vol. 26: cultivating our matriarchs of imagination
i think i’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who wasn’t moved at joni mitchell’s surprise appearance at the grammys last week. she sang surrounded by fellow singers brandi carlile, russell, blake mills, lucius, jacob collier, and sista strings, chanting like a prophet her 1966 hit, “both sides now.” brandi carlile dubbed her the “matriarch of imagination” before she sang.
joni mitchell is what people in my field would call a multidisciplinary or portfolio artist. she writes, she composes, she sings, she paints.
her lyrics are evocative and full of imagery and have inspired generations of listeners. take “both sides now”:
Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I’ve looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all
all this got me thinking about how we can nourish the matriarchs of imagination that live within each of us. this week, a very inspiring conductor/coach from the metropolitan opera has been working with some pianists at my school and i’ve been lucky to sing and work with him myself. on one of our first days, he said, “we don’t need the next [insert legendary singer name here], we need you to be the next one, bringing the best that you have within you to your music.”
it can be difficult to clear space for artistic work or truly focused practise in our fast-paced, hyper-distracted world. during the pandemic, my friend john-michael and i were accountability buddies for julia cameron’s the artist’s way program (we tried a few others too but that’s another story…). every morning, we’d diligently wake and immediately write three longhand morning pages while our subconscious was still barely differentiating waking from sleeping. once a week we took ourselves on solo artist’s dates, & we both read and went through the various questions and exercises explored in cameron’s chapters. while i wasn’t always a fan of the morning pages (i can be prone to rumination, which these pages sometimes would highlight…!), the program did inspire some creative space-clearing in my life and artistic practise.
in yogic philosophy, we’d call these rituals saucha, tapas or svadhyaya, three of the niyamas. the yamas and niyamas are the ways yoga practitioners relate to the world. yama refers to the external world, niyama to our own internal worlds. the five niyamas - saucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (discipline), svadhyaya (study of the self and of the texts), & isvara pranidhana (surrender to a higher being, or contemplation of a higher power) - are beautiful tenants helpful to anyone who creates art.
my little guide to using the niyamas as an artist:
to cultivate saucha (cleanliness), making space for silence through meditation or an unplugged activity can allow for clearer thinking.
santosha (contentment) is a highly personal one. as a singer, savouring each moment of music making and connection & remaining detached from external sources of validation can help this (in my experience).
tapas (discipline) - showing up to practise or create, even when you don’t feel like it.
svadhyaya (self-study/textual study) - for me this one is tied up with tapas. having the courage to look at yourself and your artistry with a critical eye (and as a singer, really studying the music/texts/source material!)
isvara pranidhana (surrender to a higher power) - of course, this would resonate differently depending on one’s religious beliefs. but it can also be as simple as having a clear reason as to why you’re creating your art (julia cameron has you write an artists’ prayer and keep it in your wallet). dedicating your art-making to someone or a group of people outside of yourself works for me sometimes as well (and my yoga practise too <3 ).
let me know in the comments if any of this resonated for you. à la prochaine!