The Scream

Did you ever create a marvelous plan only to have it smack you upside the head with unexpected and not-so-scenic left turns?

For over a year Chuck and I planned an ocean cruise—gourmet food, exotic ports, shopping, new adventures, luxurious ship.  Day one—check!

Day two—Chuck woke up with a virus and was confined to our stateroom for two days, eating only rice and bananas. Day four—virus attacked me. Day five—I developed a bad cold. We were disappointed, anxious, and frankly pissed off.

Why am I telling you this story?  It’s complicated. But the main reason is I learned that I am willing to risk the unknown even if the results aren’t “exactly” what I hoped for.

And that applies to my art. My artwork often takes a sharp left turn and leaves me chasing it. Does that create anxiety? You bet your sweet booty it does. You see, I’m a “slight” control freak.  I read the last page of a book first because I want to know what’s going to happen.

But my artwork is teaching me a lesson: “Listen up!” it says. “You gotta let go and trust your intuition—your gut. Because, in more refined terms, that’s your soul speaking. And only when you let your soul take the lead will you make authentic art—art that is yours and yours alone. And you know what? If you don’t create that art no one will.”

Period. The end.

Orange Theory

Judith Kolva, artist