{"id":93,"date":"2008-02-23T09:42:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-23T09:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onecity\/2008\/02\/why-make-art.html"},"modified":"2008-02-23T09:42:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-23T09:42:00","slug":"why-make-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/02\/why-make-art.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Make Art?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><font size=\"2\" face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Recently, one of my artist friends who became involved in meditation and Buddhism described her changing relationship to her art.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI used to paint from the I, and now that my perception is changing, so is my art.\u201d<span>\u00a0 <\/span>She spoke of feeling lost for awhile, of questioning old subjects, having to re-learn how to paint.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>As I continue to explore both yoga and meditation, I find my relationship to my writing changing, too, and I wonder if you, fellow bloggers, find the same?<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span><\/font><br \/>\n<font size=\"2\" face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">I think a lot of my writing used to stem from the desire to \u201cbridge\u201d parts of myself.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>I wrote as a process of self-discovery, as a way to look into a mirror.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was as if one part of self was writing to another, schizophrenic as that sounds.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>I often had the experience of not fully \u201cgetting\u201d what I was writing until later&#8230;.as if some higher self was writing to a more worldly self.<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">I still have this experience, but less so as I get to know myself better and feel more \u201cin communication\u201d with my whole self in general.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe this stems from contemplative practices, or maybe its just getting older, but I feel more in touch with how I think and feel now in general, and don\u2019t need to journal for pages to catch a glimpse.<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span><\/font><font size=\"2\" face=\"Times New Roman\"> <\/font><font size=\"2\" face=\"Times New Roman\"><\/font><font size=\"2\" face=\"Times New Roman\"><\/font><font size=\"2\" face=\"Times New Roman\"><\/font><font size=\"2\" face=\"Times New Roman\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0\" class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0\" class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0\" class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0\" class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">A lot of my writing was also, as my friend phrased it, \u201cfrom the I.\u201d<span>\u00a0 <\/span>There was a lot of \u201cgetting things off my chest\u201d of \u201chaving my say\u201d and telling \u201cmy\u201d story.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>All valid things, to possess and honor one\u2019s own voice and story&#8230;..but sorta ego-filled, don\u2019t cha think?\u00a0 Or maybe it depends on intention&#8230;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0\" class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">I find myself contemplating the dialog of writing more now, not just monologue.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>I wonder more about audience, and generally think of it more as sharing than venting.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>There has to be some active ego in writing or art-making in that you feel confident enough in what you say and make to believe it matters.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>But matters for who?<span>\u00a0 <\/span>For the author, for release or discovery?<span>\u00a0 <\/span>Or for everybody?<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0\" class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">What drives you to write, or create art?<span>\u00a0 <\/span>Has it changed since you\u2019ve begun meditating?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0\u00a0Recently, one of my artist friends who became involved in meditation and Buddhism described her changing relationship to her art.\u00a0 \u201cI used to paint from the I, and now that my perception is changing, so is my art.\u201d\u00a0 She spoke of feeling lost for awhile, of questioning old subjects, having to re-learn how to paint.\u00a0&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Make Art? - One City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/02\/why-make-art.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Make Art? - One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0Recently, one of my artist friends who became involved in meditation and Buddhism described her changing relationship to her art.\u00a0 \u201cI used to paint from the I, and now that my perception is changing, so is my art.\u201d\u00a0 She spoke of feeling lost for awhile, of questioning old subjects, having to re-learn how to paint.\u00a0&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/02\/why-make-art.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-02-23T09:42:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"streetlegalplay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Make Art? - One 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