EBB & FLOW

On the Beach clay monotype

In art, much more so than in medicine, I have learned to recognize the ebb and flow of the nonphysical forces affecting my life: creativity, enthusiasm, energy, ambition, and self confidence, to name just a few. This is understandable, since making art is such a private, personal matter, usually accomplished alone, dependent on the ideas and energy that each artist is capable of bringing to the task. Medicine, on the other hand is very outer driven, with the demands and the pace of the work established by the unpredictable problems that confront the physician.

Recognizing the shifting nature of these numinous forces makes it easier for me to trust that my loss of self confidence where I think most of my work stinks, or the sudden lack of enthusiasm and ambition for anything and everything related to my studio are temporary and will soon pass. As a result, I no longer waste time and energy trying to fight these downturns and instead look for other ways to spend my time; there is an abundance of busy work that I can find to keep me occupied until the creative juices begin to flow again.