A Natural Flow and Progression

All of  life has a natural flow and progression.  The tides of our ocean ebb and flow.  Our bodies have a natural flow of energy from day to day and a natural progression over time.

I don't know if other artists and writers have a continual sense of urgency that plagues them...but I do and have for as long as I can remember...a restlessness that I needed to "get to work" on whatever it was I needed to work on.  When I was a child, I couldn't really figure out what it was that I was supposed to be working on.  I have tried many things and moved to many locations, often driven by this urgent sense that there was a thing or things that were mine to do.

Glass suncatcher...even glass has a natural flow and progression when heated. Available at www.bohemianartcafe.com or etsy.bohemianartcafe.com.
(C) 2012 SZing

I had a vague sense that what I was to do had something to do with writing.  And though I didn't realize it at the time, creative endeavors were constantly tugging at me.  I didn't do any sort of artwork other than hand crafts but I played music and I feel my early poetry and musical practices were the start of my natural progression of creativity.  I liked music, but I didn't love it and couldn't get lost in it like I could with writing or like I can now with artwork.

Flow domino available at www.bohemianartcafe.com and etsy.bohemianartcafe.com
(c) 2012 SZing

Some people make progress as if their artwork and career is an avalanche.  They move forward so swiftly it is difficult to keep up with them.  Others start out slowly and inch forward day by day and week by week.  Others, like me, have a flow and progression that comes in starts and stops.  My progression is marked by specific goal events around which I tend to organize my time and talents.  In between the preparatory spurts of energy flow, I take steps toward future events.

Find your own flow and pattern.

Here is an example of the past few weeks:  Preparation for art fair.  Flurry of activity to get all inventory prepared and organized the display materials.  Show.  Unpack.  Downtime.  Preparation for trunk show.   BIG flurry of activity to get all inventory prepared. Show. Unpack.  Now I am in preparation for a show this weekend.  But my inventory is fairly large right now so I only need to organize what I'll be taking for display.  I have a little extra energy so I've been working on locating two venues for art shows in 2013 and connecting with several magazines for articles.  I've been slowly updating my database.  I've been updating my website.  I;ve been teaching art classes and a Writing Frenzy (tm) group.  There is always something that can be done even if the steps are baby steps.  They are all a part of the flow and progression of my creative journey.  As an artist, it is important to understand your own ebb and flow and to understand how you work so that when you're "on", you're on.  Trust the natural flow and progression.

The Blue Print

Not to get too metaphysical, but wouldn’t it just be a delight to be able to see not just your tiny corner of the “cosmic blue print” but to see the entire plan—structural integrity, engineering specifications, how everything interlocks and plays upon everything else and how each event or action is interdependent?  Well, okay, I’m taking a leap of faith here and assuming that…it actually is all interrelated and interactive.  I fully accept that I may be wrong.

© Cyrus Hall, used for educational purposes

How Do you Know What Direction to Take Next?

The difficulty of only seeing the tiny corner of the enormous blue print is that there are times when the activities of the day seem too confusing.  In short, you’re stuck.  The words won’t come.  There’s no artistic desire or inspiration.  Maybe there are just too many things to do and not enough hours in the day.  Maybe it’s that you can’t finish any single item or you get pulled in too many directions by “forces outside” yourself and your own desires. 


Aren’t there days when you just don’t know which way to turn?  Those are the days when I just want to hunker down and take a nap.  But naps don’t get you out of the muck.  Movement, even if in tiny increments so as to avoid falling further into the miasma of the swamp of overwhelm, (dramatic enough??) is necessary.

© Dragon Artz Designs, free clipart, used by permission

Do What the English Knew to Do

How to keep equilibrium?  It seems more and more the answer to life may just be related to those magical words Keep Calm and Carry On that the English coined in 1939 to help them get through grueling days of World War II. They are wise words.  And, for an artist, writer or creative person who gets overwhelmed by too many options or project deadlines, they are essential.  It sort of goes back to yesterday’s blog “Don’t Get by Stuck Cleaning the Sock Drawers.”   Pick something and stick with it.

The poster is iconic in crafting circles these days.

The single most helpful piece of advice when it comes to answering questions such as:  How do I get started?  How do I figure out what to do next?  How can I focus? is simply, Keep Calm and Carry On.  Pick one thing and stick with it until you aren’t so overwhelmed. 

It works with the Big Stuff in life too—when relationships are undergoing changes and growth, when you, yourself, are undergoing changes and growth, when your artwork is undergoing changes and growth.  Keep Calm and Carry On.

It does remind me a bit of the book by Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime, which was really more about finding yourself when you’re waiting for a relationship to show up, but really, there are times when what we are doing just isn’t working out.  We are lost to ourselves.  And perhaps it goes back to that metaphysical stance. 

© Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime 

We just can’t see the entire Blue Print.  We don’t know how things going whacko or projects falling apart fit together with our sense of who we are and what we are supposed to be doing.  It’s terribly uncomfortable—that sitting on the razor’s edge and waiting.  But, as with those other wise (and clichéd words) this too shall pass…and in the meantime….Keep Calm and Carry On.  It may not be the right time in the metaphysical chronology for your book to be published, your artwork to sell like gangbusters or to be approved for that enormously exciting and glamorous public art project. 

The important thing is to not lose faith in oneself, one’s vision or one’s art, and to continue to move forward.  Even if it is only a snails centimeter at a time.  All things under the sun have a purpose and a time.  That’s true whether you believe in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Atheism, or Science or some other belief system. If all you can see of the blueprint is the arrow that says turn left now, then, by all means, turn left now. 

You can only get to what has been revealed to you or that you’ve allowed yourself to see.  Keep Calm and Carry On. The rest will be revealed...eventually.