Category: Creativity

Art is a strange thing if you think about it. How can something that someone painted or sculpted mean so much to us.
But it does. If my house was burning I would run back in and get the art first. Of all my possessions , I would run in for the art. Art is one of a kind and totally irreplaceable.
You might be able to have the very same artist do a copy but it is not the same on any level.
Art cannot be mass produced.
that is why you pay so much for a live concert. They can do the same songs but it will be a unique experience. We are constantly changing and so what is done now will never be repeated.
I remember the first time I saw a Modigiani in person at the Chicago Art Institute. The real one was nothing remotely like the images in book . the real one had a presence that was overwhelming and shocking and earth shatteringly beautiful and so full of his artist soul that is was like looking into his eyes and seeing to forever.
So in reality that is why people pay a lot of money for art. It will be the most important material thing in your house. everything else can be duplicated but not original art.

In March my brother in law gave me some seed potatoes, I had never planted potatoes before, In March it was cold and blustery and I shoved them in the ground. Then little sprouts and green plants started growing in about a week, My granddaughter monitered the growth of these potatoes and I told her they would be purple. She did not believe me. Well last week we harvested the little purple jewels in the black dirt. Such a big plant that you have to pull out to get the potatoes. Clinging to the roots were the spuds. They were just so purple and red and white too, Digging in the ground we found several big loose ones too which was a surprise. We washed them off and cooked them and then put a lot of butter on and ate them. That very act of eating something that was once a seed and you watered and now you are eating was like becoming connected to the beauty of the earth.
When you see food in stores, it is unrelated to your hands and growth and love and earth. It is passive.
I would say that those potatoes were the best I ever had. earth to mouth in about 10 minutes. quite a short time. I could feel the vitamins in them. they tasted like the earth that they grew in.
It was such an organic experience to share with my granddaughter.
It was like being Christoper Columbus and discovering a new thing.

I just thought of this and it happened a long time ago. I was painting and then I remembered Phong.
He is a Vietnamese young man who used to work at a beauty school near my house. One time I went there for a haircut just to see how it would be and Phong happened to be working when I walked in. He was very quiet and just kind of nodded to me. He did not ask what kind of cut I wanted. I just looked at me for what seemed a long time. Then he began to cut my hair. It was not like any other haircut I have ever had. It was like he was race cutting. Hair was flying all over and he just kept going. His hands flew over my head pulling and pushing my hair all over. He did not section it off like usual. He did not even use a comb. Just his fingers.
Phong could not have been more than 18. So young to go so fast.
When he finished he said ok and I paid him and left. My hair was so wonderful and it layed against my head like it was sculptured. It was fantastic. I think Phong charged me 10 dollars.
Naturally went back in a month thinking I would ask for him for sure but he was gone. He opened his own shop somewhere and I never saw him again.
That is what it is like when painting or anything else goes well. You may never have that exact experience again. when effortless and perfection meet there is a glimpse of heaven.

Last night I had this idea. Everyone on earth seeks truth and beauty. Without those two things nothing has any value. Nothing. It just depends on what your idea of truth is . Your idea of beauty will follow your truth. That is why we have conflict. Not everyone agrees what is true so beauty will be different.

Liberals and conservatives both seek beauty through their truth. One person thinks if we just made guns illegal then there would be less deaths by guns and that is beautiful and worth fighting for. The other side says well if we all have guns the playing field is leveled against criminals so that is beautiful. People who think it is good to blow up others to please their god – that is beautiful to them.

Some people think Global Warming is a threat to survival so it is beautiful to fight to change other peoples habits. And those that pierce their body and do it even to an extreme think it is beautiful because it is truly different. Art is the same. the artist feels compelled to contribute work to society for the simple reason that it is beautiful. IT is true and so it is beautiful. I came to this conclusion after asking myself what truth does my work have to offer if any and was it even relevant enough to go on doing it. I really wanted to have a good reason.

And this is my conclusion: Beauty is always worth fighting for and striving for and seeking after. Truth and beauty are the only things that give any satisfaction to life. And because we are relational we have to share it or it is meaningless. This made me think about how we all relate to each other. We are coming from the same place fundamentally. We just disagree on what is truth and therefore what is beauty.