Embracing emotions to create a meaningful connection
I am enjoying a wonderful trip across Europe on train with my family. Not only does this mean I can take in the incredible sights and draw inspiration across a range of cultures and geographies, it also means I get to indulge in a little more reading!
Right now, I have just put down Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown, she is such an inspiration and I love reading her books and listening to her podcast Unlocking Us.
“If we want to find the way back to ourselves and one another, we need language and the grounded confidence to both tell our stories and to be stewards of the stories that we hear. This is the framework for meaningful connection.”
Meaningful connection
Being human can be an emotional rollercoaster. Deflated, angry, frustrated, grateful, happy and satisfied, all emotions that are experienced in quick succession with something as simple as queuing for a cup of coffee!
But there is an almost unwritten rule that we should not explore or give space to those emotions that are considered “negative.”
We are so focused on the good - to feel good, to look good, to be good that we drive ourselves sick, both physically and emotionally. We are human, we are not always good, we do not always feel good, and I have yet to meet anyone that feels that they ALWAYS look good.
We need to let ourselves feel all the feelings – the good, the bad, and the ugly. We need to not be afraid to stay there and explore these feelings, to let other people see and be there with us when things are not perfect.
This is the key to creating meaningful connection, and it can be applied in your art too.
Dare to feel all the feelings
When I paint on my own in my studio, I very seldom have a picture in my head of what I am going to do. I start to work in my art journal and then I start a canvas in parallel. I work back and forth between the canvas and the journal, listening to the subtle feelings of happiness and joy when working with the page. If I like something, if I feel happy doing something or if I feel drawn to a color or a mark I follow the feeling and do more of that.
Slowly I build the painting using new combinations of colors and marks based on what I feel, right at that moment. No color theory, no rules of thumbs and no inner critique judging if it is good or bad.
Trust me, there are many paintings that I felt started out beautiful, then as I built, they got to an ugly phase and the frustration can be palpable. At these moments I do not try to squash the feeling, instead, I give it space to develop and unpack. Often this means moving back to my journal. In the journal, I can explore and create totally free from any requirements to perform. I let go of the desire to create anything beautiful from a preconceived vision and create the marks and brush strokes that my inner voice guides me to.
When you can let go and give your emotions the breathing space they need, it becomes an intuitive process, and you will rarely get stuck or feel overwhelmed to the point you need to stop.
Sharing my process
My process is very unstructured, tactile and yes a little messy too! I tend to move about my studio as I create, this keeps my body moving and my heart connected to the ebb and flow of creating!
My online art class, EXPRESS YOUR VOICE, is all about the beauty of the process! You can work along with me as I encourage and guide you on how to listen to the whisperings of your heart and watch your work expand and grow!
Express Your Voice - online art class
I have filmed this class in a different way - not my normal set-up but in different places in my studio. You will see me painting at different tables, with the canvas on the wall and on the floor! You will be a whirlwind with me in my studio and when the magic happens, as it does when I totally let go, I hope you will be with me on the journey! It was important to me to share the vibration, energy and rawness of this creative process and I hope it will inspire and enliven your own way of working!