My creativity is intrinsic to music. It doesn’t matter the modality; writing, painting, designing, sketching, and anything else I use as an artistic outlet all are best done in an atmosphere of song.
I’ve often boasted about my varied music taste and gargantuan main playlist, aptly titled “everything.” (Which is currently at 1,293 songs and counting. That’s enough music to play for three and a half days straight.) Having such an eclectic mix of genres always makes for an interesting art night or afternoon writing session. It can spice up my art and throw in surprising flavours. However, I also have some themed playlists that I sometimes use to create a more focused ambience.
“intuitive / instinctual” is a playlist built on the message of mystery and synchronicity within Instinct & Intuition: the songs there are primal, wild, soulful, and often melancholy or enigmatic.
“a walk in the woods” is a good ol’ woodsy mix of tunes that intend to connect us to the natural world, or at least relax into a slower pace of life from the breakneck speed of many human societies nowadays.
If you feel so inclined (and also, if you have Spotify; I realize not everyone has access to the same music apps), please explore one or both of my public playlists. I find my photography and art integrate well with them, like a smooth red wine to wash down some palatable snack. Perhaps tune into one as you read my posts or have an art night of your own. You can also find both of these mixes on my about page.
The word “music” is directly derived from “muse”. Therefore, I find it no surprise that using songs to accompany my creative pursuits directly adds to and enriches them; it becomes a sort of secondary muse, or sometimes even takes the lead and shows me how to put those sounds into words, or pencil, or paint.
Since we’re discussing creativity and art, here are some pieces I’ve produced recently. The roses were drawn in charcoal in my recent art class series; the clouds, titled “Resiliency” and also in charcoal with white gel pen, were a weekend morning project.
Here’s to tapping into those muses/musics as a source of comfort, creativity, inspiration, and wonder.