Art as a Way of Living.
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“ There’s no retirement for an artist, it’s a way of living so there’s no end to it.” -Henry Moore
We don’t actually have to produce artwork to be an artist. Art is a way of living. Creativity is a way of expressing our unique nature in everything we do. This means seeing beyond our eyes as we look for and discover the essence of everything that we encounter. The creative mind is always alert and ready to find meaning in the ordinary. A creative person is constantly making unexpected connections.
↑ © Elsa Mora
There was a woman who had been depressed for years. She felt extremely guilty over the death of her nephew. They were on the top of a tall mountain. She asked her 20-year-old nephew not to walk too close to the edge of the cliff, but he wouldn’t listen. The young man had a fatal accident: he fell from the cliff and died. Even several years later, his aunt wasn’t able to recover from the trauma. Then, one day someone suggested that she think about the accident in a totally different way: “think about your nephew as a leaf falling from a tree. Humans are like leaves after all, we all fall from the tree sooner or later. Your nephew is now part of nature.” That opened a unnexpected door for the woman. It was the end of her depression and the beginning of a more enlightened approach to life. (This is a true story).
Creativity is the power of re-inventing reality with the use of imagination. This is how artists create their unique worlds. You can do this everyday. You can allow your imagination to exercise its power by expanding your vision. Instead of sticking to the established way, come out with your own terms, your own ideas, and life will become a lot more interesting.
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I am enjoying your thoughts about art so much…I do identify with “seeing beyond the eyes”, especially when it comes to my poetry writing. Thanks again for creating this site. It’s a joy to visit!
Sherri B. recently posted..Iphoneography and the Painterly Effect
Thanks Sherri! I’m so glad to hear that you’re enjoying this site
Yes! Thanks Elsita for more zeroing in on the expanse of what-is-art. And thank goodness imagination and the spirits work in metaphors. Like dreams do! Blessed be a world that we can vision. To soften the blows. And make glorious impossibles. Weeeeee!
Susan Wells recently posted..On the Way to Coyote Lane
Thank you for your words, Susan! They always put a smile on my face
I’m beginning to be able to look back on some long years of being an artist now. I’m 51 and decided I was going to be an artist when I was about seven and have never described myself as anything else, even when there were long patches in my life when the art making was thin on the ground (like when I was busy creating babies!) I’ve put it as my profession on every form I’ve had to fill in since then as well. Something about claiming it like that, as my way, from an early age, has affected the whole bearing of my life and your first paragraph sums up the way I have lived. Now it’s interesting for me to see the ongoing effects in the lives of my young adult children. My husband and I work in more traditional mediums. I draw and he’s a sculptor. Our kids now have all started adult lives, in different creative mediums- film, music, graphic design, textile arts. I’ve noticed that they don’t question whether to be artists, or if they are artists, or even use that word as a description for themselves. It’s like ‘art as a way’ was the soil they were raised in and so is just a part of everything they do now. I like thinking of their following generations who’ll probably have the same creative ease and that my little seven year old’s brave decision to say she was going to be an artist will have had such long reaching effects.
Dear Nicola, I loved reading your comment. It’s beautiful that your children have started adult lives in creative fields. I’m sure that you and your husband planted some important seeds in them when they were little. Now you can both see the results and feel proud.
My daughter Natalie is like the 7-year-old you. She is very firm in her idea of being an author and an illustrator when she grows up. It amazes me how much clarity she has about what she wants to do in the future. My son Diego wants to make animation movies. He’s also very passionate about his plans for the future. In 10 years I am going to be your age. I get excited about the very idea of enjoying what my children are going to do when I’m that age.
Much love to you and your family!
Elsita
Ельза спасибо большое, что ты открыта миру и людям.
благодарю тебя!!!