QUESTIONNAIRE
1)
Please describe your experiences with meditation
practice. Have you had one in the past? Has it been sporadic or consistent? Do you use an eastern or western method? Are you currently meditating? What approach
will you be taking to this aspect of the journey?
I have had sporadic meditation practice through the years. I like meditation, but haven't stuck with it for any period of time. I have meditated in the style of Thich Nhat Hahn, and the MBSR approach most recently.
2)
What outcome do you hope for with having a daily
meditation practice?
I hope to calm down, be more focused, less distracted. I hope to find greater happiness, and deal with the symptoms of depression.
3)
When you do creative work, are you more focused
on the process of doing it or the outcome? What is your expectation of each?
I have been more focused on the satisfaction of my client because most of my creative work has been commercial. I would like the process to be more fun, and not have the feeling of rushing.
4)
What creative work have you done in your life as
a source of income? How has that been rewarding to you? How has it been
frustrating? Do you feel you have been authentic while doing it? Does it make
you happy? How?
The work has been rewarding to me in that it has provided me with a nice life. I have been pretty successful at it, and have somewhat like what I made. It is frustrating that I am not able to have more creative control over my own work, and get pushed around by my clients. I guess I feel somewhat inauthentic because I am more concerned with the feelings of others than what I am expressing. I am not in the moment with this work.
5)
Where is your mind while you are doing this
work?
When I am in the conceptual stage I am very focused on the work, but once I am at the stage of coloring, I tend to be distracted, and in some ways onto the next thing. I have a bad case of monkey mind, especially since menopause.
6)
What creative work have you done in your life as
a hobby? How has that been rewarding to you? How has it been frustrating? Do
you feel you have been authentic while doing it? Does it make you happy? How?
After moving away from illustration as an income source, I spent some time making pottery at Silvermine. I really liked it, and with the medium being so different than paper and paint, it felt completely different. I did feel authentic, and in the moment. It makes me very happy.
7)
Where is your mind while you are doing this
work?
8)
What would you say is the difference between creative
work for income and creative work for hobby?
With creative work for income, you are somewhat under the control of the client. It just has to be that way. When you are doing it for your self, there is much less that you have to give up of yourself. The trick is to be grounded and be able to do work for a client. Or be compassionate and understanding of what they have to do.
9)
What is your plan for your creative work during
this 2-3 month time?
10)
What do you expect to gain from the experience
of being more mindful as you experience creativity and life?
I really hope to gain a better understanding of what contemplative art is, and what it feels like. What is process art making, and how is it? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Will mindfulness change the art making experience, and will I recapture the joy of artmaking?
11) What “scripts” do you follow in your approach to work?
I feel very inadequate and often feel like the whole rest of the art world is better than I am. I am sometimes embarrassed of my primitive style and not knowing how to do certain things that I feel I should know how to do. I definitely am not kind to myself, but critical.
12) What “scripts” do you follow in your approach to your
relationships?
Same. I feel that I am just getting by and that my relationships will blow up at any moment.
13) What “scripts” do you follow in your approach to taking time
for yourself?
I do not take time for myself often enough. This study is a great exercise in seeing if I can do that, and not feel guilty or like other things are more important.
14) Are
you happy? What makes you happy and what makes you unhappy?
I have not been very happy. I am happiest when I am creative, and when my relationships are loving and kind. I am in a position with my job that is not supportive, not creative, and my colleagues are generally not warm or kind.
