Chasing Down The Muse: Answering the ‘felt call’ to creativity

“The most regretful people on Earth are those who felt the call to creative work…and gave it neither power nor time.”

Mary Oliver

Here in Laguna, there is just no excuse for not answering the felt call. Opportunities abound. Just one of many is the Autumn Art program currently going on right here in town.

The Sawdust Art Festival began Spring Into Art workshops and classes at the instigation of then board member glassblower John Barber and his wife, Rebecca, in 2000. In 2007, Autumn Art classes were added.

After teaching a few years solo, Suzette Rosenthal and I teamed up to teach classes in Mixed Media 3 1/2 years ago.

This past weekend was our third Autumn Art class. It was again pure delight, filled with wonderful folks, laughter and lively chatter, occasional music, soft breezes through the stately eucalyptus grove, good food and more.

Not only does creativity get some time and some power in these workshops.

Over the course of the two days, what seems to occur, at least in all of our classes, is a wonderful sense of community.

This fact is brought up each and every time we teach. This time around it was Barbara who brought it up Sunday.

Barbara wanted to know how she could get more of this in her life; she enjoyed it so much.

About a year ago she had given up her job to become a full-time artist, but she was noticing the isolation this created.

She is giving her creativity power and time, but still found herself drawn to the awareness of being part of a community.

Often it is said that creativity needs solitude. I certainly recognize this need at times in myself.

Still, in these workshop settings the essence of creativity is found in conviviality, not in solitude or isolation. The women in our Mixed Media Playtime workshop worked for a time in quiet right next to each other, but then someone would think of something and off they would go.

I was reminded of something I read somewhere years ago that described the artist. It said that when creating, it is important to feel like the child stringing beads in kindergarten — happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another. What a perfect description of this past weekend’s workshop. And of all artistic endeavors, I think.

There was that wonderful sense of community through it all. The students asked for critique and suggestions from each other, and it was as if there were more than a dozen instructors. They shared stories from their outside lives.

Courageous Wendy had only recently completed an arduous course of radiation and chemotherapy. This was her first artistic opportunity, and she was totally engrossed. “Tired and energized” is how she put it.

In a time when things sometimes move at what seems a frantic speed and we seek connection and consolation in everything but each other, the weekend workshop was a true gift. We were young mothers, grandmothers, single, married, widowed, divorced, working, retired, young and merely youthful at heart. We were novices, professionals and everything in between, all learning together, all sharing these wonderful moments. And all giving our creativity some power and time to stretch and grow, to become.

From friend Susan Wade: “On These Days, dots of light and color create warm patterns on the landscape….Humans become artists on These Days. Today, I am an artist.”

I believe it was like that for the workshop group this past weekend. I believe it can be this way for all of us. There is really no need to ignore Mary Oliver’s “felt call” when we have so many wonderful resources at our disposal.

Possibilities abound, not the least of which is that we can give our creativity both power and time.

We can experience as Oliver did, that “the speck of my heart, in my shed of flesh and bone, began to sing out, the way the sun would sing if the sun could sing….”

Whether on your own, in solitude or in the community of others, why not go for it?

Classes are still available in the Sawdust Art Festival’s Autumn Art program. Check out www.sawdustartfestival.org.

CHERRIL DOTY is busy quietly and happily putting one bead on after another, but you can reach her at cherril@cherrildoty.com or (714) 745-9973.