I sat in the dentist chair, getting my teeth cleaned, thinking of Mary Oliver’s words about her loyalty to her inner vision…. “My responsibility is not to the ordinary, or the timely. It does not include mustard, or teeth. It does not extend to the lost button, or the beans in the pot.”
Here I was, less than a week after meeting my Muse and I was already giving my morning away to the ordinary, aka, my teeth. As I drove to the dentist, I promised my Muse that I was hers for the whole afternoon and evening.
I don’t usually make appointments for the morning, I told Sue, the new dental hygienist, “I don’t want to piss off my Muse.”
This isn’t completely true. It’s something I aspire to, but am not always successful at. Normally, I would have been embarrassed to say such at thing. But I want it to be true and saying it out loud to a stranger made me take it more seriously.
Also, I hoped my Muse was listening.
Strangely though, Sue knew what I was talking about. “Is the morning your most creative time?” she asked me.
I’ve always been a morning person, but for the first time I thought that maybe I was more creative in the morning because I’m closer to sleep. A time when the sub-conscious takes over and the brain thinks in metaphors.
This exchange lead to a conversation about art and creativity. Sue even recommend a movie I’ve never heard of, The Price of Everything, a documentary about the contemporary art market.
It was the most interesting conversation I’ve had at the dentist office in years.
My Muse must have been satisfied, because although I got a slow start, I did design some potholders this afternoon.
I’m thinking I’d like to work on my Fabric Painting tomorrow but I also have one more pillow to make for Linda. So I have a choice in the morning, unless something else comes along that wants to be made between now and then.
What ever I decide to do, I’ll be in my studio tomorrow morning being loyal to my inner vision.
