Be An Artist

"Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate."

- Harvey Fierstein

There is something that profoundly connects us all at the level of the heart. We don't realize it, we may not agree with all of its expressions. In fact we may be infuriated by it or fall deeply in love with it. It touches us in every area of our lives whether we know it or not.

Art.

What is art?

A standard definition of art is "works created by human creative skill and imagination." I grabbed that definition from a Google search. I like that definition, because it is open. It doesn't specify fine art, visual art, performance art, commercial art, and the like... but it encompasses all of it.

My mother was a lover of folk art. Our house was filled with folk art, especially Mexican and Central American. As an avid traveller she would frequently bring me folk art representations of cats (I now have a great collection). It all means something.

It means something to the one who created it. It means something to the one who enjoys it. The meanings may not, and frequently are not, the same.

We bring to our experience of art our own history and belief system.

Art has the power to transform our beliefs. It can be challenging, and if we are open, it can deepen our knowledge and enrich the experience of life.

So this is all something that we all may know, or have learned or studied. What it isn't for many of us is a way of life we feel we can be involved in.

Do you consider yourself an artist? If you do, that's wonderful! If not then I offer you an opportunity to change your mind (after all it is your mind... you get to change it if you want).

Deepen into your imagination and see what arises. Then let yourself express it free of judgment. The "free of judgment" is important. Art ultimately isn't created for anyone else – it is created for the artist.

Dare to be an artist. You can change the world.