Art

Art is freedom. It is one’s ability and means to create one’s own world as one sees fit, establish its environment, and set its rules. In that, they hold complete power over that universe, as they enter and exit it at will. Their creation is their sanctuary to do as they please, and it will be their only one when they have none else left.

Art is peering into the future. It is realizing the sculpture in raw stone, the picture on a blank canvas, the words on a clean page. Art is a journey between the possibilities of the future and the reality of the present. Art transcends languages, cultures, and time. It conveys long-vanished civilizations into those that later evolved, giving them continuity beyond their lifetimes and a means to thrive. The soul of those ancient cultures weaves into the civilizations that proceeded them, teaching, guiding, and inspiring their evolutionary steps.

The gift of art is provided to each person in measured quantities. No two people are allotted the same. We label it talent, genius, wisdom, and skill, but like art itself, it cannot be fully described through other means. It is up to the individual to put these abilities to good use. It is a power and a strength we each possess that permits us to reside in spaces and times we have uniquely fashioned and to bring others along for the journey.

There are no shortcuts in art. The muse that governs these virtuosities requires patience, maturity, and trust in order to appear. There is no pulling on the muse to arrive at will, no drug or medicine to bring it forth. Those who try such shortcuts risk receiving a diminished form of that wonder, or, worse, hurting her and themselves in the process. Hosting the muse demands respect and graciousness, humility and decency, sincerity and love. When done properly, it renders us better human beings and brings out the best in those who surround us and in our art.