Art as Nourishment: Cultivating Self-Care Through Creative Expression
Do you ever find yourself engrossed in an activity, losing track of time and feeling completely content? Whether it's reading, knitting, cooking, or spending time with a friend, these moments of timelessness can be incredibly rejuvenating. I call it "godless time" - a break from the constraints of the clock and the demands of everyday life.
In our world obsessed with measurable, chronological time (Chronos time), there's another dimension that often goes unnoticed - Kairos, the Greek concept of an opportune or lucky moment. Kairos is personified as the minor god, Caerus, symbolizing luck and opportunity. I find solace in the idea of Kairos - a timeless realm outside the rigid boundaries of measured time. It's a feeling I experience when I paint, a moment of lived experience that leaves me craving more.
As an artist with a reliable office job (what I call the "job-job"), I constantly find myself torn between the demands of my creative pursuits and the deadlines of my professional life. Co-workers schedule meetings on my designated art days, and the constant pressure of deadlines can encroach upon my precious studio time. Despite the resentment, the job-job pays the bills, providing a roof over my head and food on the table - necessities that my art, unfortunately, cannot guarantee.
This struggle is not unique to artists; it's a universal dilemma. We often hear about the importance of self-care, but it seems to have been commodified into spa days or nice haircuts. What we truly crave, however, is that elusive sense of timelessness - a break from the incessant demands of work and the never-ending notifications on our phones.
In an attempt to reclaim some of that precious time, I've established a studio schedule, dedicating half-days on Wednesdays and Fridays to my art. After a fulfilling morning of painting on Wednesdays, I return to my office work with renewed focus and energy. Uninterrupted creative time allows me to lose myself in the process, emerging refreshed and ready to tackle other aspects of life.
When circumstances prevent me from entering the studio or venturing outdoors for plein air painting, I feel a distinct sense of starvation and depletion. The hunger that plagues the starving artist isn't merely physical but rather a yearning for creative sustenance - that vital nourishment only found in the timeless moments of artistic expression.
Time and time again I return to Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life. After having children I was looking for some sort of guide to help me balance, work and family and still have time to make artwork. I gave up there was nothing out there.
Then I found The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. It was like a light bulb went on. It all seemed so obvious once Twyla Tharp put the words on the page. She give guidance and examples of what has worked for her and relates it in a way that is easy to digest. She asks questions that generated a closer personal inspection.
I highly recommend.
I love social media for inspiring my cooking. I turn to Anjula Devi all the time to learn about spice combinations for Indian dishes. I also love her stories about growing up and learning to cook.
I will have some news about an upcoming show in April. I’ll send out some news about it in my next post.
Thanks for reading.