Does being not attached to outcome nurture my art & soul? One thing I know for sure (nod to Oprah here), is that being with wonderful friends nurtures my soul AND I have a lot of fun observing how attachment versus non plays out every year at the “Non Attachment/Ornament Exchange Party” that I give. Everyone brings a wrapped ornament (and a bottle of champagne & food to share). We count the number of party people in their “la ti da” hats and they draw a number from the magic box. Number 1 goes first, number 2 can pick a new wrapped ornament or take number 1’s, number one then chooses another ornament, #3 takes either #1 or #2’s or chooses a new ornament etc.- there are no limits. Some of my friends spend hours- perhaps days- making an original awesome art piece, other party participants search the globe to bring us gorgeous or interesting ornaments that illicit ooooohs and aaaaaahs… and then there are always a couple of others – hmm… how to put this kindly?- that aren’t quite in the same league- maybe they say “Starbucks” on them or are a broken toy with a jingle bell around it’s poor neck…well, you get the picture. So…you work for days on an ornament that everyone loves and “steals” back forth from each other and when it is your turn you bravely choose a new wrapped ornament (is it better to take one that has already been unwrapped &  that you can see what it is?-attached to the known- or do you imagine that something even better is still in one of those wrapped packages? )- the tension mounts as you peel away the paper and viola- the broken toy…now you know you are out of the game- unless, as often happens, a friend takes pity on you (more attached to your feelings than their ornament) & “steals” your ornament- you are back in the game! Who do you think leaves the party the happiest? – the ones who walk away with the ornament they really wanted & had to collaborate & use strategy with others to end up with after much “stealing” back & forth? or the ones who liked what they got & didn’t have to “fight”over it? or the ones who had the pleasure of bringing an ornament that was well received? or the ones who didn’t really care or put much effort into it?

How does this apply to art work? Years ago I did landscape painting. I bumped up my colors but I really wanted my pieces to look like the landscape I was painting and was really disappointed if I didn’t achieve that. Now I am painting the inner landscape and I do think of visuals that will get across my idea. For example, my current piece is called “Nurturing the Soul”, and I put a lot of thought into what does a soul look like? how would one show the nurturing of it? for me nurturing the soul would be like a mother tenderlyolding her little baby, the soul is like a bulb that blooms into a flower garden and color wise I picture golds with greens for growth and also flower colors. (I’m curious, how do you visualize the nurturing of the soul?) So… I do have a concept of colors & images I want to use, I look for the “right” postcard BUT here is where the magic comes in: I rely on “happy accidents” and inner voices to offer guidance in the direction the painting wants to go and many times it looks nothing like the way I originally visualized it would look. Non attachment to the outcome allows me to explore, play, problem solve, create and that nurtures MY soul and my art!

Here I’ve painted a large nurturing mother figure holding a “bulb” that is a stamp of a mother tenderly holding her child. The “bulb” is blossoming into the postcard- see my previous blog for the saying that is written on the card. The blue is tape that protects the background color of lavender where the postcard will go. I am not sure what is next- I’d like to see flowers, texture…we’ll see.