Happy Birthday, Marc Chagall

And what he has taught us: 4 minute read

It’s July 7, Marc Chagall’s birthday. He said, “I chose painting because it was as necessary to me as food. It seemed like a window through which I could fly into another world.”

Fanciful and surrealistic, his images defy gravity, logic, and corrupt politics. Pondering a painting from Chagall, I’m enchanted, quelling the usual suspects of distraction, despair, and dismay. His paintings evoke the healing power of wonder.

Wonder unlocks childlike curiosity which is the gatekeeper to new ideas and fresh perspective. With it, we escape from overthinking; we feel more playful and open minded. For these reasons, I am a fan of Chagall.

Art is hand-drawn images, written words, crafts, photographs, dance, acting, music, and a whole lot more. We need to keep making and/or witnessing art so the beauty of the world doesn’t disappear into an abyss of worry, fear, and the hollow gratification delivered from social media.

I’ve currently flown to another world; my reverie of art is in the little neighborhood I painted and is pictured below. I seem to be standing in a doorway, in the lower right, that goes to two buildings… this makes my architect husband worry that I might not be able to get a building permit. Art eliminates the red tape and expedites construction - it’s rewarding in that and many other ways.

I like that fish are swimming in the sky, and birds are wearing party hats. I’m refueling my soul with color, wonder, and a bit of mirth.

There are a few vacancies in the building if you’d like to join me. We will be having a potluck at sunset. It’s not a perfect blueprint for building construction, that’s the way I like it. Tolerating imperfection in art is good practice for being compassionate with myself, I’m far from perfect.

There was an art prompt on Friday in my online club. This was it:
Nathaniel Hawthorne, (it was his birthday on July 4), said,“Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” Render a self portrait... blind or partial blind contour, of you with a butterfly. Or a collage or photograph.

I just checked on the group’s responses to this prompt today AFTER I wrote the text above and it was on topic, always a welcomed synchronicity.

Member, Linda Marten, said this about what she created:
“Here’s my first self portrait I drew from a photo. I was surprised. I felt self compassion arise. It lifted me out of my grief about my country. It was actually fun & the butterflies added some humor & whimsy I really needed this evening. This experience taught me how much I need to do art, especially when I’m feeling sad. Hope I remember this.”

I hope you remember this too.

This is from The Underground Highway to Creative Results. In addition to low pressure writing and art prompts, there’s a Zoom workshop once a month (next one is July 24 and open to civilians for $25). I will post the free link to paid subscribers that week. The regularity of doing art creates a habit and the confidence that comes with practice. Confidence is freedom in art and writing.

In case you want to more joy and meaning:

Learn to liberate the creativity of others and yourself.

If you don’t know how creatvity works, you may never realize any of your dreams, whether they include becoming lost in a creative flow, building a business, or writing a book. Our creative process informs every decision we make and it’s not the lone province of artistic types. It’s a lifeblood we all share with millions of applications. Some never experience the dept of a creative flow because they feel blocked by fear, procrastination, and not feeling good enough; those are natural responses to the process and there are solutions to all of them.

Why bother with all this creative hoo-ha in the first place? Simply because of the joy. If you want to feel more purpose, momentum, and meaning related to creativity, join me for the Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching Certification training starting again in August. It was recognized as the best creativity coaching training program by Life Coach magazine.

That’s all,

Jill