the creative cycle + daily log

two paintings, side by side, on Flickr.

I've been keeping a daily log for three months now - something that many creative people recommend.

I am usually willing to give almost anything a try but it doesn't stick unless I find a system that works for me.  When I started a new planner in August, I began using the "week at a glance"/daily planning pages to log my daily happenings.

Yesterday, I experienced a surge of creativity.  Everything seemed effortless.  On days like this,  I lose track of time,  I forget to eat and I find myself spontaneously singing and dancing while painting in my studio.  These days are magical for me.   These are the days I live for.  And...most days aren't like this.  When I looked back at my log, though, I noticed that I had a similar day in the studio 2 1/2 weeks ago.  This surprised me.  It felt like it had been months...  

After years and years of having days like this, I have finally accepted the fact that I can't make them happen.  My job is to show up everyday for my creative practice and let go of results.  On most days, I feel disappointed with the results but with more and more practice, I have also learned to trust this as part of the process.  In addition to the creative practice itself, I need to take care in making sure I participate in activities that fill (rather than deplete) my creative well.  *This is another blog post altogether - managing the emptying and filling takes such vigilance.  

meet Bertha, she was finished yesterday

Just a little post script: With my daily log, I have noticed a few other patterns too.  I have noticed weekly patterns - ones I want to be more conscious of that aren't benefiting me and ones that I need to accept (rather than resist).  Discovering these patterns has been empowering for me.  

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