Evolution is the way a poem happens for me. I don't know what the poem is about until I'm finished writing. The poem evolves as I write. I know there are writers who outline everything they do. They know what they are going to write every step of the way. For me, it does not work. I like not knowing. The excitement is in the writing. The same thing happens when I write a story or a novel. Only at the end do I know what I was writing about. And even then I might not be sure.
When I travel I am the same way. I want to discover new places. My wife and I once were on a trip with another couple. They had everything planned down to the minute and became upset if we deviated from the plan because it put them behind schedule. I can't travel that way. The joy is in the discovery.
Art for me is also about discovery. When I draw a mask, I never know what a mask will look like until I am finished. The joy is in the process of creation. The joy is in not knowing where you are going.
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| Zentangle 2016 |
I have been studying Zentangle, a meditative art form, for the last four years. A basic principle of Zentangle art is that you don't plan your work. The fun is in the exploration — of discovering where you should go.
One of the things I have learned over the years is that creative leaders have many different ways of working. What works for one person does not work for another. How do you work? Do you map out your story in advance of writing it? Do you know what your painting will look like before you start painting it? Are you confined by the expectations of yourself or others?
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