Dear All,
My name's Rose, I'm new to blogging for Womp, but I have been a fan for WOMP for a long time after exhibiting with them many moons ago at The Good Ship...! I am an artist who graduated in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design this summer, but I also work for the education programmes at both The Tate Modern and The Victoria and Albert Museum. I listen to Siouxsie Sioux and The Doors, I love galleries and reading about fashion. I really hope you enjoy my first blog entry you lovely creative people you!
Two weeks ago I ended up at a Tarot card reader; now this isn’t something I would normally do, but I had come to a crossroads and a new pair of shoes didn’t seem like they’d help, that’s why I found myself sat in front of “Karol”. I took a deep breath letting go of any thoughts I had, and anxiously gazed at the cards.
I didn’t know what they symbolised or meant, so then my eyes fell to Karol’s lips awaiting some revelation.
Weirdly there several…. She’d picked up on my family history, my childhood, my living situation, relationships; the first thing she said was that I was at a crossroads. Knock me down and call me ginger Karol, you were bang on. As the cards helped me work out what I wanted with other stuff, we tentatively came to the subject of my creativity. A sore spot since I graduated in June, I’ve been hit with all matter of illnesses and personal crap-o-la, that Blank Page Syndrome had more than taken over. Blank Page Syndrome (B.P.S) can take hold of any creative at any stage in their career; where you stare at the screen, you hover over your canvas, or you mindlessly pluck at guitar strings irritably, you just simply get nothing done. Be you a poet, painter or printer it’s the getting over it that counts. Do you go for a walk? Do you make a strong coffee? Do you just draw? I had tried all three but not shaken the syndrome; but here I was in front of this lovely stranger facing my fears, suddenly I could feel myself biting the bullet of BPS.
The best quote I have ever read/heard to help anyone get over something similar was in a letter from Sol Lewitt to Eva Hesse; “Learn to say “Fuck You” to the world once in a while. You have every right to. Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping, confusing, itchin, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, numbling, rumbling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-picking, piss-trickling, nose sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself. Stop it and just DO!”
Sitting here I’m inclined to turn BPS into Blank-page Syndrome (B.S.). Because once you get over it you feel elated, victorious and relentless. I guess you need hurdles, cross-roads and blocks in life to make the achievements mean so much more. So just hang on in with the piss-trickling and eyeball poking, stay strong and bite the bullet; your creativity is so much stronger than all that B.S.
Rosemary Cronin
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