In this busy and often chaotic life, we need to find a place to release the tensions we have gathered in our soul.
I have found such a place. I have found my Raison D’être, I have found the “why” I need to create. I have found the reason I have a blog, the reason I pursue art and creating in a number of genres.

I create to escape.

I create for many reasons. Enjoyment, fulfillment and satisfaction but I also find that while I create, it allows me to escape from stress, from the negative energy that bombards me as I wander along life’s road. I am not escaping from my day to day life, because I love my life. Its the little barbs I gather in a day that pile on the stress. It’s that person who cut me off in traffic, that person who was rude to me, its that plate I broke, that toe I stubbed or that pound I gained. Its the news report of yet another disaster.

Butterfly-painting
With each stroke of the brush, tension and stress is released
The stress of all the things that I cannot control, seem to melt away when I allow my inner artist to emerge.. My anxiety levels drop, frustration and anger dwindle and I feel a glorious sense of well-being and satisfaction.
Whether it is through art or photography, pottery or writing, creating enhances my life in wonderful ways. I find creating is a form of meditation or perhaps you may call it mindfulness. My ability to focus has increased and my general health is improving.

I stand before an easel, brush in hand and the world fades away. I am alone. I become lost in the creative process.Before a blank canvass The paint flows onto the paper and with each brush stroke, I am set free from the captivity of stress. There are no rules that keep me bound. There is no right and wrong. If I am pleased with the outcome, I feel a sense of accomplishment. If I am not satisfied, I crumple up the paper and toss it in the trash. It does not matter, I find freedom in starting over.

 

Vase in the window
Roses and teacup
Oregon coast
My Group of Seven copy
Egret

I often create in a group setting, in an art class or a pottery class. Even with others around me. I still become lost in the process.

The moment I sit at the potters wheel, the rest of the group fades to the background. The lump of clay and I have to work together. It is a battle to center the clay on the wheel. It takes force to make the clay balance on the wheel. I release a sigh when the clay surrenders, allowing the creation of a vessel to begin. It is at that moment that I escape the world around me.

Sometimes the pot wants to be misshapen and unique
pottery

Sometimes a pot will get the best of me and want to be… lets say.. unique, but that’s OK.
At the end of the day,  I can celebrate and enjoy my creation.