Gabriele Guercio, in Art as an Existence, speaks on the metaphor, life is in the process of creating. He says that art represents spirit and its informing ideas as well as the creative action of nature. Seeing the progression of an artist (or writer in our case) shows a natural cycle. It allows the artist’s work to come into being naturally.
To further explain, when you observe an artist’s work who invests in mastering their craft over time, you get to see what Guercio refers to as, “the natural and cultural growth, inner inclination, and outside context; or all the elements that confront each other within the story of an individual’s formation.” This is something J.D. Passavant called Bilding.
Let’s talk about this as creative writers. Let’s say, creative writing brings into consciousness those natural and unconscious forces that are active within the writer and when it finally enters the universe of being, it does so by aiming at the fullness and variety of nature. That would mean that our writing should in some way represent the truth of our inner struggles. It should require us to show up to the page with vulnerability and an eagerness to bring into awareness our inner conflicts. These are not ugly conflicts, there’s so much beauty in vulnerability. This, to the first monograph writer and also to me, is art.
Not everyone is this type of artist. It takes great focus and courage to face yourself and then place your soul on a blank page. I think it is so challenging to write in this way that we can’t help but keep reading. We can’t help but adore the writer.
Jayne.press 
Beautifully said! It makes me want to write, just to see what happens. As I read I thought about other creatures in our world. It seems as though, compared with them, the creativity of humanity is hog wild, so to speak. 😁 I have had the privilege of having a unique artist as a brother in law. Roscoe Mitchell. I was neutral when we met. He’s much older than my sister. I accepted him as family as our relationship developed. Because of our relationship, I have seen the evolution of fine art from frenzied swarming notes, to a focus on silence. It struck me watching one of his recent shows, how differently his music has evolved over the years. His approach is how to engage with silence. Silence is perfection. Over the past several days, I’ve discovered what that means. I wonder if I’m becoming too reclusive. Silence is perfect. How can words describe it? I’ve been struggling with the massive changes I have to make on a story I’m writing, well, rewriting. My editor said the rewriting mind is different than the writing one. I think that’s part of what’s throwing me off. (That and I’ve really been into the silence.) Is silence music? What do you think? Anyway. Maybe my editor is wrong about the mindsets. After all, we can only pretend we know how other minds perceive. I’m stoked about what you said about creation. I think about how the renaissance lifted out of the dark ages with a new and magnificent way of seeing and recreating the world. It makes me wonder if the minds of the artists themselves saw things differently. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to get into their brains to discover an actual shift! Is my manuscript worth saving? Are their new fundamentals that can be applied? What if I approached rewriting as I do with writing? At the end of our session, my editor asked if I was alright. I told her I was fine. I have a background working with editors in the design world. It seemed like she was troubled though. When I asked, she talked a bit about the condition of our society. Do you think art can help? Maybe like the renaissance, it’s a way of upgrading the mind. I gotta say, sometimes when I’m connected, it’s pretty cool. I wish more people could find the release. Then again, creativity could be something like being a good mother, or able to blend with traffic, leading a meeting, caring for the sick, serving coffee, designing bridges, well, you know. How can we release the cycle of destruction? Now that would be the ultimate art. Right?
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That would be the ultimate art indeed. I’m so inspired by your comment! I’m glad to hear you were inspired by my writing. Art history makes my heart beat. I still have so much to learn though. And yes I do find Silence is wonderful isn’t it. I appreciate silence and solitude very much.
I don’t know if I see too much of a difference from my rewrite mindset vs my writing mindset but I do feel a huge difference when I’m editing. I have to be more mindful and articulate plus I want to understand how you engage with the reader. Writing and rewrite I feel like I’m engaged with myself and my vision.
What do you think?
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