Elma Studio

"Art and Soul" - is this enough?

I have noticed a lot of “art and soul” type of events and opportunities popping up in the recent past in my area alone. What is going on?

Obviously, there is a need that is being fulfilled. Is this about seeking balance in life? Is this about the current culture not feeding the soul? Is this about social change?

Rollo May back in the mid 20^th century observed, “they (artists) are the frontier scouts who go out ahead of the rest of us to explore the future… For we will be better prepared for the future if we can listen seriously to them.”

Not the art where we learn the correct way of doing it and acquire the right type of skills to feed the ego and stay entrenched in the myth of individuality. And how many of us are conscious of the fact that the creative process is messy? 

For some people, a weekend workshop, a retreat here and there has become a way to supplement their creative life and to sustain their search for a soulful existence; for some, this has become a lifestyle. At least for those of us who CAN go to a workshop here and there because we don’t have to worry about the next meal and what the kids area going to wear to keep warm and that sort of thing.  

I am still interested in how one could take time in their life to actively explore and ask questions. What are options for a writer or artist these days who are not interested in cranking out something that they could hopefully sell? Where is their community? Where is the space for them to experience stillness, reflection and depth? The space that does not cost $400 for a weekend not including accommodations. 

Here is an invitation to an inquiry to those who teach/lead process-oriented creative endeavors… How is this evolving wave of many art and soul creative opportunities meeting the challenges of the world in which we live now? Beyond the weekend workshops…

Men and SoulCollage®

Lets dispel the mystery here and now. Men will do SoulCollage® and engage in other methods of inner explorations. Not in droves, but they are there and soul tending is something they will do. They might not be so hot about the names, the descriptions that contain words that trigger our gender conditioned selves. So we talk about a collage process that explores one’s identity and that works pretty well.

Here is a SoulCollage® card and description by Elma Studio student (thank you for the contribution!):

 

"This card reminds me that I am capable of being my own best obstacle to accessing the treasures in life; that I should beware of that tendency to internally cage up my true self. Its message to me is that self-expression is what facilitates access to life's treasures, not pushes them away, something that I somehow got backwards from earlier times in my life." ~ Elma Studio student, age 37

Exploring spirituality

I’ve been thinking about a way to dig into this without the topic getting too heavy or weighted down by all the opinions and strong biases that accumulate over the years. It’s a topic that is already loaded, closely tied to our sense of identity and worldview.

But despite it being loaded and all, what is it that guides us, gives us a voice, access to the intuitive, not-strictly rational processes, what brings meaning and clarifies the bigger picture? What is it that brings our focus to the center, like a fireman’s pole that stays solid in the middle during the chaotic flopping around of daily life? 

What comes to my mind:

• Walking
• Silence
• Nature and gardens
• Being with people (spiritual growth over a latte?)
• Artmaking
• Letting go
• Authentic contact