Give yourself time to think and create.
From one artist to another, I'm tellin' you, we need this so desperately I have to write about it.
Right now, I'm designing new curriculum. I have the general idea, but I need time to let it flesh out.
Tomorrow, I'm going to handle some serious business, then I'm going to go play.
I have to give myself time to get it right, and play does that.
And that is what I'd like to address:
You need to make the time.
I'm serious--if you're an artist, you know that the song or the painting or the poem doesn't just pop out.
You have to…Let It.
Sometimes It requires breathing room. Sometimes It requires Nature. Sometimes It requires a long drive. Sometimes It requires binging comedy. Sometimes It requires cleaning. Sometimes It requires staring out the window.
Play is lost for adults because of the pressures of trying to stay alive and to eat regularly and to be housed and to stay clothed. Every second is accounted for because in many cases it has to be. No room can be given for leisure, for play, for wistful thinking.
In addition, we are inundated with news that so many are faced with catastrophe. Wyoming is dealing with wildfires. Hurricanes Helene and Milton have destroyed lives, whole cities, and homes in several states. We are dealing with a presidential election where one of the candidates has been convicted of sexual assault as well as 34 felony counts and is still not finished with legal battles while the other is a prosecuting attorney and the current vice president who did not lead an insurrection—and somehow the race is still close. There are three genocides happening on the planet and the US is leading the world with mass shootings, some in schools.
I mean, it is grim.
So how, exactly, do we make time for…*checks notes*…glee? The stress level is high and so when do we find this imaginary time to create, Tina?!?
Yes.
*deep sigh *
Yes.
Um, I don’t know, but we need your art now more than ever.
We need your poetry and painting now as we shout out in despair. Why do you think comedians are in demand right now? We need to laugh. Don’t wait for tranquility; capture the rage and insanity and the pain of the moment.
That’s honest. That’s real. This is exactly what's needed for expression of beauty that you generate.
That’s art.
Give yourself time to think.
