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Monday, August 19, 2013

Mayumi Oda

"Creativity is not a driving force.  It happens.  It creates itself and you have to be open."


1941 - 
Japanese Artist



Commentary
What is creativity?  Can you define it?  Where does it come from?  Why do some people think they are not creative?  Why are others swimming in a sea of creativity?  Can we control our creativity or does it move to the beat of a different drummer?  Why is one person creative and another not?

Are you open to the creativity within your spirit?  Do you hear it calling you?  Do you follow it down the path to your heart?  We are dancers on the shores of hope, giving gifts to those who understand.  Creativity does not drive through the rain, but sits under the umbrella and listens to the silence between the drops.  Do you let it happen gently on the corners of your soul or do you force it through the keyhole of resistance?
Art by Mayumi Oda

How does creativity manifest itself in your life?  What forms does it take?  What rituals are you forced to follow?  Can you call up creativity at will or must you kneel in prayer hoping for it to return?  Does creativity drain you of your energy or does it fill your spirit with enthusiasm?  Does creativity dance on the winds of love or is it a tornado of destruction?  Does creativity possess you or do you possess it?

Does your cup overflow with creativity?  Or does it come to you in drips and drops?  Do you go for days or weeks or months without a creative thought?  Or do your thoughts drown you in a tsunami of creativity?

Creative Practice
This week define what creativity means?  Can you put it into words?  What does it mean to your life?  Has creativity ever stirred up trouble for you?  How do you encourage creativity in others?  

Biography
Art by Mayumi Oda
Mayumi Oda was born into a Buddhist family in Japan in 1941.  She graduated from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1966.  She also studied traditional Japanese fabric dyeing which has influenced her art.  She has exhibited her art in over 40 one-woman shows throughout the world.  Her art is part of the permanent collections of Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Oda paints images of goddesses including traditional images as well as those that she invents.  She is often described as a Japanese Matisse because of the color and free-flowing lines in her work.

Mayumi Oda has also spent many years as a global activist participating in anti-muclear campaigns worldwide.  Oda founded Ginger Hill, a farm and a retreat center on the Big Island of Hawaii. Oda hosts workshops and retreats at Ginger Hill.