Ten Moons of Wonder– At West End Gallery
You yourself are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I’ve experienced this time and again. My hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching in a state of awe and wonderment. And it just flows out by itself.
–Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, FLOW: Studies of Enjoyment (1974)
The passage above from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (the last name is roughly pronounced Cheek-Sent-Me-High) captures the words of a composer describing the state of mind they enter when they become fully immersed in a composition. Their self and ego recede into a distant point outside of what is being created.
The creative flow.
Been there, done that, and have to say there isn’t anything more wondrous than it. The outside world is far removed, and you are almost like a point in space witnessing what is being created. Picture the beam from a light pointer zipping around. It is a sense of weightlessness and timelessness. In the words of a poet also interviewed by Csikszentmihalyi:
It’s like opening a door that floating in the middle of nowhere and all you have to do is going turn the handle and open it and let yourself sink into it. You can’t particularly force yourself through it. You just have to float. If there’s any gravitational pull, it’s from the outside world trying to keep you back from the door.
As I said, it is a feeling I have encountered many times over the years. In this past year it has been, I have come to appreciate the special quality of this creative flow as there have been times when my mind has been consumed by health concerns. I have often felt overwhelmed in the outer world yet once I have floated through that door into nowhere, those things that disturb me fade away and are replaced by a feeling of wonder at what is before me. Worries and fears, aches and pains, thoughts both negative and positive, all dissipate for a time.
The creative flow has been a saving grace this past year.
The painting shown at the top, Ten Moons of Wonder, is symbolic of the being in that creative flow. It’s as though I am on remote island, far removed from the chatter and drone of the world. My mind becomes clear and with that clarity I am able to see beyond the what is. and into the what might be where the ten moons crowd the dark sky.
And I am filled with awe and wonderment.
I’ve struggled to describe the meaning of my paintings with multiple moons, but this might well be the best explanation I can offer. There is a certain alchemy that comes into play with them that never fails to thrill me when I am working on them.
I hope it will always be that way.
Here’s a song, a composition actually, that feels like it could be the soundtrack for some sort of creative flow. Well. at least my creative flow. You might have a different soundtrack, if you have on at all. This is Tout Suite No. 1 in F Major 1 from Moondog performed with the London Saxophonic. Moondog was a truly unique character in many ways, a homeless and blind composer called the Viking of 6th Avenue during his time as a street person in Viking garb from the 1950’s up into the 70’s in NYC. He has made a couple of appearances here in the past and I still want to write more about him here. But for today, let’s just listen to his music.