Getting Into the Flow

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

So I've been teaching a painting class. I call it "Anyone Can Paint!" Although to me it has nothing to do with painting, that is just the vehicle I am using to teach something else. I am teaching individuals how they get into the flow -- the creative flow. How do you get into the creative flow?

I took many classes from Rassouli, the founder of Fusionart. Fusionart is a painting method that focuses on connecting to the heart and spirit and expressing from this ethereal space. The point of Fusionart is to release the mind and let the heart guide the brush, so the artist has no preconceived concept of what he/she is creating. Until the next brushstroke is laid down, the artist has no idea where it will land. A true Fusionartist is someone like Ralph White, who embraces the circumstance of the moment and knows that all effects on his canvas are meant to be. "There are no mistakes," Ralph always says. "Everything is meant to be."

When I teach I am teaching individuals how to get into the creative flow. I am teaching how to connect to that divine space where all creation bursts forth. BUT, I do not teach that the heart is the only access point. This may mean they connect with their mind, their heart, both, or none at all. It could mean they connect with their body, like a personal trainer I painted with a while back. What I’m seeing is that each individual has a path to get into the flow, and those paths are as different as we are. To respect the individual path and assist the creator in unveiling it, is what I am attempting to teach.

I do not teach the Fusionart way, because I myself have experienced being in the flow when BOTH sides of my brain are working harmoniously together. The analytical left which we call our "mind," and the compassionate right which we call our "heart." When I sit at the computer creating graphic design, these two parts work TOGETHER to create my work. I cannot run the computer without my left brain, and I cannot design without my right. And yet I get into that timeless space where there are no words. Where my husband will touch my shoulder and I will jump out of my chair because my attention is so far afield of normal reality I am surely not on the earth plane.

So when Rassouli would tell me to let go of my mind when I painted, I struggled with this. What came forward were my curve paintings -- geometric images of color. Structure that satisfies my left brain, with colors and light that make my right brain sing. These paintings are the quintessential expression of BONNIE, and I never felt like they were Fusionart. While they are never pre-conceived, once a single stroke hits the canvas, I do not deviate from the initial curve stroke that I make. I am confined by that first stroke, but it does not feel confining. It feels comforting and blissful. I find my greatest sense of joy and peace when I paint my curve paintings. There is no sense of restriction in them, just the harmony of blending brushstrokes. On the other hand, when I create a painting that is chaotic and feels like it has no order, I feel very unsettled by it. It does not bring me peace, and the painting experience is tense and stressful. But this is the painting that is "mindless" to me, so by definition it is Fusionart.

I’ve pondered this over and over, and I get very much into the flow even if I am connected with my mind. I am a balanced-brained person, and being in that balance is being in the flow for me. Being only in my right mind is out of balance for me, and therefore I am not connected to the flow as well. Does that make sense? Also, being in my mind doesn’t mean I am in the judgmental, analytical part of me. My left brain contributes a great deal to the organization of my work, but does not dictate the spontaneity of my brush strokes. My left and right brain know how to harmoniously create together — that’s why I’m so good at graphic design on the computer. The left brain does not interfere with getting into the flow, but instead contributes by guiding some tasks while I'm there. Going into the flow without my left brain is like leaving half of me behind. It just doesn't feel right.

And this is what I'm teaching others. Each of us has our own doorway into the flow. A car mechanic who is fixing an engine can very much be in the flow as a mad painter going full tilt without a care throwing paint on canvas. I believe being in the flow is a personal experience, and nobody should dictate how we get there. And more importantly, nobody should tell us whether we've been there or not. Only we can determine when we are connected to the universal creator, and what path we take to unlock that beautiful connection we all long to make.