The ruminations of an artist on art & life...art quilts, beading, knitting, drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking are all my passions, I love to explore creating....

Monday, September 15, 2008

the Creative Healing Zone



My fine art and crafting have always sustained me through any big transition or crisis in my life. Currently I am in a major transition, and once again I am finding myself--and taking back parts of myself I gave away--by meditatively, quietly, calmly stringing tiny beads in intricate patterns.

Every night, I sit and string up new bead patterns, exploring different color palettes, and the feeling of being adrift---which has been with me since I was forced to move out of my home of 6 years--melts away and a feeling of well being grows as the string of beads grows longer.


I am stringing the seed beads on thread to crochet into bracelets---and after I have strung enough beads for a bracelet (about 40 inches), then I crochet a few inches to see how the pattern and colors I chose looks.

Like knitting, stringing the beads and crocheting the bracelets is a repetitive act---with a rhythm all its own, which puts me into a meditative state---the healing creative zone--is how I term it. Transitional states are always painful for me--and this one is especially painful and chaotic---but while I am stringing beads nothing else matters---just the beads and the pattern that is growing beneath my fingers. As I do this I meditate on letting go, and on some level I am putting all that I am letting go of---into each bracelet. For me, the process of creating something has always been more important and more satisfying than the end result.

I think this quote from a book I have been reading lately----THE KNITTING SUTRA Craft as a Spiritual Practice by Susan Gordon Lydon--- sums it all up nicely:
"...the purpose of craft is not so much to make beautiful things as it is to become beautiful inside while you are making those things."


5 comments:

Mary Timme said...

WEaving our inner beauty is always an important part of what we do!

Anonymous said...

mom,
I know this is painful but I think you have choosen a smart way to rid your self of the pain and anger for sure. Just let all that ickiness --as our friend calls it--slide away with each bead sliding on the string. I love you and stay strong. K

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

These are really beautiful, delicate and complex.

Do you have a shop at Etsy or soemwhere.

Your life sounds rally interesting. mary :-D

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

OH, LOOK! DUH! There's your Etsy shop, cool!

Timaree said...

I am so sorry you are in pain right now. I know, I don't even really know you but that doesn't matter - a person in pain is a person. Beading your way through is wonderful. Yes it's the process but to see pieces grow under your fingers and one piece lead to another means time is passing and time does heal even when it doesn't feel like it. Good luck and I like your beading.