Today's Mindfunda is written by Brenda Ferrimani. Brenda began her artistic work in the 1980’s. She was President of the Berthoud Arts and Humanities Alliance, an organization dedicated to promote local artists and to provide art in public places. In 2000 she was invited to be the attending artist to the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts. In 2007 her painting “Fall Into Fear” was awarded a Nancy Richter Briezki Dream Art Award, at the IASD’s conference at Sonoma University, CA. As a successful artist who tapped deep into the creative sources of creation Brenda asks us all today: "Is struggle a good thing?"
Today’s Blogger on Midfunda is succesful artist Brenda Ferrimani.
She has an intruiging question to ask: Is struggle a good thing? All of us strive to happiness. We teach ourselves to cope with the difficulties of life by acceptence, compromise and coping. But what if you dive into your sruggles and let them lead you to creativity? Brenda explaines:
“Artists struggle for integrity”, “Artists struggle for success”, “Artists struggle to be original”, “Artist struggle to transcend pain” – All quotes I found when I googled “Artists struggle.” – Yes! ARTISTS DO STRUGGLE! My life and work as a Dream Artist is a testament to this painful but glorious truth. Sometimes when people ask me how my life is I often remark, “It’s the Agony and the Ecstasy!” (You may remember the famous movie staring Charleton Heston, as Michelangelo, with the same title.) As your guest blogger, I would like to initiate a discussion around the question, “Is struggle a good thing?”
I believe inner demons, and outer antagonists are sometimes just what we need to overcome complacency, and to transcend self imposed limits toward new heights and new realities.
The subject has been in front of my mind recently, inspired by watching the independent film “Whiplash,” at the behest of my musician son, which opened an intense discussion at my house. This film is about a young musician who encounters brutal opposition from one of his admired professors in music school. The film was hard to watch, at times, because I resonated so much with the pain of the young artist, so eager to please his abusive mentor, and and so wanting to be perfect (click here to see the film).
The movie is very dream like, especially the surprise ending, where the young hero finds himself in a nightmare, on stage in front of hundreds of critics, and his music sheets can not be found. The band had been cued up to play music he was not prepared to play. Just when he’s about to give up in total humiliation, he seems to become lucid. He reverses the dreaded outcome by turning and facing his abuser. He has a breakthrough on stage, a triumphant moment of courage and innovation, giving a brilliant performance (click here to see the film) at last!
While the movie made me abhor ego filled, demon driven people of authority, who always think they are being tough on you to help you succeed, it also made me reflect on my own past with a new feeling of gratefulness. Perhaps my strict, and often cruel father, the religious cult I was part of, the endless conditioning to suppress my creativity, all ignited in me a life-changing, life-affirming push toward self expression! Naturally my dream life has reflected my struggles and the artwork I have created thus far, seems to chronicle this.
My first dream painting, “Expansion” (painted in 1997- my first dream painting), marks a period in my life where I felt a great “inner struggle” to be free to express my visions. It is a composite of many nightmares about flying and being pulled down.
Brenda Ferrimani
Brenda Ferrimani
Brenda Ferrimani
Brenda Ferrimani
Brenda Ferrimani
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Brenda made an interesting connection between astrology and dreaming in a recent facebook posting: Astrology have been useful tools in unlocking many personal mysteries. I think one’s birth chart is like a snap shot of the soul, and quite often themes within a birth chart are echoed in our dreams. (Comments and observations along this line are welcomed – especially from my astrologer and dream friends! 😉 ) https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.957520457622473.1073741881.115114085196452&type=3
Thank you Susanne for connecting this blog to the continuing thread on my Face Book page. Guess I have a lot to say about “struggle”. LOL! – And the struggle does continue but with less pain now, and more wisdom.
Great article–thank you, Brenda! I've found that struggle becomes a creative experience (as opposed to a paralyzing, draining, or destructive experience) when there is some part of me witnessing the struggle with compassion. If I become too identified as "the struggler" then the struggle becomes an end in itself and exhausts my resources. But if I'm gently aware that there are larger processes at work, and this struggle-cycle is just one turn of the wheel, then I can engage in it wholeheartedly without getting lost in it–and it generates creative energy. It's all a matter of perspective…
Kirsten, thank you for your astute comment. I agree perspective is key! If we see ourselves as victims we are drained and not fueled!