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    creativity + drinking

    any artists / writers / serious crafters out there? just wonderin'. one of the big reasons i drink and one of the big reasons i don't want to ... is my interest in art. went to 2 great art schools and think about my ideas all the time but i don't have much confidence and am so afraid to put myself "out there". my last stint at art school was only a few years ago, finally achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at age 40! (couldn't have done it without my hubby) out of high school i studied architecture in college but also painted alot. my last bit (my degree) was in furniture making / woodworking but i also did a lot of jewelry stuff (well, no jewelry but a lot of metal work, i liked making containers to hide stuff in, which says a lot about me!). i have so many ideas and i just shut myself off with AL.

    just wondering what other people think about creativity + drinking.

    #2
    creativity + drinking

    Interesting

    I am an Artist also - Actually I have always wondered if it is the "creative" type that are more "prone" to be abusive drinkers etc. - Look at Actors and Musicians - We thrive in a zone that needs stimulation mixed with tranquil moments. I actually haven't taken on any projects since becoming AF - (only 82 days AF) so It's early yet.

    I think your question is VERY interesting and I will be very interested to see what others have to say.
    AF since Jan. 1, 2008 .... It all began right here


    Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice, you made it now.


    (from the Movie "Once")

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      #3
      creativity + drinking

      well, probably. i guess we're more into being "experimental" or freeing the spirit. when i was in my 20s i sampled about evreything i could as far as i could far as drugs go, but my favs were always MJ and AL. i haven't done anything heavier than AL for like 10 years though i do smoke some weed on occasion. My hubby is one of those people who throws up when he gets high so its a good reason to not have it around.

      but getting back to ART. what kind of stuff do you like?

      btw, ONLY 82 days??????!!!!!????????? i think you need a huge pat of the back!!! Yay! I admre you! keep up the good work!

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        #4
        creativity + drinking

        I used to think I got more creative when I drank but really it's an illusion. a really frightening eye opener is to record video and/or audio of yourself drunk and then play it the next day. eeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk!!!
        nosce te ipsum
        (Know Thyself)

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          #5
          creativity + drinking

          Determinator;296592 wrote: I used to think I got more creative when I drank but really it's an illusion. a really frightening eye opener is to record video and/or audio of yourself drunk and then play it the next day. eeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk!!!
          yes, but beyond that there is some stuff to be reckoned with ... one time a druncken romp with a friend resulted in a good idea for a photo shoot and then an entire art installation in a gallery (where we had several pieces bought by semi-famous people and a big write-up in the paper) tho nothing ever else came of it ... but that was one out of a hundred drunk / stoned ideas so there you go ...

          i forget who said it but "art is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". my friend who i did that show with now has a lucrative business making art objects and even sells through major catalogs, but he's the most amazing person i've ever met (and I am thankful he still loves me!!). the last time i hung out with him at his home he was smoking enough MJ to blind a cow yet managing to time his ceramics perfectly in the kiln while making a apple struedel so there you go. but, i stress he is an amazing person so whatever.

          gotta go to bed now! i have more to say on this ubject but i hope others will add onn.

          will check in manana.

          buena noche!

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            #6
            creativity + drinking

            Hey Spotty,
            Yep I am an artist also! I have just become a 'full time painter' within the last two months. Although I have painted for the last 20 years. I think this is a very interesting subject actually. I have occasionally worked after having a drink....but thank god I really do mean occasionally. Most of the time it has been with a slight hangover.
            I still believe that my best work will come when I have been AF for a long period of time. I hate painting at all if I have a hangover and the days when I have been AF for a time, I am much calmer and tend to 'just paint and enjoy it' rather than have my head full of self doubt and worry.
            x
            Amelia

            Sober since 30/06/10

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              #7
              creativity + drinking

              determinator -- i think what i was trying to say is that hearing yourself drunk snging might be frightening but there also might be buds of truth and / or genius there. don't dismiss it. keep a journal or something to document your ideas ... it might come to something. its important to hear yourself ... just do it for you if you like it (singing, dancing, whatever). i've found lately that a good goofy dncing helps ... i put on this "hip hop greats" thing i bought in a discount bin to be awesome music for cleaning but also an antidote for my "shake off my crap" woes.

              good luck,
              Tedi

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                #8
                creativity + drinking

                amelia and livingfree, i want to talk more but i gotta go to bed now. i'm in north vancouver, bc so i'm on pst. i will definitely reply tomorrow as i think this is an important link to my heart. people keep saying how supportive people are here but i've been posting for 2 weeks and sure there's been a lot of nice supports but i'd like something more substantial. i'm living in BC but all my friends and family are in the American northeast, but we're moving back to California (northern ca - bay area) in June (where we came from a year ago) tomorrow i'll add my email if people prefer to write that way.

                good night and good luck,
                tedi

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                  #9
                  creativity + drinking

                  Hello Again Tedi,
                  Looking forward to hearing more from you.
                  I visited British Columbia 13 years ago and loved it. Very pretty and the people were amazingly friendly.
                  Have a good snooze.
                  Amelia

                  Sober since 30/06/10

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                    #10
                    creativity + drinking

                    hi amelia, i just composed a nice reply but then hit some button that deleted it. oiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! i will reply tomorrow! too tired too try an reconstruct ....

                    cheers, tedianne

                    Comment


                      #11
                      creativity + drinking

                      i started a thread on this subject a while back . I think that creativity and the urge to alter ones mind are connected.
                      I am also an artist. living in NYC. I am in the process of deciding whether I should do art full time.
                      I am very involved in the art worl here in NYC. There is so much going on.

                      creative people do seem to like getting high. must be the life style.
                      You can't turn a pickle into a cucumber

                      Comment


                        #12
                        creativity + drinking

                        My creative talents came through music. Working in a recording studio for 5 years solid literally burnt me out due to the 'image' and 'lifestyle' addictions that I perceived to go with it. I agree though that certain drugs and even alcohol can open creative channels. I think though once the channels are open you don't necessarily have to keep feeding the creativity with those chemicals. I did a lot of acid and mushrooms when I was younger that I think opened me up to new music and ideas or philosophies. Plus I also found that smoking weed became a whole new experience when I discovered HAWKWIND!!. I always think that if I'd never taken drugs my creativity would of been very monochromatic or had no real depth to it. I remember when I first started engineering and mixing music. I never actually got stoned/pissed EVER in work as it was a lot harder to recognize unwanted frequencies if I was.

                        Love and Happiness
                        Hippie
                        xx
                        "Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children." Kahlil Gibran
                        Clean and sober 25th January 2009

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                          #13
                          creativity + drinking

                          Bill Hicks talks so 'eloquently' about drugs and music don't you think???!!!!

                          [ame= ]YouTube - bill hicks drugs and music[/ame]
                          "Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children." Kahlil Gibran
                          Clean and sober 25th January 2009

                          Comment


                            #14
                            creativity + drinking

                            I remember thinking (in my much younger mind) that every one should experience LSD or 'shrooms at least once in their life.! Now i look around me and see that most successful, focused people probably never even smoked pot, let alone take hallucinogens. But they also have ignored their creative, artistic selves that we all have and need to explore. So do mood altering substances help creativity? Yes I think so. Do they help one complete tasks or projects? Definately NOT! So what do we do now? Remember those ideas from high times and use your new strengths in AF to focus and create and complete.
                            sigpic

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                              #15
                              creativity + drinking

                              I'm a writer. And I've thought that my best writing and most profound understandings always came out when I was drinking. So of course I figured that to quit drinking would be the end of my aspirations as a writer.

                              But as hulagirl says, I might come up with some great ideas and a few brilliant paragraphs while I"m drinking, but will I EVER finish a book? Hell no.

                              So I figure - if that wisdom and talent and skill is in my head when I'm drinking, it's in there all the time. I just need to find another avenue to access it - be it meditation, journaling or just plain faith.

                              Maybe artist-types are more prone to drinking and using to excess because it is our nature to feel so deeply, and we (think we) need to dull the rawness of life lest we implode.
                              FINALLY -- I'm a non-drinker!!

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