#Big Magic

[melodysbookhaven]

“Give your mind a job to do, or else it will find a job to do, and you might not like the job it invents.”

Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

[sunsetquotes]

Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.

Elizabeth Gilbert; Big Magic

[through-gayas-eyes]

"One of the coolest examples of creative living that I’ve seen in recent years, for instance, came from my friend Susan, who took up figure skating when she was forty years old. To be more precise, she actually already knew how to skate. She had competed in figure skating as a child and had always loved it, but she’d quit the sport during adolescence when it became clear she didn’t have quite enough talent to be a champion. (Ah, lovely adolescence—when the “talented” are officially shunted off from the herd, thus putting the total burden of society’s creative dreams on the thin shoulders of a few select souls, while condemning everyone else to live a more commonplace, inspiration-free existence! What a system . . . )

For the next quarter of a century, my friend Susan did not skate. Why bother, if you can’t be the best? Then she turned forty. She was listless. She was restless. She felt drab and heavy. She did a little soul-searching, the way one does on the big birthdays. She asked herself when was the last time she’d felt truly light, joyous, and—yes—creative in her own skin. To her shock, she realized that it had been decades since she’d felt that way. In fact, the last time she’d experienced such feelings had been as a teenager, back when she was still figure skating. She was appalled to discover that she had denied herself this life-affirming pursuit for so long, and she was curious to see if she still loved it.

So she followed her curiosity. She bought a pair of skates, found a rink, hired a coach. She ignored the voice within her that told her she was being self-indulgent and preposterous to do this crazy thing. She tamped down her feelings of extreme self-consciousness at being the only middle-aged woman on the ice, with all those tiny, feathery nine-year-old girls.

She just did it.

Three mornings a week, Susan awoke before dawn and, in that groggy hour before her demanding day job began, she skated. And she skated and skated and skated. And yes, she loved it, as much as ever. She loved it even more than ever, perhaps, because now, as an adult, she finally had the perspective to appreciate the value of her own joy. Skating made her feel alive and ageless. She stopped feeling like she was nothing more than a consumer, nothing more than the sum of her daily obligations and duties. She was making something of herself, making something with herself.

It was a revolution. A literal revolution, as she spun to life again on the ice—revolution upon revolution upon revolution . . .

Please note that my friend did not quit her job, did not sell her home, did not sever all her relationships and move to Toronto to study seventy hours a week with an exacting Olympic-level skating coach. And no, this story does not end with her winning any championship medals. It doesn’t have to. In fact, this story does not end at all, because Susan is still figure skating several mornings a week—simply because skating is still the best way for her to unfold a certain beauty and transcendence within her life that she cannot seem to access in any other manner. And she would like to spend as much time as possible in such a state of transcendence while she is still here on earth."

From : BIG MAGIC - creative living beyond fear. By Elizabeth Gilbert.

[femboycatofmystery]

I think we might make more and better art if we decided that it is not our place to decide what our art is, or how it will help the world. It is not our place to sit on committee about our art before we make it, and to protest its choices.

Suppose instead that you are not the boss of your art. Your art is the boss of you.

Suppose that every time you start to do something and you think it's lazy, or not helpful, or wrong somehow, you remind yourself who is in charge and you follow that impulse and you let the art tell you what it's for. Don't lead your art around by the nose, follow it instead.

If you're not spiritual, you can say that something deep down in you, something that has seen all the bad that is in the world as it is, knows what you, specifically, can do to help, better than you're going to guess at by conducting armchair political science.

Or you could just embrace the possibility that your art knows what it's supposed to be, and it's not your job to invent that. It's already there.

[merakiliving]

"My desire to work—my desire to engage with my creativity as intimately and as freely as possible—is my strongest personal incentive to fight back against pain, by any means necessary, and to fashion a life for myself that is as sane and healthy and stable as it can possibly be.

But that's only because of what I have chosen to trust, which is quite simply: love.

Love over suffering, always."

Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic (p. 215)

The idea of the tormented artist has always been romanticized in the art community that I was in before. Let alone, the art community in general. I was conditioned to think that I can find validation and meaning as an artist if I am able to translate my suffering onto paper. Honestly, the process was detoriorating my overall health. And when I look back at my older illustrations, while I love them, it made me think that I was also romanticizing my trauma as a way to cope with it. Reading Big Magic is like getting the right prescription from a doctor to treat this "illness". That there is a way to deprogram the self and dive into a healthier and a joyful way of creating again. A balm to heal the art heart. Who's to say that the ones who went through the deepest pain are the greatest artists only? After all, art is subjective. Whatever you see in the painting, is merely only a projection of what you believe in, whether consciously or not.

To put it in a more cohesive example, I look to Zuko from the ATLA series in reference to the tormented artist's journey of healing. His creativity and his skill as a creator (expressed as his fire bending) is rooted in his anger, simply because he has not yet processed the root of his issue. By the time he entered the Gaang, the realization of suddenly losing his creativity dawned on him. And in his journey of finding the true meaning of creativity (his journey to the dragons), he has been reborn with the sole knowledge that Fire, in its true essence, is simply creation. The first element that starts the cycle. The seed to which all life springs forth from. Being connected to that truth now, he finds his peace and his healing as he forges his fire from a new and soulful source.

Don't get me wrong though, some of my favorite works are from the creators that have found a way to bring light, beauty and even healing through their suffering. And by sharing that, it also grants us that awareness of our own pain. But the idea that only artists being tormented by their baggage is the only way to make art, is absolute garbage. I'd much rather enjoy my creative process than to suffer for it. Pain can be draining. Why would I want my life to be abundant of that? I'd much rather grow up to be healthy and sane and STILL making art.

[wellconstructedsentences]

A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner — continuously and stubbornly bringing forth the jewels that are hidden within you — is a fine art.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

[stupidbluegirl]

Post 1 of 4 of pics of Shane Matthews/Matt Lee/Matt Menard from my journey down a Chikara rabbit hole. These are from the 2012 Chikara Fan Conclave. I cropped the poor innocent fans out for privacy's sake. Click to embiggen yadda yadda yadda.

Source.

[lauratheghost]

I've been reading this book off and on for almost a year- but I really love it and I'm determined to finish it today.

It's called "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert (she wrote "eat, pray, love" but I've never read that.)

But this book is really awesome. It's all about making art and being creative and it's written in a very easy-to-understand- and often funny- way.

I've highlighted SO many lines. I just love her thought process on "creative living."

[hereforthepotions]

I'm trying to fill a sketchbook in 2024, but I'm stumped with this guy. I don't know what outfit to give him. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[yellowlabyrinth]

"For most history people just made things, and they didn't make such a big freaking deal out of it". - Elizabeth Gilbert

[melodysbookhaven]

“Whatever you do, try not to dwell too long on your failures. You don’t need to conduct autopsies on your disasters.”

Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

[gongyussy]

women………….. | DOROHEDORO

(by the way. this is noi.)

[calibratedgallow]

happy portal/team fortress 2/my little pony friendship is magic/ fallout day

[polyquestria]

I'm here to combat the vicious homophobic granny smith rumours

[stupidbluegirl]

Post 2 of 4.

Chikara Fan Conclave 2012.

Click to embiggen.

Source.

[lauratheghost]

Daily Ramblings:

I finished two books today! Woo!

"Big Magic" and "Tin Man."

I loved both, but Tin Man messed me up. 4.5/5 ⭐️ And I cried. 😂😭

Also decided that I want to go to Nashville for my birthday in September. Idk what happened- but something in my brain changed after I saw Sleep Token last fall- ever since then, I've realized like "You know you're an adult, you can go wherever you want." I'm 31, it took a while to sink in.

So here's to spending all my money on traveling now instead of useless shit 👍😊