What Matters Is The Newness

I intend this post to be a book review of Marry Your Muse by Jan Phillips published by Quest Books. I am encouraging you to purchase the book ($13.50 or less at amazon) if this post strikes a chord with you. I have had this book on my shelf for years (actually mostly in the stack of books I look at frequently), picking it up to read at random a section, chapter, or page; I've probably read the entire book many times. I like the quotes in the margins and the photographs. I have a framed copy of the Artist's Creed above my work table. Today, I am drawn to

"I believe that what truly matters in the making of art is
not what the final piece looks like or sounds like,
not what it is worth or not worth, but what newness gets added
to the universe in the process of the piece itself becoming."

I share the concerns of my Etsy Beadweaver Team members who have verbalized concern about lack of sales and being "blocked". Jan Phillips writes in a letter to the Muse,

"I am often troubled
at the beginning
about what the ending will be.
I am troubled
about what will become of a piece,
who will want it, if it will
ever be seen or heard.
I do not want to keep creating
that which sees no light of day,
that which finds no ear to hear,
nor heart to hold.
Of what use are these works
if others do not share them?
What is their worth if they go nowhere?
Is it that I am not good enough?.......
Where shall I go with the gifts of my soul?"

Jan Phillips continues, writing a response to us, the "Dear Child"

"When you set out in your work,
set out to find something new
and concern yourself
only with this discovery.
As you create, give thought
to that which is before you
and only that.
You cannot know the reach of your work,
nor its weight or worth,
so there shall be no arrogance about it,
nor any doubt.
What matters is not what you make
but that you take the tools in your hand,
listen to the voice that calls,
and give shape to whatever is awaiting form.

Look inside and see what moves you,
what makes you cry
for sadness or joy,
and respond to that,
letting your response flow
without judgment or worry.

In the giving of yourself to this work,
give bravely and with honest passion
and what will come will be a gift,
not only for yourself
but for those in your midst
who have hungered for this work."

Use the Muse IV Contest

The challenge was to write an entry in your blog and post it by 2/24/10 linked to the use the muse website blog. Also I would be entered into a drawing for the coveted free beads if I wrote about my main motivation for entering Use the Muse IV.

The Use the Muse IV contest is officially starting. February 24 is the last day to sign up for a kit and receive the preorder price. http://usethemuse.com/ I ordered mine after Christmas, hoping it would make it start sooner, but patience is one of my life lessons.

My main motivation for entering Use the Muse IV is to set deadlines for me. This blog may not have existed if it were not for this contest. On Use the Muse III, I entered because I thought I wanted to see my beaded jewelry on an international site--it is there. I needed to purchase a camera and lighting equipment to photograph my entry by the November deadline, so I also added that skill. I used it to set up my etsy shop.
http://www.krdesigns11.etsy.com/

I felt I won, even though officially I didn't get any of the prizes--those gorgeous beads. Using the discount from
http://www.artbeads.com/
I purchased a jet black Swarovski cabochon for my bead stash. My personal treat for following through on something I wanted to do for me!

The entry purchases an attractively packaged group of beads the entrants work from plus the "MUSE" which is a secret component each entrant must use. The collections always challenge me to do something I haven't done before, new items, techniques, color palates. I haven't seen the MUSE IV yet, but the kit has wooden pieces and colors I have not created with previously. But I'm waiting to see the Muse which will be mailed out to me the end of this week before I decide what to create. After all, it is the Muse!