My three-year-old son is constantly in motion. He moves while playing, thinking and even eating; it’s how he connects with his world. As I sit to write this – after sitting all day – I wonder how movement stopped being a necessary role in my life.
I should resolve to spend the New Year exercising more. But my mind is also already making excuses about having no time to go to the gym – and not knowing how to begin.
It’s the same set of excuses we can make for not realizing our creative potential in 2014.
Victoria painter Linny D. Vine says an easy technique to get your artistic energy flowing is to reach your hands out in front of you and “wiggle them and the rest of yourself all about like a carefree child.”
The artist does it before painting and says the physical movement “awakens a playful, experimental energy and the posture says dive in, create, explore. See what happens next, allow your creation to go wherever it takes you.”
You can see how the “wiggling” has inspired her dynamic views of Victoria’s landscapes and architecture at linnydvine.com.
Peter Zambri also suggests moving physically. The owner of Zambri’s restaurant says he faces the culinary equivalent of writer’s block two or three times a day. Instead of becoming stagnant, the chef keeps his creativity going by moving on to a different task. “There’s always something to do in the kitchen. I put the problem on hold. Let it rest. And come back to it with fresh eyes.”
He learned the technique before pursuing cooking as a career. He was studying to be graphic artist but found he couldn’t sit still long enough to complete an art project. Instead he’d get up and make something to eat. Zambri’s decision to keep moving ultimately lead him in the creative direction he was meant to go.
If a painter and a chef can overcome their obstacles through physicality, I wonder what creativity I might release by setting my body free to move and play more. And maybe there are other ways to do it that would be more appealing than the gym. Maybe I’ll ask my three-year-old. It looks as though he knows the answer I’ve forgotten.
Adam Sawatsky reports on arts & lifestyle weekdays
on CTV News Vancouver Island with Hudson Mack.
On weekends he hosts Eye on the Arts on CFAX 1070.
