I've wondered about creation for a long time. Not the big bang or if some deity thought all that is into existence but what is it like for people when they create? What goes on inside someone's head when they create something unique? We all create all the time whether it is an emotion or an idea or even a sandwich. what I'm talking about is art. I know that's still a vast subject but I'll try to narrow it down.
I like to draw. I'm not good enough to make a living at it but I'm pretty good sometimes. Even though I'm an amateur, there's still a "zone" that I get in at times where I relax and things just start to flow. I'll get sort of an easy intense focus and it starts to feel more like I'm sculpting something from inside the page and I'm pulling it out with my pencils and stumps. What I'm sketching starts to appear. It starts to turn into something like a hologram. Then I start to caress the subject I envisioned into existence with shading and blending and highlighting until there it is, there's something tangible. There's something that didn't exist before that I created from nothing. while this is all happening I feel light and everything else seems to dim around the edges. I feel like I'm in motion, like I'm riding a breeze or being carried down an invisible stream. This feeling is just as or even more rewarding than the finished product, and for awhile I can look at my creation and immediately be taken back to the place I was when I was sketching if only for a short while.
That's as close as I can describe what its like for me. Its an altered state of mind that I have only ever achieved when I was drawing. No drink or drug has ever taken me to that particular place. This made me wonder if its the same for everyone. My wife designs jewelry and accessories for beauty pageant contestants and embellishes their dresses as well. She said that for her a pattern will kind of appear and all the colors start to stand out and get brighter.
My son is an aspiring entertainer who taught himself to play guitar then he moved into rap. He's opened for some big names in that genre and has even toured a little. He's an amazing writer. He's one of those people who can say a lot with only a few words and relate to different people on different levels in the same song. When I talked to him about what it was like when he was in his "zone" and he was creating new lyrics he said that he connected with something deep inside himself but also with the universe. He said that things will just come to him and he has to let them out.
Also, I have a friend who is a virtuoso guitarist who tours the world and has played for thousands. He told me that when he's playing that he can feel the notes. He said that things seem to link up and his feelings then flow from him through his guitar. lol, he also told me that he's never thought that deeply on it until I asked.
So, do artistic people all feel something similar? Do we all go to the same place or get our direction from the same place in our hearts and minds? Is it the same for a singer, cabinet maker, painter, sculptor, photographer...........? If that feeling that I get feels so strong for me then what did it feel like for Van Gogh, Rodin, Rembrandt, Otis Redding, Stevie Ray Vaughan or any other masters of their craft? Does that feeling get stronger with more talent and ability?
I'd love to here any comments or opinions that any of the talented people on here might have on the subject. Or at least let me know if you maybe wondered the same thing so that I can then be secure knowing that I'm not just some weirdo who over thinks things!
thanks,
john