The Heart of the Artist

So, today we are thinking about the artists's heart. Well, what is the heart, what does it do? Some would say it is our core, others, a circulation pump, yet others would say it is the seat of love...so many things for such a small organ...Anyway, as a circulation pump, the artist's heart circulates the life-affirming energy that causes us to bring our impulses into the field of art, and into existence. We have something inside of us, that, without the sustenance (oxygen and sugar) delivered to our soul/mind/creative spirit, would remain unshared. So, the artist's heart, insofar as it allows the good items we ingest (again, reading books, mags, taking classes, talking to other people, and even, yes, experimenting!) to circulate through the brain, sustains and supports our creativity.
As our "core," our heart drives us to do what we love, what makes us come fully alive. This is a little different than the whole "love center" thing...We say about people, they had the "heart" to do something difficult, or brave...and we usually mean the drive, the essential, purposeful desire to do a certain thing. So, with our art, we have the "heart" to create something from how we feel, whether it is a scrapbook page about people we love, a few cards for some friends, an altered book that we can share with others in a round robin, or a piece of art to hang on our wall at home and just appreciate, soak in, and re-experience the "heart" that drove us to create it. Sometimes we need a little bravery to try something out of our comfort zone, afraid we might be judged as odd, or fringe-ish (which, in my opinion, is not such a bad place to be.) This is where the "heart" of the artist takes over and guides us into our work. Many of us have had the experience of just getting lost in what we are doing as we play with our art supplies...this is the heart, leading us to a place it knows about, before we even realize that we are going in a certain direction. There are reasons, almost always really good ones, that impel us to create exactly as we do...a certain color evokes a memory, a texture brings us to a new place, a juxtaposition makes us feel soooo deeply...This is living, supported by all the functions of our heart. So, I just say, follow your heart.
And that brings us to the most familiar aspect of the heart, the loving part. We are all pretty familiar with this aspect. We love our significant others, our children, our parents, our dear friends...and our art. We can get very enthusiastic about art, in that we just want to be doing it, thinking about it...everywhere we look, we see something we want to bring into our next piece...it excites us, and makes our hearts swell with delight...is it the ink on our fingers, the paint in our hair...the colors we are surrounded by? We are delighted by it, we love it, we are content in its presence. We feel full being in our "art" element...we feel safe, at home, whole, and content...I do believe that this is love. I love my art, and it seems to be loving me back. How nice is life to work out like that.
Here is the prize for a random drawing I will do from
everyone who leaves a comment after this entry. It is
an assortment of stuff to make art with.
I think you will "love" it with all your "heart."