article and art by Jamie Miller

Have you ever experienced being fascinated by a piece of art?  Perhaps you happened by a painting and found yourself standing still just staring at it.  Something drew you into the piece itself.  Or maybe it was a song or a particular piece of writing that moved you.  What were you feeling at that moment?  I submit that in that moment you felt a response from your soul … for art comes from the heart, and the heart is the seat of the soul.

For me, discovering this connection came as quite a surprise.  I always considered the creative process to be a result of thought and planning, or problem solving – all in the realm of the mind.  For example, writing an essay on a particular theme, or a typical drawing class assignment such as drawing a white egg on a white plate on a white tablecloth in a white room, or even challenging myself to not get up out of my chair until I write a poem. It never occurred to me to recognize the source of the ideas that came to me while busy with the completion of projects such as these.

That is, until repeated nudges kept coming up to my conscious mind.  My arm wanted to move in BIG circles.  I ignored this urge for months but the feeling persisted.  I contemplated putting up a sheet in the garage and just seeing what happened but didn’t follow through with that plan.  Later one evening, the urge was so strong that I had to respond.  Using an end piece of a roll of white wrapping paper taped to a wall, I watched as my arm drew circles, then eyes, followed by a nose and suddenly there was a face!  My arm kept moving adding details.  I stepped back and marveled at it.  Where had that come from?  Nothing was erased; the circles and initial scribbles became details beautifully integrated into the design.  I was in awe and humbled.

The floodgates opened.  I just let my hand move and felt the joy of being immersed in the creative process.  I became an observer of the process as piece after piece evolved. After receiving comments from friends about how they felt energy coming from the art, a dear friend agreed to dowse them to see if they had an energy field.  Not only did each piece have an energy field, but the diameters of the fields ranged from six to twelve feet!  The size of the piece was irrelevant.

I finally connected the dots.  The gift was an expression from my soul.  Of course!  Where did I think creativity and inspiration came from?  These seemingly inanimate objects hold energy from their source, you and your soul.  The implications were wonderful!  We create every day, whether it’s a project at work, making dinner for our family, or painting or writing.  Being attuned to our soul, and feeling it express through us is not something we have to learn to do.  It’s a given, a done deal.  All we have to do is recognize this truth.     In fact, there are no steps or procedures to follow.  There really is nothing to do.  Just know that you already are living soulfully because you are alive.  Your ideas come from your soul; the execution is via your mind (note “via” not “from”).  Rather than elaborately preplanning and thinking about the execution of an idea, work from what you feel moment by moment. 

I’m not advocating no preplanning at all.  If you are creating a piece of art, sketching it out first is useful should you wish to.  Allow your hand to move spontaneously on the page without dictating where it goes. Don’t worry about what it looks like.  Working with pencil allows you to erase later!   For me it starts out often with circles which then form eyes and faces.  Or the circles move on to other shapes and different things come into being.   Sometimes what my hand wants to do makes no sense and my mind wants to censure it but I let it go and usually am delighted with the result.  If I am writing poetry, I begin by writing the words that just pop into my head.  First there’s no rhyme or reason, but then sentences form, soon followed by a theme and then a poem appears.  Many times it’s perfect as is. 

In my experience when working on a piece of art, it feels like I need courage to use this approach.  My mind wants to plan it out and be certain of a satisfactory result.   For me this is particularly an issue when it’s time to choose the colors.  My mind wants to use all the “rules” but I just work like I’m sure I did in kindergarten.  I grab the color that seems to be shouting at me and dive in.  I continue this way until it’s done.   So take a deep breath.  Move from your being a “do-er” to a “be-er” and enjoy the ride!

We are already living “soulfully.” We can’t help it.  Joy is our birthright.  Creative expression is natural.  Art and soul – what’s your magnificent expression?

Jamie Miller is a visionary artist and photographer who ardently facilitates the unfolding of creativity in herself and others.

She lives and teaches in Raleigh, NC. kaliroi50@yahoo.com

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