Bemused, No More
“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.”
Have you been relying on a capricious muse to inspire your art?
Excerpt from my groundbreaking book, An Artist Empowered
Fickle Muses
The allegorical nature of the muse is certainly appealing, which is why these sisters of the pantheon persist into our time. The buildings that house art collections are, after all, called museums.
While the muses of myth could inspire artists to great achievements, collectively these goddesses lacked a certain grace called humor. The muses were often jealous, vain, vindictive, nasty, and out for mortal blood. While you can cater to and tickle the fickle muse to inspire your work, it is much smarter (and safer) to go direct: trust your intuition for divine guidance and avoid any muse motivated hostilities.
Not Amused
At the first stirrings of my art life, I thought I had heard the muses calling, beckoning me to write, enticing me to live a life independent of the suits and boots world of business and the imposed banality and routine of brunch on weekends. Was I a walking advertisement for bourgeoisie superficiality, or was I an individual of discretion with a mission and a destiny to fulfill? Only my actions would answer this question.
After many years of heeding a voice, a feeling really, that only I could sense, I eventually had a realization: the goddess who encouraged me to swim upstream against the torrent of tradition and dogma wasn’t a muse at all; that voice of challenge and encouragement had been my intuition, not an ancient and misguided construct from Greek mythology.
The Chosen In the Zen Sense
Although intuition is a faculty that has an assortment of definitions, varied interpretations generally agree that intuition is a form of knowing that transcends the rational process, as in the tradition of Zen teachings. I have proven to my own self that intuition is the divine communicating directly to me—not because I am chosen, but because I choose to listen.
Still, my description remains abstract until you hear the song of intuition for your own self. And when you do, there is no need to define it further because you have struck bedrock; then you, like the painter and sculptor, have gotten your metaphysical hands dirty in the trenches of epistemology.
CONNECTING ON A DEEPER INTUITIVE LEVEL
My art-making is based on the physical flow of spontaneous intuition, which involves a remarkable journey. Impulses of energy and information surge down my arm and, through improvisation, I compose visual jazz with line and color. If the art-making is magic, then the art is magic.
What does my paintings Cleo in the Afternoon reveal to you? There is no right or wrong answer. Trust your feelings, not the opinion of others, including art critics and so-called experts. Remember, if you see it, then it’s there. Enjoy. Click on the painting for more details.
To get a better feel for the scope and range of my art, please visit my collection of original Fine Art prints: each signed print features museum-quality materials, permanent pigment inks, plus acid-free matting that I attach to the artwork using conservation best practices.
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Cleo in the Afternoon | original fine art print | Eden Maxwell