Art weekend with a stranger and friend
Life brings us the most precious people when we need them
Since two months I am part of an art program called CVP = Creative Visionary Program by Nicholas Wilton.
It is freaking awesome!! Finally, a program where the balance between feelings, intuition, flow & play are perfectly aligned with knowledge & techniques we learn.
We are many people and sub-groups have formed based on where in the world we are.
Through that I got to know my friend Carolin. Two months ago she was a stranger, we both started CVP, we are german and both live in Sweden. So we connected.
Ca. 4 weeks into the program, voicemails exchanged we decided to do an art-weekend at my place. So she came visiting me. A stranger that turned a friend. Quickly.
Why and how? Because we connected through our love for art.
Then we realized our worldviews were quite similar.
The way we perceive our “reality” is similar.
Our spiritual understanding of the world & the universe is aligned.
We are both Projectors in Human Design.
We both have dogs, many parallels in experiences we had & so on, & so forth.
For four days we hang out, made art, talked, cooked, walked, checked out museums, had Fika, slept in, she taught me gelli printing, we exprimented… it was a blast.
Now, why do I even write about all this? Because I learned a lot and I wanted to share those learnings!
Cos life & relationships can be easy! What I learned:
Making friends when older does NOT have to be difficult!
This is a belief that I have heard too many times. And the only thing I can say is: yes, it is difficult if you believe that it is difficult.
If you change your belief, your reality will mirror this.
But more concretely: if you have a hobby, if you take time to learn something new, explore, go on adventures you will automatically get to know people.
And from those people, with some you will click deeper than with others = potential new friends! At any age!!
What you have to do for this is not just work, eat, sleep repeat, but instead take time for yourself & invest in your own interests!
Paper, paints, supplies: none of those are precious once you use them!
I had these beautiful watercolor papers, since 3 years sitting in my closet.
I feared to use them, cos I didnt “know” what to paint, and what if I messed them up?
So we made a plan, to make a series, each one of us, with three pieces of that paper.
My inhibition was immediately gone. Carolin prepared them, while I was cooking and we started to paint on them.
It felt a bit ridiculous to look back & think, I needed three years & an art program and a stranger to come to my home & use them.
You can buy anything you use up again! These days we live in abundant times, we have everything available, on a click!
There is no need to be precious about anything! Especially not materials that are supposed to be used for creative projects!
Anyone is an artist, anyone can create, anyone can exhibit… also me.
It took me a long time to accept being an “artist”. Lots of loaded beliefs and limiting mindsets.
Last year I finally did have my first exhibition and I also sold some paintings.
When we walked through different exhibitions this weekend, I once again realized that a sneaky belief came up again, that I can’t exhibit. Even though I did last year.
That I maybe have not the perfect series, not enough done, not a clear plan, not a clear style & topic etc etc.
All those are bullshit excuses.
I saw an artist exhibiting his watercolor paintings hanging on two nails. Some were framed, others not. Some were glued on bigger papers, some were collaged. Some were cut neatly, others wiggely…
I realized that I had these limits put on myself, that everything needs to be consistent, same, perfected… and if its not, I cant exhibit anywhere…
What a load of bullpoop… I still am not sure what to do about this ralization, but some seed was sawn and whatever remainder of any type of perfectionism that I thought I didnt have, was still there, got eradicated today.
Creating together is beautiful!
I used to be afraid to have anyone see my creation process. My preliminary sketches, the ugly phases of a piece, the imperfections…
I would be nervous and ashamed, super conscious about anything I do.
Now? Not anymore. I realized that something shifted along the way, that when I create and paint with someone else, I don’t care anymore.
It feels very freeing to be in the same room, at the same table & just paint away.
There is no wrong or right, no ugly or beautiful, no this way or that way, there is just this bubble we each sit in & create & feel at peace.
And then there is always someone to ask for advice, a tip, a trick, an impression, feedback, their thoughts.
We are often our own worst critics and we also often don’t see our work with enough distance and objectivity.
And art is never objective, always subjective, but if we see our own creations with more than necessary critical subjective patterns, its not always helpful.
These were some of my lessons learned and realizations made this weekend!
I would always recommend everybody to do some type of creative tasks. Not for the sake of making a huge oil painting a la Michaelangelo, but rather a tiny scribble, a small drawing, a knitting project or a collage… anything that brings you joy, for the sake of joy!
This joy will spread throughout your whole life! I promise you!
And if you want to have other people around you, feel free to become a paid subscriber and join the weekly creative drawing sessions ;)
Love,
Daria