there is space...

art journal altered book, Hali Karla Arts

art journal detail, altered book, Hali Karla Arts

A few days ago i sat down and asked myself, WHY do i share online? What energy do i want to contribute to this information-packed, over-stimulating space where everyone is trying to fill that innate human desire - to be seen/validated - for varied reasons? When i started a blog three years ago, i had no real idea that my efforts to keep myself accountable to my creative practice would become a natural way for me to reach and work with others from my passions and gifts - in a way that no other job has ever been able to. It's like all these seemingly random pieces of my life experience have made much more sense as they've begun to come together in ways i hadn't ever quite imagined in all the years i actively tried to clear the path.

But i have to tell you - i'm pretty sure it isn't just because i blog and share pieces of my creative process. It was really a shift in the way i looked at my whole life, multi-factorial, and bit by bit. It's because i called quits on so many other distractions in my life - like a job that was draining all my energy, numbing out with wine a few times a week, filling my home with stuff for an empty place in my heart, and watching TV, to name just a few. It's because i chose to make more space in my day to activate my connection with spirit and mystery - so that i could listen to what my soul's creative journey is all about in this life... without so much unnecessary noise that only made me feel so very dis-connected from what i hold to be true, nourishing and necessary for my own sense of vitality.

Creative practice is my touchstone in this. As is Mother Earth. I am a better person for knowing this about myself, with more to offer. My discipline is still a work in progress - but that's because i'm also consciously working to not let it become another rigid to-do, but rather more like stretching and breathing through the moments - more fluid.

So, while i now do a lot of my work and connecting in the world via the online pathways, it's imperative to me that i don't get distracted in the hooks of online business trends and suggestions. Because i believe this is a special time, with new ways unfolding for artists - unique to each of us - that can be simple, effective AND sustainable. it's not at all reliant on some flashy homepage, scripted fill-in-the-blank tagline or bio, packed ads on the sidebar, and senseless promotion and presence on social media.

It's about being in our practice, making our art, making our lives breathe deeper for the space we gift ourselves to experience it fully.

Did you notice i said nothing about being online? Me, too. I value the connections i continue to make online, but it just feels so good to give myself permission to only be in those spaces when it feels natural and easy, like an effortless part of my overall practice... to choose Trust in the organic nature of engagement, real-time or otherwise.

We can inspire one another by living our own inspiration and creative curiosities. Relentlessly claiming the life we feel in our bones we were meant to live. In the world of art, this is not really such a radical or new idea. And it shouldn't be confused with one medium, one topic, one theme, one niche, one audience, one message, popularity or masterpieces, etc etc. It's called the Creative Process for a reason....

So what energy do i want to contribute? Authentic. Less noise. More visual glimpses of my process because - yes, at its best it might inspire you to action in your own practice - but mostly because it's the truth of my practice and a way to chart my own transformation. There are not a lot of words moving around my mind when i'm in the zone, and quite honestly, that is the most pure energy i know. Sometimes it spills forth with art supplies; sometimes, ironically, it spills forth with words... but they're more like free butterflies with ragged wings than pretty pinned ones.

I want it to feel natural, simple, honest. More space to breathe. I choose to trust this life. I trust the perfection of the moment AND practice. I trust if you are reading this, you were meant to - and you will find what you need here or somewhere else, as it should be - and i hope that looks like your own holistic creative practice for living the art that is You.