Hey, Jay, this is your fan and fellow puppety guy Rick Lyon.
Apropos to your dilemma, I recently saw this quote from Tennessee Williams, author of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE etc.
I wrote to Picasso once: I did not receive a reply. I saw Picasso at a party or an opening or something crowded and awful in New York. I spoke to him. I repeated what I had written in my letter: How do we do it? What do we do when the images and the words do not come forth? How do we survive? How do we remain artists? He looked at me with those glorious eyes, snapped back that shiny, bald head and told me that we are not artists; we do not concern ourselves with “art.” We are workmen, day laborers—who happen to work with paints and clay and actors, and curtains part on occasion to display what we do. Tell the truth, he said. As you know it. Art may happen; it may not. We are not owed its presence. His point was made.
Inspiration will come when it's ready. It's hard to be patient, but trying to force it will usually make things worse. Take the pressure off yourself - do things you love, relax your mind, and re-charge.
When I get blocked, I wash dishes. I think it works because it doesn't involve any real thought. My brain relaxes. Suddenly, about the time I get to the bowls, I have a solution. Mark Twain used to say that he believed the mind was like a razor. You put a razor on the shelf for awhile and it gets its edge back, he said...and he believed that his mind was much the same, and just needed to be put on the shelf for a bit to get its edge back.
Hey, Jay, this is your fan and fellow puppety guy Rick Lyon.
ReplyDeleteApropos to your dilemma, I recently saw this quote from Tennessee Williams, author of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE etc.
I wrote to Picasso once: I did not receive a reply. I saw Picasso at a party or an opening or something crowded and awful in New York. I spoke to him. I repeated what I had written in my letter: How do we do it? What do we do when the images and the words do not come forth? How do we survive? How do we remain artists? He looked at me with those glorious eyes, snapped back that shiny, bald head and told me that we are not artists; we do not concern ourselves with “art.” We are workmen, day laborers—who happen to work with paints and clay and actors, and curtains part on occasion to display what we do. Tell the truth, he said. As you know it. Art may happen; it may not. We are not owed its presence. His point was made.
Inspiration will come when it's ready. It's hard to be patient, but trying to force it will usually make things worse. Take the pressure off yourself - do things you love, relax your mind, and re-charge.
All best to you and Sandy!
When I get blocked, I wash dishes. I think it works because it doesn't involve any real thought. My brain relaxes. Suddenly, about the time I get to the bowls, I have a solution. Mark Twain used to say that he believed the mind was like a razor. You put a razor on the shelf for awhile and it gets its edge back, he said...and he believed that his mind was much the same, and just needed to be put on the shelf for a bit to get its edge back.
ReplyDelete