Freedom To Create Naturally

From time to time...in my work as an artist...some people...chide me by saying..."why
didn't you...or why don't you...write about such and such". Only yesterday...I received an e-mail...that in part...was a compliment about my work...but in part...was one of these chidings. When this happens...I get the feeling...do people who overstep the boundaries of others like this...have any idea...what has made you tick all these years?. I can't speak for any other artist...but I know...unless I was working on a
commission for writing songs...with the subject area known...before I even started...
my natural inclination...has been to create things...organically...as a subject seizes
me. I've found that once the subject for a song...for instance...is something someone
tells me..."I must do"...I tend to lose interest...as just about a reflex action. Sure
...I've tended in the past...to have a vague notion...ahead of time...some of what I
would like to write about...but I tend to wait until I am naturally triggered to write a specific song. Over the years...the main offenders in this area of my artist's life...are people with a political agenda...who assume they know what my politics are...or should be. It seems they sometimes mistake me for a propagandist...doomed to write about the same family of subjects...for all time. Nothing would bore me more than that. It is the freedom to write about something that's not totally predictable...at times subtly...about one of the many dimensions of being human...that helps me to keep fresh as an artist. Not being able to contain myself at times...as I feel outraged by something...I've written some not so subtle songs. I may have a need to write these kinds of songs at times...but they are seldom the songs that make me feel when I listen to them after..."I really hit the spot there". Anyway...this is one approach to my work as an artist...I hope to keep taking. Ultimately...this approach...keeps me going...in a way...that writing what I should...according to what someone not standing in my shoes commands...could never do. Long live the freedom to create naturally!......Quester.

The Role Of Malaise

The skies seen through my front window...are harbouring mottled grey clouds tonight...
above a blue-grey mist...hanging over and down along the mountain sides. For me...it
all contributes to my feeling a slight malaise. Was just thinking...that once upon a
time...this was the kind of pre-condition...that would nudge me towards writing a song
...or creating a poem. These days...these nights...when that comes...it often nudges me to create a new video...or edit a previously recorded one. Come to think of it...I have so many songs and poems...accumulated over the years...that perhaps...the larger job now...is not so much to add to the long list...but to make good representations of them on video...to replace versions of them...made on bad recording devices...in the past. This last year or so...I've done some catching up with that area of my artist's work...but there is still much work to be done there. So here's to the role of malaise in our lives...which if harnessed can produce much. I hope to keep harnessing it...until the day when I become totally blissed out...and have no more need to do much of anything.
........................Quester.

The Value Of Grey Skies

On the other side of my window it is grey and doleful...and about to be wet. I have
often harnessed those conditions...to write a song...or poem...or paint a picture. When
the sun is out...and the sky is invitingly blue...it is hard to focus on such things...
and my itchy feet have taken me out to walk through my neighbourhood...or down by the
ocean. So...here's to grey skies...and their place in my life. May they continue to
nudge me to get some long postponed chore done...or bring a new creation into my world
...or simply...post an entry on my sometimes neglected blog............Quester.

The Gift Of Experience

Was writing in my long hand journal today...about how we tend to take for granted...
whatever skills we have honed...as we use them in the present. I was thinking especially...of all the strands that come together...every time I turn my camera on
to record a new song video. In my own case...there is the song itself...with its words
and its melody...creating each a challenge in its own right. Melody...was handed down
to me from my ancestors...and always came readily. It was the words of my songs...
especially when I first started writing them...that I had to struggle to find...for a
long time...and to this day...there are times when a melody might be waiting...but
the words refuse to come. Then there is the guitar playing...which early on playing
bad guitars...was such an uphill struggle. Then there is the singing...such a long time was spent gaining command over my voice...which can be such an elusive thing...unless you work on it...on and on. Harder to get a handle on...is the confidence I must have acquired...facing people in public performances over the years
...along with a command of the material I was presenting. Somewhere in there...is
somehow being centred as you perform...so that hopefully...you become a force field
emanating energy...that helps people to stay with what you are performing. I am sure
that's not the full extent of what's in place as you perform...but today...I brought
these things to the fore in my mind...to remind myself of...some...of what I Have to
be thankful for...as I place my hands in the right places on my guitar...and I turn
on my camera...............Quester.