Deconstructing the artists experience

I didn't quite get the whole thought together about art and illusion in yesterday's diary. The problem is this: While I am in the experience of doing the art (handling the materials) it is a very zen experience. One of complete absorption in the moment: the sensual. But before, and especially after that, it all devolves into illusion.

I had made a series of watery blue and green pottery that was pure inspiration from the Puget Sound shoreline. In studio, it was an altogether no-mind activity. But then these items were juried into a higher-end art show on a picturesque marina, to be part of a booth shared by members of my co-op.

Half way through the show, I found myself wandering along the facades of the trendy shops adjacent, feeling almost nauseated by the airy illusion I was in. I felt very peculiar selling those pieces, knowing that for the most part, they were being purchased as a memory of the illusion (the theater) created by that show in its picturesque setting.

That's the dilemma. The no-mind creativity does not cause suffering; the world of trading in art is fraught with the suffering created by seeking illusions.