8 thoughts on “Art for art’s sake

  1. Julia, wonderful video and very thought-provoking! All of my life I have been plagued with perfectionism, which of course is being attached to some specific outcome. I’ve started letting go of that, and it is very freeing! A few of us where I live have started talking about forming a creative group to do art together, and I will encourage everybody to leave their perfectionism at the door! 😉

    • Thank you Nancy. Isn’t it great when you let go? I think it’s a great idea to form a creative group to do art together. Some friends and I gather here occasionally to work on our own individual projects and it’s such a wonderful way of sharing. Yes, do encourage everyone to hang up their perfectionism with their coats and create freely. I look forward to hearing more. x

  2. Oh, to be able to let go and just enjoy and not care if it’s “good” enough or not!!! I’m such a long way from that, and to be honest can’t see it changing that much. Well at least I’ve managed to relax my concept of “good” but I do always feel despondent and frustrated and unhappy with myself if I create something that looks crap to me. Sorry, sounds negative, but hey, you asked for thoughts and that’s where I am….

    • Michi, I am guessing that you begin with an image in your head of how you would like the finished piece to look. Is that so? For me, the Ira Glass video really struck a chord… and it was only very recently that I realised the only way for me to really let go was not only to let go of the idea of perfect, but also to let go of any kind of idea or expectation at all as that was the only way for me to truly create freely. It is true that we can be our own worst critics.
      I wonder how trying something where you allow yourself to be completely free would balance out with the work you are currently doing on the cookery book? It might be quite liberating… would you give it a try? In my Experimental Art Workshops I really encourage this. I have some special exercises I can share to free you up if you would like to try them. x

  3. Hi Julia, Yes me too! As you may have seen on P2W I’m realising that I need art in my life for me happiness but probably don’t want to try to make money from it. As for what it means to me, I have lots of thoughts that I haven’t tried to express in words yet, I’ll let you know when I’m feeling brave enough to post on my blog about it! S x

    • I look forward to reading when you are ready to share Sally.
      Glad to hear it’s a resounding YES to art for happiness. Art for the love of art is reason enough I believe. x

  4. Dear Julia, what a coincidence that you are posting this message. I had a session with my mentor last week who strongly advised me to have more acceptance for my job as a facilitator and researcher and to take off the pressure that I need to make money with art which would keep me more balanced. He strongly wants me to just do it for the joy it brings and let things unfold. Such similar paths and spirits. Xxxx

    • Yes, dear Brigitte, what similar paths indeed. Such simple messages and yet, so vital to our wellbeing and understanding of our roles and how everything fits together in the bigger scheme of things.
      Let’s keep doing our thing, keep making our art and letting things unfold.
      Joyfully,
      J xxxx

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