THE ARTIST, HIS MUSE & THEIR SAVAGE DANCE

Being the title of this blog, this ship without a port, I feel obligated to touch on the subject of the Muse. Once this post is finished and out in the world, we will see where the dead muse takes us next.

A Muse (in the human form) is commonly thought of as a woman who evokes such strong emotion in an artist that she inspires him to achieve beyond his believed capabilities. Muses were originally 9 Greek Goddesses who inspired those in the arts and astronomy.

Why does my Muse only speak when she is unhappy?
She does not, I only listen when I am unhappy
When I am happy I live and despise writing
For my Muse this cannot but be dispiriting.
                                   -Stevie Smith (1902–1971), British poet.

I am tired of loving a foreign muse.
                                   -Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943), U.S. poet.

Loosing your muse is like losing all your senses at once.
                                   -Kalynn Campbell (1963- ), U.S. artist

My ultimate search has been for a muse.
                                   -Dominic Monaghan (1976- ), Irish actor

 It has been said,
"Those few lucky women who are elevated to Muse status are surely unlucky women." 
Yes, the burden of being a Muse has to be equal to it's lofty intoxication of immortalization.

I have had two powerful Muses in my life and never have I had two more impassioned and severe relationships. The highs were that of heavens made of opium and concupiscence, the lows that of black rage and despair deeper than the pit to Hell itself. Strangely, both these highs and lows created unfathomable artistic perceptions, the kind that only exist in the tempest of an inspirational epiphany. But my calling the bond between my Muses and myself a 'relationship' is actually an injustice. It is a much deeper bond, a connection of such monumental proportions that it feels like the same piece of DNA is intertwined within the two of us. We are more than just magnets of attraction and sexual urge, we become the SAME magnet, pulling in a polar field of visionary angels together. We create the art as one. We are profound soul-mates aligning forces to complete each other.
 
But there remains a tumultuous side. It is not unusual for an artist or his Muse to be involved in a 'real world' relationship of some form outside of their commitment/connection to each other. Obviously this can cause conflict on many levels and lead to deep emotional turmoil. But the real foible is the nature of the artist/Muse relationship itself. The Muse is both the artists' coveted Goddess and his soul-felt creative alliance, he depends on her with near impractical expectations. If she steps away from her crucial role for too long, the balance shifts and the creative process is thrown into chaos. It happens more than not. Balance is key to this complex and unusual partnership. Difficult at best.

The psyche of an artist is often filled with emotional and psychological whirlwinds - and that is true of the Muse as well. Just as she must be able to endure his dark storms of creative temperament as well as his demands for her constant attention, he in turn, must endure the moody and vexing disposition of her creative temperament. Thus the Artist/Muse 'relationship' can be (and often is) an emotionally savage dance done on the top of an artistic pinhead sharpened with the blade of intense inspiration.
Not even the gods can help the two if they fall from that pinhead. 
Yet the core of the artist/Muse relationship is, without a doubt, a kiss of nirvana.

"How does one find a Muse?" 
Only when one has the blessings of the Greek gods Zeus and Mnemosyne (the parents of the the original 9 Muses) can one be given a Muse. After that, just look for her.

"How will I know my Muse when I see her?"
Simple. You just know. You both know. The connection is apparent upon meeting.

Several commonalities exist when defining a Muse 
(not hard-fast rules but more-than-not):

• The Muse is highly intelligent. 
• The Muse has few friends
• The Muse is deeply passionate but keeps that side hidden from others.
• The muse is a very strong woman, often considering herself a feminist
• To the artist, the Muse is beautiful in an exotic, almost 'otherworldly' way. 
• The Muse is an artist herself. She has to be. Only another art-spirit can sincerely comprehend the soul of the artist.
• Either the artist or the Muse is already involved in a 'real world' marriage (Picasso had Muses on both sides of this coin). The artist and his Muse learn to work around such an obstacle, for the connection they share is stronger than that of the marriage.
• It is very rare that a Muse becomes a 'life partner' with the Artist, but it happens. Surrealist Salvador Dali married his Muse as did John Lennon.