The Yin and Yang of Art

Many people recognize the symbol characterized by a half dark and half light circle with a circle of opposing color in each apostrophe shaped half. It’s call a YinYang or TaiChi symbol. I think it’s meaning can be explained in many ways and I will attempt to relate it to your art practice here in this post.

I have heard the symbol described as day and night, positive and negative, male and female and many more opposites. Within the human body there exists a Yin and a Yang. An introverted and extroverted characteristic in our personality or behavior. However, it is also used in the traditional sense to describe Yin organs and Yang organs.

Yin organs are the ones you use all the time. Heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, spleen are yin organs. They work in order to keep us alive. Yang organs work when you need them. The small intestine works when you process food. The large intestine when you eliminate waste. The stomach, bladder and gall bladder are also yang organs. They work on demand but not on autopilot.

We have people in our lives that fall into yin and yang categories. The people who you count on and always are there for you are your yin people. They are essential to a balanced life. Your yang people are the ones who you can count on when you need them. For example, there is a super nice guy who works in the produce of my local grocery store. He is not essential to my life yet, when I need something or have a question about the produce, I can count on him. The same for my hairdresser and car mechanic. They serve a purpose in my life when I need them. I don’t need their services all the time.

With some understanding of the term Yin and Yang, here is how I feel they relate to your art practice. Yin art practices are the ones that are essential to your creative efforts. If everything you make starts out as a sketch, a sketchbook might be a yin item for you. If you only use a sketchbook when you are traveling or stuck creatively, they are yang items for you. Same item but how and when you use it makes it either essential or sporadically useful. How about your materials? Do you always use pen and ink, textiles, paint or clay? They are yin materials. If you create in textiles and add beads once in a while, the beads are yang. Nice to have but not essential to your creative life.

As I reflect more and more on my personal possessions, I am beginning to shed some of my art materials. The essential yin materials of my art making hold a prominent place in my studio. The things I use once in a while are slowly finding new homes through donation or elimination. This focus on what is essential to my creativity has allowed me to take a deeper dive into the process because I have limited my palette of materials. The simplification of choices through reduction has highlighted what is essential about my art practice and my art.

I invite you to look through your creative space, or your entire home, office or even junk drawer. What is essential? What helps create a balanced life for you? What is useful sometimes? What is just taking up space and blocking the flow of your day? When you consider these items under the definitions of yin and yang it helps clarify what you want to keep and what is best discarded. It also brings clarity to how you invest your time for the greatest life return.

Ultimately, what you need to be your best creative self is unique. Making time to thoughtfully curate away all the people, things and activities that are slowing down your life opens up the potential for inner harmony and balance. I think it’s a lot easier for all of us to create our best work under these circumstances. However, you have to create the conditions. Once the obstacles are decreased, then the creative energy will flow. Try it in one small way and see what happens.

Master the Craft