Hello, Everyone! Welcome to another evening of good conversation and good company at Occult and Psychical Sciences! MollyBloom here, your hostess with the mostess, sitting in for the incomparable Angmar.
Well, the latest edition of KOS Art Expo was published on July 4th and it was a great success! This summer’s exhibition featured an extraordinary collection of masterpieces - with contributions by our own Angmar, as well as yours truly. If you haven’t already, do drop in and enjoy the show! Here’s the link: www.dailykos.com/...
In the spirit of Art Expo, I thought a change of pace from our usual fare would be fun. So tonight, we’ll be taking a break from all things mystical and mysterious. Instead, the theme of the evening will be The Creative Process.
All human beings are creative. In fact, we are all artists, creating not only our own lives from moment-to-moment, but literally co-creating the world as we do so.
The Creative Process is common to all within our genus Homo. It’s what we do. It’s embedded in the networks of our brains and in our cognitive abilities. It lies at the core of how we’ve evolved to manage the challenges of physical and psychological survival. The Creative Process is really all about problem solving, especially exploring fresh approaches. For a fascinating read on how it all began, do peruse this article: www.scientificamerican.com/...
Although the word ‘creative’ does imply a connection to ‘art’, The Creative Process is not restricted to artistic endeavors. Think about all the scientific discoveries that have been teased out by way of ‘thought experiments’ (e.g., Schrödinger’s cat) and even through dreams (James Watson unscrambled the puzzle of DNA’s double helix structure in a dream!). Anything and everything that promotes the wellbeing of our species is a product of The Creative Process. You name it and it’s part of The Creative Process.
While The Creative Process is a shared aptitude, it’s also unique to each individual. Every one of us has the capacity to bring forth something totally new and unexpected by virtue of his/her/their special talents and imagination.
And every day we do just that. We turn our Creative Process toward navigating the kinks of this ever-changing world in innovative ways. It’s our Superpower. Our Creative Process is the daily fix that allows our inner selves not just to survive but to thrive. It is the beating heart at the center of each person’s adaptability and wholeness. (Remember you can be cracked, chipped or even broken, and still be whole!)
I call upon you now, dear reader, to envision yourself as an artist, constantly creating the masterwork that is your life. Be exquisitely attuned to the guiding messages from the within and unafraid to adopt original, perhaps unconventional, strategies to cultivate the very best human being you can be. Pay close attention to how your own Creative Process affects not only the depth and direction of your relationships, but also of those who fall within your intimate sphere - and beyond. Make refinements as necessary. 🙏
As promised, here is the translation of my cipher poem from KOS Art Expo 19:
The Message
I set this flask upon the sea,
in hope of saving History.
Safely may it wash ashore,
unto a land still steeped in lore.
Let it find a gentle soul;
this tragic tale must needs be told.
For once there was a noble race,
that conquered Matter, Time and Space.
We wrought our dreams with wondrous art,
expressing true each whole and part.
Like jewels our cities caught the sun,
reflecting power stately won.
Our stalwart ships surveyed the stars,
while cruising ports from Moon to Mars.
The very ether sang our thoughts,
and linked our minds through ones and naughts.
No god enthralled our sovereignty.
We worshipped Life and Liberty.
Until one day our Golden Rule,
came crashing down with vengeance cruel.
We claimed the heavens as sacred right,
then sacked our world in fits of spite,
Unleashing forces ill-conceived,
that fouled the Earth near beyond reprieve.
The Prophets spoke of fleeting chance
to change the follies of our past.
But in deep despair, and ego-wracked,
we could not, nay, would not, move to act.
So Justice served her Holy Call
and purged our errors one and all.
Our vessels vanished, lost en route.
The vibrant air grew deathly mute.
The gleaming cities soon decayed
and slowly sank beneath the waves.
Belated we descried our fate
to slip forgot through Doomsday’s Gate.
Now I, high born, left scarce alive,
but pray our memory will survive.
These words do I dispatch with haste.
Eternity obtrudes apace.
Receive them well. Entreat I thee,
impart them to Posterity.
Blessings.
Scribed this First Day of the Month of Juno in the Sixteenth Year of Darkness by Maia, Athenaea of Duck Isle.
MB061310
Oops! Looks like no one was able to solve the riddle of The Coded Message published in Art Expo, so no prizes to be awarded. Guess there are no Sherlocks, Champollians or Alan Turings on DK. Boy are we in trouble should we have to morph into The Resistance come November! Kudos just for taking a look at it though!
The Message is a featured piece in one of my Art Journals. Here are a few photos of the pages it occupies.
A few folks have asked how I came up with idea for the cipher poem. It began with imagining how communities might reorganize after climate catastrophe has drastically reduced habitable land mass and flooding has created pockets of isolated populations.
I assumed written language would still exist but would have to be simplified to streamline learning. So I decided to distill English down to its phonetic components, with a decidedly Long Island NY accent, of course. Each character in the cipher represents one sound. No more silent letters or multiple ways to express the same phoneme. No more pronunciation ambiguities.
Humankind’s role in the disaster would become mythologized and I considered the principle around which societies might coalesce could be an egalitarian combination of reason and intuition, which is why a sort of spiritual Headmistress of Science is the narrator.
And then I just love language, especially any kind of word play – puns, double entendres, anagrams, palindromes, Easter eggs, encryption, etc. It was great fun (and quite a challenge) crafting the poem and then working out the cipher. The interactive nature of the piece keeps readers sharp, too!
I gifted a copy to a friend for her birthday. Placed the coded message rolled up like a scroll inside a fancy bottle with some fine-grained sand, bits of dried seaweed and a few tiny shells. Then added hanging crystals around the neck and sealed the top with wax.
I knew she would be hesitant about opening it, because she would have wanted to preserve the crazy composition as a work of art. But I outsmarted her. I slipped an irresistible treasure into the beachy layer– a silver necklace graced with a pendant of green sea glass. That did the trick. She loved the adventure of uncorking her message in a bottle to claim the booty!
The other two poems I submitted for Art Expo were studies written for the Creative Writing course I teach. Adult education runs on a shoestring budget, so participants can’t be asked to purchase textbooks. And I cannot in good conscience infringe upon the Intellectual Property rights of others. The only alternative is to devise my own teaching materials. The companion pieces were created to demonstrate, and then discuss, some ways to develop character, place, mood, as well as different POV’s through the written word.
Thanks for reading and supporting the fabulous artists of DK!
Now I’m going to turn the conversation over to the group and esteemed visitors for a Q & A session.
Feel free to ask our resident artists anything about their work.
And please add your own thoughts, observations and experiences with The Creative Process. What are your creative outlets? Have you followed your Bliss? And where has it lead you? Tell all!