I saw this T-shirt recently that said:
"EARTH without ART is just "EH"
Right?
Life on this Earth would be pretty boring and uninspiring without the creative spirit, without art, that is so distinctly human.
Try to imagine a world without a painting by your favorite painter -- Van Gogh's Starry Night maybe. And where would we be without Frida Kahlo, Henri Matisse, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and so so many other painters.
Or without the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Beethoven, the Beatles, Jay Z, Snoop Dog, Loggins and Messina, or Freddy Mercury ...
And we would be missing so much if we didn't have the photographs of Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lang, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Carrie Mae Weems, or Gordon Parks ...
And I cannot forget to mention the world of dance, one of the oldest expressions of ritual, social and spiritual art forms. Every culture has its dances, and every human being has dance inside them, whether they are able to fully move or not. We say "if you can move, you can dance." Even if it's just your hand or finger or eyes. Like a client I had who was almost completely immobile except for his hands and face. When he heard music, his face lit up and his hands gracefully waved back and forth. It was heartwarming to all of us.
I'm leaving out many other art forms - like fiber arts, sculpture, architecture, literature, theater, digital, film, etc - but you get the idea.
We humans have been making some form of art since at least 40,000 years ago, and possibly even 52,000 years age - animals, plants, celestial bodies, humans.
And who knows about abstract art -- which might have been some lines and curves drawn in the sand with a stick simply for the joy of it, or a "purposeless" movement to the rhythm of ocean waves, or a rock pounded rhythmically on a log. The website www.visual-arts-cork.com even mentions some petroglyphs dating back possibly as far as 290,000 - 700,000 BCE. I can't even!
So now you're wondering "where do I fit in?"
If you're already making a great living from your art, fantastic! Kudos to you!
Or you're making art simply because it relaxes you.
Or maybe you're at the other end of the spectrum and have just some undefinable stirrings within you that need to get out, but you have no idea how to do that.
Maybe you're struggling with something stopping you from exploring or immersing yourself fully in your art.
A day job with the boss from hell
A relationship at loggerheads 3 times a week
Anxiety or depression - or both
Your life is just "EH" -- or worse.
Did you know you can use the arts to
get through your toughest blocks that keep you from making your best, most mind-blowing art yet?
discover what secrets your art is telling you about yourself?
get your depression, anxiety and buried anger out in a safe way and conquer them too?
systematically explore different art forms to discover your particular mode of expression?
All of these are true!