedtime. Plenty of time to make something. 

4 comments:

  1. Nice realizations here. Have fun with all your creating.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know exactly what you mean in saying you are your own evil stepmother. I have goals I want to accomplish, small goals really. However, I tell myself the to-do list must be done before starting anything else. Hence, I feel overwhelmed and never make much progress. I like your idea of kicking the evil stepmother out of the house. Yup, I need to get doing too! Thanks for the reminder, Shakespeare.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i can relate thoroughly to this post as i've done this countless times in the past to myself. i've learned it's okay to steal bits of time here and there for my creativity while still doing the things that need or have to be done. so glad to see you're not letting anything stand in your way of creating either. have a great day~

    ReplyDelete
  4. My 'evil stepmother' not only harps on all I haven't done but also steals my energy so creating is difficult. Lol! I'm winning. I have several creative outlets, drawing is one and it lets my mind run free and writing is another. I've recently signed up for NaNo for the added boot of sitting there and letting the characters in my mind out to play. I've discovered if I want to create I have to make the time otherwise there will be no good time left to do it.

    Yah, evil stepmother still harps on everything I have left undone...I'm investing in earplugs. :-)

    Sia McKye Over Coffee

    Sia McKye Over Coffee

    ReplyDelete