Spring

Spring is hope. Buds swell and ache to bloom. Tan becomes green. Birds gossip. There is a busyness in nature we all appreciate. It makes us feel good. Spring is exciting. People make plans in spring. The heavens open and new life presents itself.

In the spring, ideas for creating explode in my imagination like popping corn. At first, I try to write it all down so I won't forget. A futile effort I soon realize. Years of incomplete lists are tucked away in filing cabinets, many cover pages in sketch books, some float around the studio on scrap paper like dandelions in the wind, others are written and fading on table tops or hidden by dribbles of paint, many are lost. Caging ideas in a list quickly makes them stale. Popcorn is best eaten warm.

The Responsibility of an Artist

One would tend to think the simple act of creating is the sole responsibility of the artist. To my thinking, this isn't so. An aware artist knows the finest art is created when the artist is not the source of the art. In fact, the finest art is created when the artist is merely a conduit for the intelligence in the nothingness. The intelligence in the nothingness, being the energy source of all creation. Imagine an extension cord. One end plugging into the source of energy, the other delivering the energy. Think of the extension cord, as an umbilical cord. The umbilical cord has no ego, it is not a person. The umbilical cord is the transfer system of energy from the source to the destination, the evidence of creation. In my mind, the sole responsibility of an artist is to trust the source and deliver the creative energy unsoiled by ego. Isn't this the responsibility of everyone?