Study of a Rose blossom, photograph by Martin Watson

A Bit of Myself…sharing the secrets of my soul.

I must admit that I have had a bit of a difficult time getting my thoughts down on paper for this post.  I knew what I wanted to say, but I just couldn’t seem to formulate the words. Thinking back on things that’d read or seen that would perhaps inspire me, I came across this excerpt from the classic story “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde:

Basil Hallward:  “every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter.  The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion.  It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the colored canvas, reveals himself.  The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.”

When I first read this passage, I must say that I had to reread it a couple of times and sort of catch my breath. For it seemed to describe perfectly, that vulnerable point that I believe all artists, writers, musicians, and others within the creative realm, feel before sharing their own work with others.

The creative process is such an extremely personal one.  No matter the subject that the artist paints; no matter what the nature of the story that an author tells; no matter how complicated the melody that the composer brings to life when the orchestra plays it, what is presented to others to take in, is indeed a bit of the person who created it.  In art this is certainly visible.  Every artist has their own distinguishable style, that part of him that lives between the paint and the canvas.  For the writer, it is the energy that fills each word that has leapt onto the pages and compels the reader to devour chapter after chapter.  I can attest to feeling a sense of ecstasy when I hear a glimmer of the voice of the musician’s soul that “sings” the most breathtaking song through an instrument.

For me, when creating a piece of art or writing a post, I think that I find the most pleasure in the actual execution of it…that is when I add a bit of myself to what I’ve created.  The scariest and most exhilarating part is when I do share what I’ve completed with others.  That is when my own interpretation of the subject or thought comes alive, and others take it and make what they will of it.  Unlike Mr. Hallward in the story excerpt, I have come not to fear or be so anxious about sharing a bit of myself, the “secrets of my soul,” through my creative work.  Rather, I embrace the opportunity to share another dimension of who I truly am.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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