Polarity and the Creative Process

The concept of polarity being applied to something beyond the Earth's poles or a magnet first appeared in my life when I took an a course on intimacy.

The woman leading the course talked about how in a relationship between two people, one person embodies the "masculine" energy - structure, focus, and containment - and the other holds the "feminine" energy - flow, sensuality, receptivity, and emotion. The gender of the person doesn't matter, any gender can assume either role in this dynamic.

The push and pull between the two opposite ends of the pole create passion and desire. If the two people are too close together on either end of the pole, it will neutralize passion and romantic interest.

Dear reader, I think this concept of tension and balance between opposite but complimentary energies applies to all of life, and especially to art.

If an artwork is too orderly, too structured, too contained, then it lacks intrigue and imagination. Conversely, if an artwork is too loose, too emotional without direction then it lacks the ability to hold the viewer's interest.

Striking the balance between those two forces in a piece of artwork is a challenge!

In my opinion, finding that balance starts with the artist having balance in their personal lives. For example, if I'm spending all my time organizing, planning, sitting in meetings, and trying to exert some level of control over events in my life then I'm not paying attention to my senses, what I'm feeling, and enjoying the moment. As a result, my artwork is tight and dense.

But if I'm able to forget about all that structure and focus on truly enjoying where I am, engaging with whatever makes my heart sing in that time and place, and playing with the day, then my art flows and has an energy that is exciting.

Lately, I've been up to my eyes in "masculine" energy - structure, organization, and control and it leaves me feeling exhausted even when I'm well rested. My opposite pole - the "feminine" energy - is feeling ignored and starved for affection. It wants a chance to come to the forefront and drive the train for a while.

If I'm honest though, the idea of letting my feminine energy call the shots feels very uncomfortable. As if, if I do that, then all the things I've been working on and planning will fall apart.

However, simply imagining spending a whole day following my heart instead of my head makes me smile from ear to ear and it reminds me of when we lived on our 50' sailboat BOREAS. Not the first few years, those early years were stressful as we learned how to safely navigate the world of water. But the last years were full of magical thinking, quiet days and nights, and lots of laughter. I'd really like to get back to living that way someday...

So if just the idea makes me so happy, then I owe it to myself to somehow find a way to make it a reality. Not totally sure what that looks like, but, like a sailor problem solving and improvising when something breaks, I am confident I will figure it out.