Make More Art

In the darkest days when I was going through the grueling regimen of radiation treatment for throat cancer, I kept hearing a phrase in my mind: “Make more art. Make more art.” Even when I was feeling at my lowest, it kept repeating. As I, ever so slowly, began the trek back into the land of the living, it was still there: “Make more art. Make more art.” An invitation from the Mystery that became a mantra.

As much as my limited energy would allow, I started to play around with what was available around me. Arranging succulents in a pot. Collage. Wee bits of writing. A new soup recipe.

When I began to feel well enough to venture out into the world, I was curious about new materials. I took classes in reusing found objects and returned to painting, which I hadn’t touched in a few years.

All this is to say that in surrendering to that unrelenting message to make more art, I discovered creativity is a portal for healing. I came back to myself through expressing that diminished part of me that I had, without even realizing it, put on hold.

I was reminded that it is never about the product or being particularly good at what I’m doing. It is the tactile, physical sense of creating something with my hands that is healing. It brings me back in touch with my body. The paintings began to tell the story of my cancer journey in a way that I didn’t have words for yet.

Cancer, for me, was a dramatic wake up call that got my attention. It clarified what I care about. It gave me precious time for deep, inner reflection – on where I’ve been, who I am now, and where I want to go next. I returned to the deep well of my creativity, which brought me back into harmony with myself.

MY NEW PROGRAM – Women at the Well – is now open for EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION until Nov. 15.

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