Years ago I seen this photo of an
amazing sculpture. I didn't know who the artist was or what the
sculpture was called. The sculpture was of a nude woman sitting in a
lotus position looking very serene. She looked bruised with cracks
from head to toe and light was bleeding through the cracks out of her
body. It is a very powerful image.
The first time I saw the sculpture I
was struck with great awe and amazement because it was like I was
seeing a sculpture of myself. I didn't know what the title of the
sculpture was so in my mind I called it battered but still strong.
The sculpture really touched my heart because when I first saw it the
sculpture reminded me of who I am now after enduring 8 years of
sexual and mental abuse as a child. Despite all that I have gone
through I remained strong. Battered but still strong.
The story behind the sculpture is just
as amazing as the sculpture itself. I recently seen a photo of the
sculpture and I learned of who the artist was and the story behind
the sculpture. The artist name is Paige Bradley and the sculpture is
called Expansion. Originally the sculpture was not cracked. Bradley
created the woman in a lotus position and she tried really hard to
get her work seen but the curators and the critics made it difficult.
They wanted her to be more of a “Visionary” and have less focus
on accuracy and general talent.
Understandably Bradley was discouraged.
She was unable to show off her work that she worked so hard on for
many months. After a while she thought about what the art community
was trying to tell her. If she wanted to stay in the Art field she
had to make some changes. She had to let go of all the finely tuned
skills she had learned over the years and just trust the creative
process. She had to let go.
Then she did something craaaazy. She
broke her sculpture that she had worked on for months into pieces O-O
she had too. This was her way of letting go and it was a good thing
she did. After she broke her sculpture she cast the pieces into
bronze and assembled the pieces in a way to make it look cracked.
Once she was finished assembling the pieces she had a lighting
specialist put in lighting and made it look like it was glowing from
within. In the end the sculpture turned out waaay better then she
thought it would and it is the most memorable sculpture in the world.
It is truly an amazing piece of work.
If Bradley decided not to let go and
keep her art as is she would have missed out on a huuuge opportunity.
She had to learn to trust in the creative process. When we become
ridged in our thinking we can become stuck. So many times we get so
caught up in our past and how we wish things should or could be but
if we just let go and trust the process we make room for something
truly amazing to happen. Letting go is not easy but it is powerful in
so many different ways.
What are you holding on to with a tight
grip? Relationships? Career? A narrow view of the creative process?
Your painful past? It took me many years to over come my traumatic
past but after learning mindfulness techniques along with learning to
have faith I am able to embrace everything and live in the now. I
learned to let go. It took a lot of work but I can say I made it
through the storm. Like Bradley's sculpture I am battered and bruised
but still strong.
If you are in a place where you feel
like you just can't seem to be able to get ahead try letting go and
embracing everything. Hate your relationships? Embrace the good in
the other person. Hate your job? Find something good you love about
your job lol start with having a pay check. If you are looking for a
better life find something in your life right now to be grateful for
even if it is tiny because when you let go of what you don't want and
embrace what you have that is when great opportunities and great
change start to happen. You honestly get to where you want to be
faster when you learn to let go and embrace what you have right now.
Life becomes a drag and hard to get through when you hold tightly the
things you don't want but if you let go life opens up in amazing
ways.
When I learned to be grateful for even
the little things I had huuuge windows of opportunity flow my way.
With every challenge I came up against I learn to find something to
be grateful for. Letting go don't mean you will avoid challenges.
Letting go simply provides the space to let amazing things come into
your life. Try it and see for yourself.
I hope today you are creating something
amazing. Stay Awesome ^_^
If you want to see the sculpture and
read the back story of the sculpture here is the link
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/riveting-story-behind-that
Warning it is a nude sculpture. If you are sensitive to nudity DO NOT
click on the link.
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