ART BASEL - Miami Beach

"From December 1 through 4, Miami Beach, Florida, will host the 10th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, the most prestigious art show in the Americas. More than 260 leading galleries from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will take part, showcasing works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries." (www.artbaselmiamibeach.com)

Maybe it was the desire to recharge my own creativity, a desire to be inspired, or a desire to make connections; but earlier this week I found myself really wanting to see some fantastic contemporary art. I instantly remembered Art Basel... I've gone to Art Basel in the past with my mother who shares my love for art.

Of course you can see the Chagalls, Picassos, and Degas, but you can also be witness to some wonderful contemporary art from all stretches of the world. It's a wonderful way to feel the pulse of the art world, all in one place. Last time I went I got a lot of good ideas and inspiration that I was able to translate into Art Therapy directives with the clients I work with.

I saw a piece that lead me to create a template of 9 boxes and a separate word bank with feeling words, I had my clients choose 9 feeling words and then a color they associated with each feeling. They filled in each box with the feeling and color. Then I asked them to make a picture using any two of those colors.

It's like a marathon of art. If you go, wear comfortable shoes, bring your sketchbook, stay hydrated, eat something before hand (maybe from one of the great restaurants on Lincoln Road), and be inspired!

At least once a week...

As the weeks give way to months I find myself wrapped-up in duties. I will name just a few I frequently encounter...

The duty to perform well at my/your job(s).

This goes without saying. While obtaining a job is quite difficult these days it inevitably pays for our homes and the nourishments we need: both physical and mental. As those who find themselves without one will attest, the search is a job in itself!

The duty to crate and maintain intimacy.

When I refer to intimacy I think of 'close relationships'. Those individuals whom provide you with support when you ask for it and when you don't. This can be a family member, a friend or the fuzzy ones that provide unconditional love. Intimacy is the deep connection felt with another that without verbal explanation lets you know you are there for each other.

And so, this October, I find myself waking up in the pre-dawn hours while the world sleeps around me. I also find myself tip-toeing back into a dark house, finding my dinner in the microwave. This is a choice WE were able to make. Its the mid semester and we're still getting used to the changes, the time constraints, the new budgets. All this goes to say that my STRESS levels have been off-the-chain!

Still I've found it necessary to create. I tried to limit myself to once a month and found myself having "withdrawal-like" urges to create. Quite often I'd be driving to work in those lonely and mind-numingly quiet pre-dawn hours only to realize I was composing an image in my mind. Such image returned unsolicited throughout the days until I let-it-escape. I took the time to draw-it-out and see where the interplay of media and ideas would go. It worked. For now it seems that physically & psychologically I can do with one day per week of at least 2 hours of creative work. I know some kinds of stress are natural and beneficial for all of us but in order to full-fill all of our DUTIES we also inevitably endure alarming levels of stress. The kind that saturates us to the bone and crumples our hopes.

So, in response, at least once a week (usually more)...
*take a scenic walk, notice things (not just the time).
*dance with the creative expression (not just to make something beautiful but to submerge in the process and let it sweep you off your feet)
*play with your imagination (like you used to do)
*take a couple extra minutes in that extra hot shower with the expensive lavish soap! (you deserve it)
*stimulate your mind through reading (not because you have to, but because you want to)
*reach out and talk to someone (knowing that you're not the only one helps a lot & re-instills that intimacy we all crave and need)

For myself, I will continue to create as I can. And nurture those intimate relationships that are near and dear to me. In good friends and loved ones. And at the risk of sounding like a cliche: I will continue to nurture the relationship I find within the creative expression, in my art.

Currently reading & recommending: The World in Six Songs by Daniel J. Levitin
*specially for the Music Therapists and those that KNOW that the creative expression is much more than a past-time.