I believe in a Creator who is motherly and mothering: a mighty Collaboratrix—Keeper of Big Magic; inexhaustible Well of Image and Story; Gifter of the best words in the best order.

 

I believe that the creative life is inherently spiritual. That my worthiness will never come from a word count, positive review, social media following, title or award; and that to create authentically is to create from the inside out—to stop looking for myself with lanterns and know that I am lit from within.

 

I believe in the long and shared story of our lives—that the 10,000 ways we tell ourselves we’re separate are constructs that keep us from accessing the great root of our shared humanity.

 

I believe there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. That it is my human right and privilege to make the things I care about, and it is for all people.

 

I believe that art is not who I am but rather what I bring into the world. Like a mother, my job is not to judge my creations but to love them—to love the art; to love the artist who makes the art.

 

I believe that when I connect with the deepest, most authentic root of my being, my work has the capacity to provide deep nourishment, meaning and joy for myself and for others.

 

I believe that beautiful and terrible things will happen. And that through the strangeness and sorrows of life, we must keep folding the page so it points to the good part.

 

 

~*~

 

Therefore, I joyfully swear to seek the beautiful and count the positives. To remind myself that the sound of broken twigs is more likely a rabbit than a saber-tooth tiger.

 

I joyfully swear to be gentle with myself. To forgive myself for every perceived embarrassment, every missed mark or rejection.

 

I joyfully swear to remember that making art is a process, not a product. Without shame or apology, I will give myself time to rest and daydream. I will find time for play—to fill the creative well with laughter and connection.
 

I will allow myself to reinvent myself. To be a multi-passionate artist and human. To remind myself that the only useful title is what I am wanting to be “right now”.

 

I will be clear about my needs and desires with myself and others, and know that needing or wanting something does not make me weak.

 

I will see my tenderness and openness as a superpower for compassion, joy, wholeness and creativity.

 

I will aim high and embrace the outcomes and opportunities as they come and not as I wish they’d come.

 

I will celebrate each milestone.

 

I will remind myself that my art is not for everyone and that’s okay.

 

I will allow myself to pursue my curiosities, passions, and affinities, even when they differ from others. I understand that when I claim the things I stand for, some may feel threatened. I will claim them anyway.

 

I will write the books I want to read.

I will make the work I want to make.

 

I will rejoice each time I get in the ring, knowing there are people who are hungry for the work I make.

 

I will tell the truth. I will lean into vulnerability.

 

I will cultivate a thick skin and a tender heart.

 

I will stop giving people I don’t even like control over my actions. I will constantly evaluate and re-evaluate whose criticisms I take to heart.

 

I will make room for wonder.

 

I will honor the body I live in, not merely tolerate it or wish it were different.

 

I will lead with gratitude and listen to the echo of the universe shouting it back in my direction.

 

I will say yes when I am enthusiastic and no when I feel drained.

 

I will advocate for myself and protect my artist self fiercely and at all times.

 

I will allow myself an entire lifetime to figure out what it is I’m here to say and make.

 

Proclaimed this 26th day of April, 2024

 

Rebe Huntman       

*Italicized phrases are references (in this order) to the words of Elizabeth Gilbert, Emily Dickinson, Rumi, Buckminster Fuller, Maira Kalman, Ocean Vuong, & Rachel Held Evans.