Love this reflection Anna! My creative practice is centered on building and fostering community. I believe creative endeavors can bridge and create belonging, and thorough our practice we can create meaningful connections when we are authentic.
"We can’t separate ourselves from our art, and if we did, we’d lose the opportunity for connection."
This is the key to me. I teach workshops occasionally, and I teach poetry every year for multiple classes of elementary students on the CSKT Reservation. Regardless of who I'm with, I explain that in the spirituality of my people, the Anishinaabe people, to live an Anishinaabe life, every footstep becomes a prayer. In turn then, I make the point that poetry – and I really consider poetry to be any kind of writing, any kind of art, any kind of Thing – is a way of observing, of looking at the world, of invoking, of evoking, of immersion, of being ... and that to live a life of poetry, every footstep becomes a poem. So I try and live that way via the work I do, which is my life, in making every footstep a prayer, a poem. That is how I stay connected to the world in the face of so often wanting so badly to withdraw from it. Some days are better than others.
Such a beautiful reflection, Anna. So much of what you say resonates with my own experiences, this in particular. "We can’t separate ourselves from our art, and if we did, we’d lose the opportunity for connection." This is exactly what I'm currently trying to do with my 100 day project "Take a Moodle with me" here on substack: use my art as an opportunity to (re)connect with myself through a lapsed writing practice. If I connect with others along the way, then great!
Love this reflection Anna! My creative practice is centered on building and fostering community. I believe creative endeavors can bridge and create belonging, and thorough our practice we can create meaningful connections when we are authentic.
"We can’t separate ourselves from our art, and if we did, we’d lose the opportunity for connection."
This is the key to me. I teach workshops occasionally, and I teach poetry every year for multiple classes of elementary students on the CSKT Reservation. Regardless of who I'm with, I explain that in the spirituality of my people, the Anishinaabe people, to live an Anishinaabe life, every footstep becomes a prayer. In turn then, I make the point that poetry – and I really consider poetry to be any kind of writing, any kind of art, any kind of Thing – is a way of observing, of looking at the world, of invoking, of evoking, of immersion, of being ... and that to live a life of poetry, every footstep becomes a poem. So I try and live that way via the work I do, which is my life, in making every footstep a prayer, a poem. That is how I stay connected to the world in the face of so often wanting so badly to withdraw from it. Some days are better than others.
Wow, wow, wow-loved this so much. "when are you, you?" What an awesome question for us all.
Such a beautiful reflection, Anna. So much of what you say resonates with my own experiences, this in particular. "We can’t separate ourselves from our art, and if we did, we’d lose the opportunity for connection." This is exactly what I'm currently trying to do with my 100 day project "Take a Moodle with me" here on substack: use my art as an opportunity to (re)connect with myself through a lapsed writing practice. If I connect with others along the way, then great!