What do Nine Sisters have to do with Artistic Inspiration?
Whether you are a believer in the nine muses of Greek mythology (and no, there are not just three) or not, there is something magical about inspiration “happening”.
In a previous post, there was a discussion about inspiration, which you can find here.
Some of the best advice on enhancing your creativity is to “spend time in solitude with your artist child is essential to self nurturing” (Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way”).
By ”filling the well and stocking the pond”, Julia Cameron explains that “Art is an image using system. Any extended period or piece of work draws heavily on our artistic well” and she goes on to say that it is necessary to fill the artistic well constantly. Makes sense to me.
This is not only true for visual artists but also for writers, poets, musicians etc.
So, if you are wondering, how could you draw in those nine sisters to aid in your own creative path, here is a great article.
Here’s what I do My Secret Sanctuary to “fill my well”.
How do you draw in your muse? Comment below.
How do I attract my muse? I have no idea. She comes when she wants, and leaves any time she pleases. I have found that begging helps, sometimes, and persistence. Patience is the key. I enjoyed the article on the muses. I took a great mythology course at the U of A long ago, but it never got into the muses very much, just all the sexy shennanigans of all the gods and goddesses, ( which was fine with me ). Its interesting to me that the origins of the muses were originally with Gaia, Mother Earth. That goes along with what Camille Paglia wrote in her book Sexual Personae. I remember that she talks alot about western civilization transitioning from earth cult, the mother, to Sky cult, Apollo, and a more patriarcal society. Paglia caused quite a stir with some of her off handed comments, especially the one about how we’d all still be living in grass huts if women had stayed on top of the cultural pyramid. She credits men with pulling us out of the mud by reason of our more obsessive peronalities. I wonder about that. But anyway, what has stayed with me over the years since I scanned her book was her historical recollections of the swings in artistic fashion, from classical to romantic, then all the way to baroque, and then back again. I’ve noticed those swings even in modern music as styles and fashion pendulum back and forth. Donna, I really enjoyed your latest post. Keep up the good work. Bill
Bill,
I think we all have our own ways to attract our muses or fill our wells. If you haven’t read Julia Cameron’s “Artist’s Way”, it is a great book. I think at the very least it offers some thought on being patient as you suggested.
Thanks again!