Rafael Alberti

"In the very beginning I looked to painting as the medium for addressing concerns in shapes and colors.  Then it was poetry where these concerns found expression through the medium of word and metaphor."

Rafael Alberti

Spanish Painter, Poet

1902 - 1999

I am fascinated by creative leaders who use more than one medium to express themselves.  Rafael Alberti was one of those who was at home both in the visual arts and the written word.  The need to create and communicate one's feelings transcends the medium.  Some writers work in short stories, novels, poetry and plays.  Some artists paint, draw and sculpt.  And then there are the writers who also paint and the painters who also write.  Or the musicians who paint and the actors who play music.  We all have the urge to express ourselves.  The medium of paint, words or music is just the vehicle to carry the communication.

What vehicles do you like to use to express your artistic desires?  Poetry?  Music?  Painting?  Acting?  Plays?  Dancing?  Sculpting?  Novels?  Short Stories?  Have you stepped outside your comfort zone and tried something new?  

Michele Cassou

"If you do not listen to your intuition, it will stop talking to you.  Your intuition is like a sensitive friend.  If you question it, censor it, judge it, it gets hurt and becomes silent."

— Michele Cassou

French Artist, Teacher

You have to train yourself to listen to your intuition because your rational mind is very strong and often discards your intuition immediately.  In fact, it sometimes happens so fast that what you think is your intuition is actually your second on third thought.  The rational mind can move very quickly to override intuition.  Train yourself to grab hold of your intuition and not let go.  Learn to trust your feelings and first thoughts.  

And in the beginning you will often misunderstand your intuition.  Be patient.  It is okay to make mistakes.  The problem is not that your intuition is wrong, but that your interpretation is not accurate.  Sometimes it will take years to perfect listening to your intuition.  Trust your heart.  

Heinrich Heine

Painting of Heine
by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings."

— Heinrich Heine

German Poet

1797 - 1856

When a nation or society has no respect for its artists, writers and musicians, it is a nation in danger of losing its humanity.  I find it very sad that in this country where liberty is held in high esteem that there are people who choose to burn books.  When my daughter was in high school, she knew teenagers who participated in the burning of books with members of their church.  How ignorant these people must be.  Books are our connection to the world beyond our immediate home.  But it is not just in this country and it is not just books.  In 2001 when the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan, they destroyed two 1700 year-old Buddha statues carved in a cliff in the Hindu Kush mountains.  Other cultures have destroyed paintings.  And governments and societies have tried to control the type of art works that are created.  Both Hitler and Stalin restricted the type of art that could be created.

Artists, writers and musicians are one of the greatest treasures that a society has and yet people continue to treat them with contempt — telling them to get a real job.  In fact, the way we know about the past is through the artists, writers and the musicians.  We would know very little about ancient Rome or Greece if it were not for books and paintings.  Future societies will know us primarily through the writers and painters of today.  Our legacy is past down through our art.  

Here is a poem by Heinrich Heine.

WHY THE ROSES ARE SO PALE

by: Heinrich Heine (1799-1856)

 DEAREST, canst thou tell me why




The rose should be so pale?




And why the azure violet




Should wither in the vale?




 




And why the lark should in the cloud




So sorrowfully sing?




And why from loveliest balsam-buds




A scent of death should spring?




 




And why the sun upon the mead




So chillingly should frown?




And why the earth should, like a grave,




Be moldering and brown?




 




And why it is that I myself




So languishing should be?




And why it is, my heart of hearts,




That thou forsakest me?

This English translation of "Why the Roses are so Pale" was composed by Richard Garnett (1835-1906).

Odani Motohiko

"I used to find that idea of an ever changing, impalpable style appealing, but now I want to concentrate on the things I ought to be doing, the things that only I can do.  The result I hope will be works that like the Buddhist statues of the past will be capable of communicating with people for centuries to come."

Odani Motohiko

Japanese Artist

1972 -

Are you doing the creative work that you ought to be doing — that only you can do?  In today's world it is easy to get sidetracked and caught up in projects that have nothing to do with our true work.  There are many people and things that demand our attention and time.  If you don't know what creative work you are supposed to be doing it is easy to get lost.  Do you have a vision of the work that you should be doing?  Do you stay focused or are you easily distracted?

Will the creative work that you are doing still be communicating to generations to come?  Or will your work be forgotten as soon as you leave this world?  No one can predict which poems, or paintings or sculptures will last for centuries and which are meant for the dustbins of time.  Many artists and writers dream and hope that their creative works will give them immortality.    

To see more of Odani Motohiko's creative work, check out this site:

www.voiceyourtemper.com/obsess-were-obsessed/artgraffiti/430-odani-motohiko-sculptures

Paul Klee

"Nothing can be rushed.  It must grow, it should grow of itself . . ."

— Paul Klee

Swiss Painter

1879 -1940

The creative process cannot be rushed or forced.  It must evolve at its own rate.  Sometimes it moves slowly and other times with the speed of light.  And the creative process cannot be managed or controlled.  It has a mind of its own.  You cannot flip a switch and suddenly be creative.  Some writers and artists have rituals they hope will invoke the creative muse to  visit them, but the rituals usually don't work.  Deadlines will not pressure the creative muse to appear.  And neither will procrastination.  The creative process takes its own sweet time.  Some take drugs hoping to break down the walls and release the imprisoned muse.  They are deluded.  

So what can we do?  Work.  And work some more.  Work when you feel creative.  Work when you feel terrible.  The key is to keep working even if what you produce is worthless.  The creative muse demands it.

Charlie Parker

"Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom.  If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.  They teach you that music has boundaries.  But, man, there's no boundary line to art."

— Charlie Parker

American Jazz Saxophonist, Composer

1920 - 1955

Our art comes from our experiences, our thoughts, our wisdom and our dreams.  If we don't live life, art won't pour out of our brushes, our pens or our voices.  We need the experiences from life to generate our art.  We need to have loved and had our hearts broken.  We need to face failure and survive.  Art comes from our imperfections, not our perfections.  If the world was perfect, we would never create.  There would be no reason to create.  We would be happy and satisfied.  Art comes from our discontent — our unhappiness, our loneliness. 

So if you have been fired from your job, write a story about the experience of being fired.  Paint a picture of the boss that fired you.  Recreate the world the way you wish it would be.  If angel of death visits those you love, find a way to turn your grief into art.  If the person to whom you gave the best twenty years of your life leaves you for a younger person, create a painting of your feelings.  Anything that happens to you is fodder for your creativity.  Absorb the experience and re-imagine it happening to one of your characters.  Did you have an unhappy childhood?  Alter the past by changing the story.  Your life is the fuel for your art.  So live life to the fullest.

Take a few minutes and listen to Charlie Parker and be inspired.

Henning Mankell

"To grow up is to wonder about things; to be grown up is to slowly forget the things you wondered about as a child."

Henning Mankell

Swedish Novelist

1948 - 

I watch the three-year-old child that my wife and I are raising and I am amazed at the creative powers of her mind to imagine worlds that I cannot see.  To invent stories and stories within stories.  What happens to us as we grow up and take on the cloaks of the adult world?  Where does our inventiveness go?  What worlds of the imagination have we forgotten?

What do you do to keep your mind young?  Do you play with children?  Do you enter their worlds?  Or does the path you walk become narrower with each passing day?  Do you still think as a child or have you given up childish things?  Are you young at heart?  Or are the arteries of your imagination clogged?

I recently finished Mankell's excellent novel, The Man From Beijing.  Here is a video of Henning Mankell discussing the novel at Strand Bookstore.

Edgar Degas

Self-Portrait
(1855)

"Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things."

— Edgar Degas

French Artist

1834 - 1917

Dancers
(1978)

Have you ever become so lost in your creativity that you don't know what you are doing?  I sometimes become so caught up in the writing of the moment that I don't realize what I am saying.  I read my writing a day or two later and am surprised by what I said.  The more I can quiet the conscious mind and let the subconscious mind take charge, the more creative the writing becomes.  

The difference between the conscious mind and subconscious mind is one of control.  The subconscious is more wild, free and metaphoric.  The conscious mind is more analytical, linear and controlling.  Creativity requires entering the subconscious and exploring the world through its eyes.  The more we try to control our art the less creative and original it becomes.  The more we relinquish control, the stronger the creative impulse.

George Bellows

"The ideal artist is he who knows everything, feels everything, experiences everything, and retains his experience in a spirit of wonder and feeds upon it with creative lust."

— George Bellows

American Painter

1882 - 1925

Dempsey and Firpo

(1924)

Do you experience the world in a spirit of wonder?  Are you surprised by the things that happen or have you become cynical and negative?  A creative leader must be like a young child soaking up life and enjoying every moment of it.  Everything that happens to us — good, bad and indifferent — is fuel for our creative lust.  I don't believe artists and writers experience the world at a deeper level then other people.  It's more they have learned to use that experience to feed their creativity.

Creativity is both sexual and sensuous.  When we are painting and writing, we have a deep desire to create, to give birth.  We can feel the lust in our loins, the joy in our hearts.  How powerful is your desire to create?  Can you feel it deep within your body?  Does every part of you tingle with excitement?  Can you taste the lips of your lover?  

Martin Luther

"Music is the art of the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us."

— Martin Luther

German Priest, Theologian, Bible Translator, Hymn Composer

1483 - 1546

For those who have not heard of Martin Luther, he was a Catholic priest who inspired the Prostestant Reformation in 1517 by nailing his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.  He helped change the course of Christianity.  I heard about Martin Luther early in my life, but I never knew that he translated the Bible from Latin to German or that he composed hymns.  He had a creative nature.

And I believe as does Martin Luther that music heals the soul and takes us to a whole other world.  Do you listen to music when your write or paint?  What kind of music inspires your creativity?  And if you compose music, are you ever inspired by a painting or a novel?  I believe the arts are intertwined and interconnected and touch our souls at a deep level.

Irving Stone

"Art is a staple, like bread or wine or a warm coat in winter.  Man's spirit grows hungry for art in the same way his stomach growls for food."

— Irving Stone

American Novelist

1903 - 1989

Lust for Life
A novel about the life
of Vincent Van Gogh

Many people treat the creative spirit as a luxury, something that is not needed to live life.  And they are quite wrong.  Creativity is a crucial part of living.  If I did not have an outlet for my creativity, I would either go crazy or die.  Creativity is at the very core of who I am.  If I go too long without writing, without putting words on paper, I begin to feel a hunger growing inside me.  I have a strong need to create, to produce something either through writing or painting.  It is as important to my life as water, air, food, shelter and companionship.  Without it my spirit would shrivel and die.  We need food for the body and food for the spirit.  Creativity provides the food for the spirit.

Here are scenes from the movie, Lust for Life, based on the novel by Irving Stone.

Louise Nevelson

"Another thing about creation is that every day it is like it gave birth, and it's always kind of innocent and refreshing.  So it's always virginal to me, and it's always a surprise."

— Louise Nevelson

American Artist

1899 - 1988



Sky Cathedral

(1958)



Does your creative work surprise you?  Do you find yourself full of joy when you are working?  Are you excited about the possible outcome?  Creative work should be fun and bring us moments of happiness.  If it is a struggle for you to create, then you need to work on freeing the creative juices.  These days I can sit down at my desk and write without hesitation.  I just start writing and don't worry about the outcome.  And most times I have no idea where the story will go or what the characters will say.  The same with art.  I pick up the pen and start drawing.  I have muzzled that voice inside that always wants to criticize and tell me how terrible I am.  I don't give him a chance to scream at me.  I am learning to enjoy the moment.



Toni Morrison

"If writing is thinking and discovery and selection and order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic."

— Toni Morrison

American Novelist

1931 -

This quote from Toni Morrison captures the essence of the creative arts.  Yes, the creative arts are about finding meaning in the world around us, but the arts are also about the magic of that world.  Yes, the creative arts are about creating order in a chaotic world, but the arts are also about accepting the mystery of that world.  Yes, the creative arts are about discovering new visions of the world, but the arts are also about kneeling in reverence before the altar.  Yes, the creative arts are about thinking deeply about how the world should be, but the arts are also about the awe that we feel when the work of creation is finished.  

Are you in awe of what you created and how you created it?  Do you appreciate the mystery and magic of the experience?  Learn to honor and respect the creative gifts that you have been given.  

Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd President of the United States

1882 - 1945

Creativity is not limited to writers, artists and musicians.  Anyone can be creative if they open themselves up and listen to the ideas inside.  Who has not had a better idea about something?  There are creative business people who have new ideas about how to do something better.  There are creative doctors who develop better ways to treat patients.  My dentist has developed 12 products that he has sold on the market. Unfortunately, some people bury their creativity deep inside.  They even announce loudly to those around them: "I don't have a creative bone in my body."  We all have the potential to be creative if we allow ourselves the opportunity.

Creativity is one of the most thrilling acts that we as humans can participate in.  If you have ever experienced the excitement of chasing a new idea or exploring a new way of seeing the world you will understand what Roosevelt is saying.  Some people might say that Roosevelt was not creative.  He did not produce any great works of art.  His creativity lay in his ability to change the way he and others saw the world.  The ideas that rose to the surface during his Presidency dramatically changed life in the United States and around the world.  People today are still trying to understand the impact of changes Roosevelt created in our society and our politics.  Roosevelt was a creative leader.

I have come to believe that one of the blessings in disguise in my life was the rejection of religion at young age.  It released a tidal wave of creativity within me.  It freed me to question any idea.  Otherwise, I think, today I would find myself in a straitjacket of rules and regulations.  As a child I was obsessed with the Bible.  I would have an anxiety attack if anything was placed on top of the Bible.  I had to remove it immediately.  If I had continued down that path, it would have led to some form of insanity.

What are you doing to cultivate creativity in your life?  Give yourself the freedom to look at the world in new ways.  See the world in ways that others don't.  Don't accept things as they are.  Question why?  Creativity is not about technique.  It is about seeing the world in new ways.  

Christina Baldwin

"The reason I spend thousands of lifetime hours creating something 99 percent of which no one else is likely to ever read is that writing itself is the gift."

— Christina Baldwin

American Author/Speaker

1946 - 

Sometimes as writers we become caught up in the business of publishing and experience the hurt and pain of rejection.  We become frustrated and sometimes quit writing because we don't think we are good enough.  The need to write, to express ourselves, is not about being published.  The need to write and to create is a gift in itself.  Celebrate and honor the gift you have been given.  Write for the sake of writing.

The same can be said of painting and any of the other forms of creative expression.  Painting is not about selling your art to the highest bidder or having your painting hang in a museum somewhere.  Painting is a gift to be honored and treasured.  Respect and appreciate the gift that you have been given.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Self-Portrait, 1847

"Picture and poem bear the same relationship to each other as beauty does in man and woman:  the point of meeting where the two are identical is the supreme perfection."

— Dante Gabriel Rossetti

English Poet and Artist

1828 - 1882

Lady Lilith, 1868

Having spent over 35 years writing poetry and now painting for the last five years, I am fascinated by the point where poetry and painting meet.  Dante Gabriel Rossetti was trained both as a poet and a painter and spent a lifetime writing poetry and painting pictures.  He once said: "If any man has any poetry in him he should paint it, for it has all been said and written."  And yet Rossetti saw himself more as a poet than a painter.  He also said: "Painting being — what poetry is not — a livelihood — I have put my poetry chiefly in that form."  And I would have to agree with his last point.  While it may be difficult to make a living being a painter, it is even more difficult making a living from writing poetry.  

Is there a poem inside you asking to be let out?  Is there a painting inside you begging to be set free?  I strongly encourage painters to write poetry and short stories.  I think every poet and novelist should pick up a brush and spend a few hours painting.  Remember it is not about being financially successful.  It is about releasing your inner creativity.

Here is a poem by Rossetti:

The Honeysuckle

I plucked a honeysuckle where

The hedge on high is quick and thorn,

And climbing for the prize, was torn,

And fouled my feet in quag-water;

And by the thorns and by the wind

The blossom that I took was thinn'd,

And yet I found it sweet and fair.

Thence to a richer growth I came,

Where, nursed in mellow intercourse,

The honeysuckles sprang by scores,

Not harried like my single stem,

All virgin lamps of scent and dew.

So from my hand that first I threw,

Yet plucked not any more of them.

Here is a video on YouTube showing some of the paintings of Rossetti:

D. H. Lawrence

"All my life, I have from time to time gone back to paint because it gave me a form of delight that words can never give.  Perhaps the joy in words goes deeper and it is for that reason more unconscious.  The conscious delight is certainly stronger in paint."

— D. H. Lawrence

English Novelist, Poet and Painter

1885 - 1930

Painting by D. H. Lawrence

Creative expression is not limited to one form.  Poets paint.  Painters write.  Actors paint.  What do you find joy in?  Words?  Paint?  Acting?  Don't limit yourself to one form or medium.  Explore and expand your horizons.  Creativity is open and free.  Perfectionism is narrow and limiting.  We sometimes don't try things because we want to be perfect.  Perfectionism is about technique.  Creativity is about expression.  If we allow ourselves to be confined by technique, our creativity will harden and shrink.  Creativity frees the soul and opens up new worlds.  Technique imprisons the soul and we die a slow death.  What do you take delight in?  What brings you joy?