The greatest revolution in our generation is the discovery that human beings,
by changing the inner attitudes of their minds,
can change the outer aspects of their lives.

William James, 1842-1910; also attributed to Marilyn Ferguson,
author The Aquarian Conspiracy, 1938-2008

 
If you have taken a class from me in the last few years you have probably heard the  phrase “If you wouldn’t say it to your best friend, then don’t say it to yourself”. So many times in my teaching I hear….. “This is so bad…..There’s no hope for this….I’m going home and put this in the trash”. The fact that these pieces are usually not that bad, is the subject for another letter, but my concern here is for the individual’s self-talk.
 
You see, I believe, that if you tell yourself something often enough, it becomes part of you. And so, if you tell yourself time after time that your art is bad, it will soon become programmed into your being that all you produce is bad art.  How do I know this? From experience and a LOT of it. It is something that I still fight everyday. It is a huge part of why I don’t exhibit much. It is why, when I did have a  gallery show, I would hide in the back room during the opening. Exhibiting as part of the faculty at a conference or other event was just terrifying because “who am I to hang my work next to these other people who are so good at what they do”.
 
 Several years ago, I found an article that said “How’s your self-talk”?  I cut it out, laminated it with a picture of me as a child and carried it in my wallet and read it daily. It is very difficult to fight the bad programming that some of us received as a child or even from a life partner. But it can be done. Whenever I start feeling insecure about my work, I try to concentrate on my successes. I try to empty myself of those past voices.  I try hard to get rid of what doesn’t fit anymore and fill myself with my own thoughts and feelings. If I am thinking about a goal that has not been  met, I tell myself “I am not there, yet”. As opposed to the old me that would say,  “You dumbass, you screwed up again.”  I am responsible for who I am and who I tell  myself I am. Those past voices are just that – past.  I need to keep going to “the source” and pulling out the creative me. And I encourage you to do the same. Don’t let your source get dim. Keep talking to it, encouraging it like you would your best friend or your child or someone else that you really care about. It is a healing process. Once you experience the joy and power of creating your own life, you will experience an outflow of abundant creative energy that comes with being true to your essence. Let your light shine ~ be gentle with yourself. Remember what St. Francis de Sales said, “Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength”.  [1567-1622]
 
I am adding “Exhibit my Work” to my goal list for 2014. What will you change in your creative life?

image: Jacqueline's silk scarf with wax resist and procion dyes, 2013

Jacqueline's new 2014 workshop schedule
is posted @ JacquelineSullivan.com

The 2014 workshop calendar is beginning to take shape. Jacqueline will be teaching in Michigan, Alaska, California, Texas, Mississippi and Alberta Canada ! She will also be continuing with the Artist Network University in 2014 presenting her 4 week on-line acrylics workshop while developing a second class on creative freedom.

Image: Jacqueline's photo, Holland America ship door detail, Alaska, 2010