Shaggy Muses

I just finished reading "Shaggy Muses" by Maureen Adams which was a delightful book about the dogs that inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton and Emily Bronte.* But what was truly intriguing was Adams' theory that as artists our dogs serve as witnesses to our creative work. She quotes Jungian analyst Marie Von Franz in regards to the hundreds of creation myths that contain "an active creator and a relatively more passive other, who does little but is still absolutely essential." She goes on to give the example of the Native American myth of Father Raven creating the world while a tiny sparrow whose only job is to ensure that Father Raven isn't completely carried away by the dangers of creativity, watches and acts merely as a witness to the creation.**

This is very true for myself. As an artist I can find myself consumed with the process of creating and all its inherent pitfalls and problems, primary among them the spiraling into an almost hyper frenzy as my creativity peaks. Having my dog with me is a very grounding element. He is calm, quiet, respectful, yet also takes me out of my artistic cycle when I break to play a rousing game of fetch with him, or even just lay on the floor with him connecting with one another in a quiet cuddle and conversation. My dog therefore not only is in my studio silently and stoically watching me as I work, but in simply being a dog and my best friend, is the one who can calm me when my creative fires burn too brightly and can break that cycle with a simple childlike game when my inner core becomes too intense.

I couldn't imagine working without a dog at my side. I couldn't imagine living without a dog at my side. With my dog bearing witness to my work and to my life, it makes my life worth living, my art worth creating, and keeps the essence that is me in near-perfect balance.



* Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton and Emily Bronte, Maureen Adams, Ballantine Books, NY, 2007.

** Creation Myths, Marie-Louise Von Franz, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1988.