The Titan's Goblet is gorgeous, never seen that before!
What you write about consistent flow reminds me of the book I'm reading, Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel, where he emphasises that every stage of the creative process is attended by a kind of anxiety, and that part of the work is actually inviting that anxiety in and then managing it. He points out that ridding oneself of anxiety makes an artist settle too soon, forgoing better or deeper or truer work in order to feel more certain. He says the work has a "necessary chaos that must not be avoided by too much knowing". He compares anxiety in the process to the itching as a wound heals, and quotes Camus on the freedom of art as "a perpetual risk, an exhausting adventure". It helps me a lot to remember that my desire for consistent easy flow is a natural desire but is also contrary to my actual goal of making the work I'm called to make. :)
Yes, one of my favorite paintings - I first saw it on the cover of a Grail-inspired fantasy novel in my high school library, and it's stuck with me ever since!
Thank you the book rec - Fearless Creating sounds very up my street; I'm going to have to give it a read. And GOD, that Camus quote - what a perfect sumation of the Fool's Journey of the major arcana.
Such a fascinating connection! What struck me while reading is that the vessel of the Grail is a manmade object. We’re taking something natural, like the flow of water/creativity, and trying to harness it. A spring can be ever-flowing, but it doesn’t collect on its own unless it finds a pool.
100%! It's that feeling of catching water in cupped hands - we can never really contain it, so for me the question becomes: is it worth trying to hold it at all, or is it a better experience to just let it all flow over us?
Good question! I think it's worth trying to hold so long as we don't consider 'holding' it as 'containing' it. We can let our creativity pool for us using tools, skills, structure to allow us to collect it. But we won't every be able to control the flow. We can only catch what comes our way and use our skills to make the most of it, if that make sense?
Great post! It reminds me of a book club I co-hosted on The Grail Legend by von Franz and Emma Jung. I focused on the Grail Hallows and related them to the 4 suits of the tarot (and 4 Jungian cognitive functions). Sometimes I've thought of revisiting this idea and doing a full class on it. You're inspiring me!!
Also, I finally got around to reading The Mists of Avalon 2 years back and it was so wonderful to be immersed in Arthurian mythic fiction.
Creative thirst trap in, is making things flow. I have all these ideas, but stringing them coherently together. However, thankfully I’ve gotten better at this in the past months. I just don’t need to get flustered with myself when it doesn’t come right away.
I hear you! Love that you're finding ways to stay kind to yourself even when there's the instinct towards frustration - there's a kind of flow in that alone.
The Titan's Goblet is gorgeous, never seen that before!
What you write about consistent flow reminds me of the book I'm reading, Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel, where he emphasises that every stage of the creative process is attended by a kind of anxiety, and that part of the work is actually inviting that anxiety in and then managing it. He points out that ridding oneself of anxiety makes an artist settle too soon, forgoing better or deeper or truer work in order to feel more certain. He says the work has a "necessary chaos that must not be avoided by too much knowing". He compares anxiety in the process to the itching as a wound heals, and quotes Camus on the freedom of art as "a perpetual risk, an exhausting adventure". It helps me a lot to remember that my desire for consistent easy flow is a natural desire but is also contrary to my actual goal of making the work I'm called to make. :)
Yes, one of my favorite paintings - I first saw it on the cover of a Grail-inspired fantasy novel in my high school library, and it's stuck with me ever since!
Thank you the book rec - Fearless Creating sounds very up my street; I'm going to have to give it a read. And GOD, that Camus quote - what a perfect sumation of the Fool's Journey of the major arcana.
That’s truly fascinating insight. Looking at it this way does makes sense now.
Such a fascinating connection! What struck me while reading is that the vessel of the Grail is a manmade object. We’re taking something natural, like the flow of water/creativity, and trying to harness it. A spring can be ever-flowing, but it doesn’t collect on its own unless it finds a pool.
100%! It's that feeling of catching water in cupped hands - we can never really contain it, so for me the question becomes: is it worth trying to hold it at all, or is it a better experience to just let it all flow over us?
Thank you for reading!
Good question! I think it's worth trying to hold so long as we don't consider 'holding' it as 'containing' it. We can let our creativity pool for us using tools, skills, structure to allow us to collect it. But we won't every be able to control the flow. We can only catch what comes our way and use our skills to make the most of it, if that make sense?
I think this is the perfect response tbh
What a beautiful conversation about creativity and how much we can hold this has turned into.
Great post! It reminds me of a book club I co-hosted on The Grail Legend by von Franz and Emma Jung. I focused on the Grail Hallows and related them to the 4 suits of the tarot (and 4 Jungian cognitive functions). Sometimes I've thought of revisiting this idea and doing a full class on it. You're inspiring me!!
Also, I finally got around to reading The Mists of Avalon 2 years back and it was so wonderful to be immersed in Arthurian mythic fiction.
Thanks Alyssa. Would love to read a deep dive from you on the Hallows and the Tarot suits - please do revist!
Picked up a book on Arthurian legends after reading this! 🏆
Oooh! Which one? (I can also rec the Matthews' Arthurian Tarot - a very fun way to play with the legend if you don't have it already!)
Creative thirst trap in, is making things flow. I have all these ideas, but stringing them coherently together. However, thankfully I’ve gotten better at this in the past months. I just don’t need to get flustered with myself when it doesn’t come right away.
I hear you! Love that you're finding ways to stay kind to yourself even when there's the instinct towards frustration - there's a kind of flow in that alone.