A New Year for More Art

Source: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/

I shouldn't be surprised that the end of another year has rolled around. Still, I can't help thinking, "2017 already? How did it get here so fast?" Maybe because I engaged in a lot of deeply satisfying travel and art activities, the months simply sped by. The old expression that time flies when you're having a good time is the perfect answer.

Thank you for accompanying me during these months of posting about my experiences with and thoughts about art, whether locally or in another country. I very much appreciate your communications. Even if you don't comment, that you're out there reading my blog is a companionable gesture in itself.

I'm going to complete 2016 and begin 2017 with some quotes to reflect on. These are from On Art and Mindfulness, by artist, author, and physicist Enrique Martínez Celaya.

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Gleann Fhiodhaig, Scotland. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/.

Being an artist is not a posture or a profession, but a way of being in the world and in relation to yourself....Understanding who you are as an artist should be thought of as a life-long process inseparable from your work....Growth does not have to be systematic. The way of the artist is a meandering path.                                                                           

"Migrant Mother" (1930s), by Dorothea Lange. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/

The qualities that distinguish great art from the rest are, directly or indirectly, related to ethics. At the heart of great art you will find love and compassion....A great work of art cannot come from  hatred or cynicism.  

"Frau, Korb tragend (before 1918), by Käthe Kollwitz.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/

Balancing Act, Quinn Dombrowski. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/

There is no comfortable foundation for an artist to stand on. Do not look for it, and if you find it, get off it....An artist’s practice should account for uncertainty and instability that is always part of an honest inquiry. Expect change. Embrace accidents and mistakes.

Western Bluebird at Ralph B. Clark Regional Park, Buena Park, CA. Photo by Davefoc. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/

Art tends to be a solitary experience for the artist, but it becomes less so if you have some relationship with nature and if your work is connected to life.

Arches National Park, Utah. Photo by Don Graham. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/

According to poet Mary Oliver, “The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.” Next year, don't look back on 2017 with regret. Pick up your pen, needle, spindle, brush, or whatever you use and start creating today.

Dawn at the Coorong National Park, South Australia. Photo by Mundoo. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Happy New Year!
May 2017 dawn bright with creative promise for you.