Creating with Feeling
What makes any kind of design or artwork-from a beautiful scrap layout to a Rembrandt painting-zing with intensity and sing with depth? We have talked in earlier articles about the power of intention in creating a piece. Today we will focus on creating with feeling. I have found that the process of creating is a weave between following the creative impulses that make you feel the happiest and most excited, and hanging in there with the feelings of dread or disappointment as a piece begins to turn out differently than you originally imagined it. How can we push the limits of our comfort zone, while still having a blast when we create? If we follow the trail of good feelings as we scrap or put something together, will this result in a better layout? Will sitting with discomfort as you try something new ultimately reward you with a more original piece? How about the other side of the coin; scrapping an event or occasion that brought up difficult feelings for you-such as sadness, disappointment, or anger? This gives us much to explore- so let’s begin!
Our feelings are our partner in the creative process. Where you place this photo or that paper does not have to be a dry, logical process. Let’s say you’ve made time to sit down with a big batch of papers and photos, and you begin to feel overwhelmed or, worse, uninspired! In the beginning stage of creating a page or a piece, I really recommend following where the most excitement is. Say you have two papers in your hand; one is the color that “should” go down because it matches more, and one is the crazy pink sparkly paper that makes no sense to use, but somehow gives you a subtle, excited “lift” inside. I can guarantee you that using the one that has the most energy or zing to you, in that very moment, will ultimately take you down the road to a much more fulfilling piece for both you and the viewer. You may be impulsed to pick up that pink sparkly one not to plaster over your whole piece, but to simply use the tiniest sliver that will in turn anchor the entire page. Your creative self really knows what it is doing, and often guides you by these feelings of fun, lift, excitement, etc. Think of those high feelings as your own creative intuition. So first, follow them!
Midway through the creative process, I notice that something shifts, and that’s what I call the dreaded Midway Wall. Here is where you may feel that what you have created so far is absolutely no good at all. All that excitement and fun you had in the beginning stages, when everything is fresh and had so much possibility, now seems like a terrible boring mess! It is important to consciously realize that you have arrived to this place, and trust that the process will take you to a piece you can be happy with.) When your inner critic steps in, it is your signal that you’re going to have to toughen up and be ok with a little discomfort riding in your passenger seat. I never, and I mean never, know what the final result is going to look like when I start a piece, and I am rarely happy during every phase of creating. After 30 years of creating I’ve been humbled enough to know every creative piece has ideas of its own! Fortunately, if I can let go, the final result is always better that what I originally imagined. Discomfort is helpfully providing you with a distraction so that the “something better” can get through, it’s an integral part of the creative process. The more you can “hang on” when those difficult feelings arrive, the quicker you will be guided to that “breakthrough” moment when you just know what to do.
Once I’ve gotten there, I usually take a break from the piece and do something else. You want to make it easier on your self by knowing what you are going to do the next time you sit down to work on something. And besides, every piece needs time to just sit, breathe, and bake. When you return to the piece with a refreshed mind-whether that’s one hour or one week from now, chances are high you will easily reenter the piece and you’ll see the next 5 or 6 steps ahead clear as day. You’ll know when a piece is done with all the energy is gone and you no longer feel compelled to add or subtract anything else. When you hit the Midway wall, be prepared to sit with some discomfort as you create until you find a breakthrough. Give yourself permission and time to take a chance on an idea or direction until you discover one that “clicks” and feels right. Never give up in frustration until you get to this point, THEN you have permission to stop.
Finally, there is no rule that says your pages have to be full of nothing but joy and good feelings. Try scrapping an event that created difficult feelings in some way for you. Showing a little honesty in your scrapbooks could give your pages some depth and energy and make them more real and human. Because my designs are so happy, people often assume that I’m happy all the time as well. The truth is that I give myself plenty of time and space to examine more “negative” feelings, and this in turn provides a more natural balance to create the “happy stuff.”
