The Quarantine Chronicles: Day 18

Hello, Dear One.

So glad you are here.

Today's creativity prompt is about finding your voice.

We could actually approach this topic from so many angles -- and especially since I am a singer and believe there is so much value in the parallel discovery finding your true voice literally AND figuratively (emotionally mainly) -- I could go off on a tangent here for hours!

That is not our topic today, however...I am talking about finding your artistic voice and connecting to that!

What is the difference between your 'artistic' or 'creative' voice and your 'emotional' voice or identity, you might ask?

That is a good question...and the short answer would be that they are actually perhaps two sides of the same coin.

Our artistic voice is the way we express our emotional voice.

I loved this quote from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird and it is the inspiration for today's prompt!

She talks about how she encourages her writing students to emulate their favorite writers. Emulating your favorite writer is...

"... a prop that you use for a while until you have to give it back. And it just might take you to the thing that is not on loan, the thing that is real and true: your own voice.”

Today I want to encourage you as well to take on the style of one of your favorite artists.

Who are your favorite artists? Writers, poets, songwriters, singers, painters, choreographers? Allow yourself today to start creating as if you were actually one of the people who inspires you the most. Allow yourself to emulate their style for a bit, as if you were putting on their cloak, and trust that your own style will emerge, the more you can sit with yourself and be compassionate enough to let your own truths unfold and unravel from you without needing to judge how they might be perceived by others.

Maybe you already feel that you know your own voice and your style pretty well, and if so, that is great! It is still a fun experiment to play with styles of artists you admire. I find it inspires me in new ways to "play pretend" and create as if you were someone else. Sometimes it opens me up to new freedoms that I unknowingly might not allow myself.

Have fun experimenting and if you feel like sharing your creations, I would love to see the things you are working on!

As always,

There is so much love for you here,

JennyRebecca