I wanted to post the actual paragraph from "The Art of Possibility" for you so that you could see how what I read influenced what I posted yesterday. What I posted was based on this paragraph and this paragraph alone. Perception is sometimes mistaken for truth so this might need a further explanation. To me, it just shows that you can take something and expound on it, change it, etc. and what is perceived by others is how they interpret it. That is "the art" in it to me. Here goes:
"Whereas "should haves" are commonplace in the fault game, apologies are frequent when
you name yourself as the board. That is because when you look deeply enough into the question, "How did that thing that I am having trouble with get on the board that I am?" you will find that at some point, in order to give yourself a feeling of control or equilibrium, you have sacrificed a relationship. Whether you got into silent combat with your boss because he did not take your advice, or you failed to speak truthfully to your daughter because you did not want to upset her, or you just did not recognize how important you are to an old friend; at some point, a relationship broke down or is in the process of breaking down. And your effectiveness has deteriorated with it. In these cases, an apology often serves as a restorative balm."
Zander suggests that "...you rename yourself as the board on which the whole game is being played. You move the problematic aspect of any circumstance from the outside world inside the boundaries of yourself. With this act you can transform the world."
What we write always has some element of truth in it, at least for me. When I paint there is always a story behind what I put down on the canvas. That is how I operate. I think that when Tess posts a photo in Magpie Tales for all of us to write about, this is a function that works for her also. And I am always amazed where her photos lead everyone. I don't think that there are every two alike. I might be wrong about that but I don't think so. Each person brings his or her own reality to what they create, be it a painting, a book, a short story, a poem. Something sparks those ideas. And then, we as artists, take off from there. It is the jumping off point.
When you think about Science Fiction movies it makes you wonder where the creators of them were and what they were thinking when they first came up with the concept. Are there any new ideas or are they all recycled, so-to-speak? They say in art that almost everything has been done but I don't like to think like that. When you put something down on paper for the first time, it is the very first time that has existed; it's the birth of a new idea basically. It might be a totally new paradigm shift; a new way of thinking. It might be just a portion of something that existed prior and now takes wings and heads off in a new direction.
My point it this: when I read this paragraph, it sparked something deep inside me that brought forth the color of sherbet ice cream. Tess' Magpie Tales had that coloration for me. I did not look at the item "per se" as a knife, a lemon, bloody hand print. For me it was a color that sparked the idea and then that lead me to think about what I had read and go from there. A thought process.
How do some of you create what you do, be it drawing, painting, writing, or? Is it one thing that sparks another and then builds? Do you write down phrases in a notebook that hit you when you hear them and then pull from that? Is it a visual stimulation that sparks the first idea? I'd be interested to hear your thought process. Where does your creativity begin?
In the early 1900's, UC Davis was considered the University Farm, an extension of UC Berkeley. But I think seeing a wild turkey outside the housing offices on campus is not what you would think of when you think: University Farm!
This turkey appeared outside of my daughter's office at Orchard Park, one of the housing offices on campus. I have been seeing many posts in the last couple of weeks regarding turkeys that people have been seeing on their land but this seems unusual to me. Maybe it just feels safe now that November has come and gone; safe to wander the streets for another year!
