Art As A Spiritual Practice

There is something both nourishing and grounding about doing your art. Most of what we do in life, like a job , is an outside expression of our lives. Our art is different, in that it comes from inside of us. It is an expression of who we are. I look at the time I work on my art as a special time. Writing this blog is special to me. It is time alone, time with my thoughts, time being able to express what I think. The same with my music. Every time I am writing, playing music, composing, recording, teaching, etc, it is a very deep expression of who I am. It's easy to get caught up in life and the world, and put off getting into your studio: “I have more important things to do.” But is there really anything more important than YOU? I notice that when I'm not able to do these things, I get cranky and out of sorts. So I look at them as being necessary self-care .  I think it's sometimes difficult to make our art a regular practice because, for most of us, it's pr...

Change is an interesting thing. While it's often good and necessary for an artist, it can be difficult to let go and move forward. Sometimes no matter how hard you work, and how much you put into something, you reach a dead end. You know that it's time to let go and move on, yet there is this lingering thought of, “I put so much into this.” And you may have. You may have put your heart and soul into it, only to reach a dead end with no where to go, and no turning back. Other times, things that you have done for years just reach the end of their usefulness. Your artistic muse has shown you a new direction, you may even welcome and embrace it, but there's still that lingering sense of not being able to cut the chord to the past. Letting go through the haze of mourning… I've had that happen to me. My career changed direction and something I had done for years and years suddenly held no appeal to me: “Been there, done that.” But even as I embraced the new directio...