Daily Question, September 7 What is the place of art in my life? As an appreciator? As a creator? 40 Reflections Share Click here to cancel reply.Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment. Notify me when someone replies to my comment via e-mail. Carol A4 months agoCarol AMy role is primarily as an appreciator of art, though I enjoy photography and am building an album of “Art in the Daily”, which heightens my attention to the ordinary, ever-surrounding beauty of creation. The pandemic has prompted me to set aside an hour each for virtual visits to online exhibits, smarthistory.org being a favorite. 0 Reply Malag4 months agoMalagOne of the first things I did when the lockdown eased was visit an art gallery. I needed to experience some beauty that another human had created, see their perspective on life, feel the sacred space devoted to colour and the swirl of a brush I have dabbled in creativity in my time, currently, sporadically, photography. 1 Reply Dusty Su4 months agoDusty SuBoth! We possess the ability to create and appreciate, and I’d venture to say we do. The failure may be that we do not recognize those abilities and the gifts die with us. 2 Reply Don Jones4 months agoDon JonesThe arts help me understand and to an extent express the ineffable. Primarily as an appreciator but as a form of self expression, also as a creator. 3 Reply Glenn Laundre4 months agoGlenn LaundreI feel art as another’s represent the spirit. I feel closer, Spoken to. As a poet and uneducated artist I feel it as a prayer coming through me. All art, even the most repulsive is a true representation of love. 3 Reply Jill4 months agoJillI am both. I don’t believe anyone can be a creator without being an appreciator. There is no end to beauty: a morning sunrise, an evening sunset, stars and moon, and the cycle begins again including all nature: the beautify of a river, a wolf on its shore, the eagle in the sky, majestic trees, and flower-adorned meadows. I’ve worked in photography, and I admire painters in all media, but have not the patience to paint. My art lies truly in words, and we all have stories to tell. Some will h...I am both. I don’t believe anyone can be a creator without being an appreciator. There is no end to beauty: a morning sunrise, an evening sunset, stars and moon, and the cycle begins again including all nature: the beautify of a river, a wolf on its shore, the eagle in the sky, majestic trees, and flower-adorned meadows. I’ve worked in photography, and I admire painters in all media, but have not the patience to paint. My art lies truly in words, and we all have stories to tell. Some will heal the writer and/or others, some will bear warnings, all contain wisdom if we have eyes to see. Poetry is the prophet of the future, the memories of the past. Music and dance contain the beauty of energy and graceful joyousness. But all life is beauty when we come to understand the magic of our lives, the gifts and love it can hold. All of us see differently, have different talents, likes and dislikes, and I am grateful for the diversity in people and in art. Bravo all. Read More3 Reply Mica4 months agoMicaArt is a treat – seeing it, making it, and contemplating making it. I like to make art from recycled things, and I have fun imagining what I’ll make, as I take broken things apart. I’m behind ‘schedule’ on my creations now, given that the county fair was cancelled, but that’s fine. 5 Reply Nancy Walton-House4 months agoNancy Walton-HouseThe arts are very important to me. My father was a nationally known public speaker and storyteller. He coached me from the 6th grade on to be public speaker, debater and actress. I won public speaking and oral interpretation contests in grade school, high school and at a liberal arts college where I majored in speech and drama. I have always loved the human story told in prose, poetry, live theater and film. I also love the musical and visual arts. Learning and appreciating the humanities ...The arts are very important to me. My father was a nationally known public speaker and storyteller. He coached me from the 6th grade on to be public speaker, debater and actress. I won public speaking and oral interpretation contests in grade school, high school and at a liberal arts college where I majored in speech and drama. I have always loved the human story told in prose, poetry, live theater and film. I also love the musical and visual arts. Learning and appreciating the humanities through artistic expression helps us understand, value and protect life in its myriad forms. I hope in this age of STEM, we remember what helps us to be fully human and to appreciate our common humanity. The future of people and our planet depend on it. Read More3 Reply Vikram4 months agoVikramI am not a creator of art. That is one area of skill where I do not have any natural talent nor have I made any effort to develop artistic skill or creativity. I am an appreciator. Art made by human intellect and hands is undoubtedly very impressive and inspiring; it takes meticulousness and arduous efforts to produce masterpieces, whether they are renowned or not. It is a combination of God-given talent and hard work and determination as well as the opportunity to execute those skills. I am ...I am not a creator of art. That is one area of skill where I do not have any natural talent nor have I made any effort to develop artistic skill or creativity. I am an appreciator. Art made by human intellect and hands is undoubtedly very impressive and inspiring; it takes meticulousness and arduous efforts to produce masterpieces, whether they are renowned or not. It is a combination of God-given talent and hard work and determination as well as the opportunity to execute those skills. I am more an appreciator of Nature. That kind of magnificence all the way from a blade of grass and from the depths of the seas to the vast expanse of space is simply unparalleled in beauty. The fact that no two days are the same and that the parameters that govern our world and universe are still not comprehensible takes a different kind of genius, whether you call it Nature, the universe, or God. It is an undeniable presence and a creator of infinite possibilities. I appreciate that art more than anything. It is very humbling to know that there’s so much that is unknown and that we are nowhere even close to the center or even close to being significantly important in the grand scheme of this artwork. Absolutely marvelous! Read More4 Reply Jill4 months agoJillNature IS art. Bless you. 3 Reply Ose4 months agoOseThank you very much for your humble and so moving post, dear Vikram. I feel gifted by your sharing. You are new here, I suppose, please feel warmly welcome. Blessings to you. 3 Reply Maeve4 months agoMaeveArt is essential to everyone’s life in one form or another. In the last few years, I take a lot of photos- to capture the beauty in the moment: whether trees, plants, houses, people canning, the cats resting. How could we live without art? Cooking a meal with care is art; organizing, cleaning and making my bed is art. Art is creating beauty and order, and being open to it around us. 4 Reply Pollyanna Gladwell4 months agoPollyanna GladwellI am both appreciator and creator. I own some beautiful pieces of sculpture, paintings and large format photographs printed in the rare and beautiful carbon pigment process. Sadly I don’t have enough space to have them all with me at the moment, so I have lent some to friends who appreciate them until –hopefully – I can reclaim them. A lot more is in storage with a friend. I inventoried them recently and it was sad. Perhaps I need to sell them so I can have a larger space but th...I am both appreciator and creator. I own some beautiful pieces of sculpture, paintings and large format photographs printed in the rare and beautiful carbon pigment process. Sadly I don’t have enough space to have them all with me at the moment, so I have lent some to friends who appreciate them until –hopefully – I can reclaim them. A lot more is in storage with a friend. I inventoried them recently and it was sad. Perhaps I need to sell them so I can have a larger space but then I won’t have them to grace my space! In the time before, when we could travel, visiting art galleries and museums was always top of my list of sightseeing. I have seen a lot of second-rate stuff, despite the fame of the artist, but when the jewel among the dross is viewed, tears run unbidden down my face. I share a studio now and am painting again when I can. Sometimes I love the results, but not always. Making the invisible visible – the measure of art for me – is often elusive, but the striving is so worthwhile. I have been so busy helping a friend with legal work that my studio time has been necessarily curtailed recently. But tomorrow I will go back and immerse myself in color. My soul is crying for it. And for live performances of theatre, opera and music. How I miss them. I’m so grateful that this question was asked today because it has caused me to reflect that art holds a hugely important place in my life and instead of missing it, I can create it. Read More6 Reply Linda4 months agoLindaI make art so it is central to my life. It is a wonder to make things that come from a different part of me–the art takes over and I am continually amazed at what comes out of my endeavors. 3 Reply Arleen4 months agoArleenI have had an interest in photography for a long time. Last year during the coursework for a Master’s degree in Spiritual Direction, I did a project on contemplative photography and enjoyed it thoroughly. Now that my MS is finished, I have time to get back to contemplative photography. I enjoy receiving images and trying to ascertain it’s the message. So to make a long story short: I am a creator of art that places a highly valued place in my life? It expresses as a metaphor what I am ...I have had an interest in photography for a long time. Last year during the coursework for a Master’s degree in Spiritual Direction, I did a project on contemplative photography and enjoyed it thoroughly. Now that my MS is finished, I have time to get back to contemplative photography. I enjoy receiving images and trying to ascertain it’s the message. So to make a long story short: I am a creator of art that places a highly valued place in my life? It expresses as a metaphor what I am feeling. Read More2 Reply Michele4 months agoMicheleI thoroughly enjoyed placing each piece of artwork/picture in my house to make it a home. I don’t have one particular style but I love nature, siamese cats and I have my mom’s borzoi paintings. I especially love a lesbian last supper I have hanging in my dining room. I appreciate Monet, Van Gogh, Timothy Sorsdahl, Shawna Erback and would like to learn more about art. As far as a creator, that’s a joke, I am not a craft/painter person at all. I do have to include Irish dance. I did Irish Ce...I thoroughly enjoyed placing each piece of artwork/picture in my house to make it a home. I don’t have one particular style but I love nature, siamese cats and I have my mom’s borzoi paintings. I especially love a lesbian last supper I have hanging in my dining room. I appreciate Monet, Van Gogh, Timothy Sorsdahl, Shawna Erback and would like to learn more about art. As far as a creator, that’s a joke, I am not a craft/painter person at all. I do have to include Irish dance. I did Irish Ceili Dancing for 11 yrs with the Timoney Irish Dancers (Philly based). Loved it! I remember first time watching Riverdance and was blown away. Read More3 Reply Javier Visionquest4 months agoJavier VisionquestLiving art – that place would be my own dermis. I don’t work in the industry any longer as diabetes and age chips away at my eyesight and I never liked collecting or had a proper space to store and utilize all the uni-tasky equipment required to tattoo. That said, I’m grateful to Ayla Roda taking me on as a client and am looking very forward to my appointment with her in October. The real work of art at hand is ourselves. We create heaven (or hell) right here, right in this moment, throug...Living art – that place would be my own dermis. I don’t work in the industry any longer as diabetes and age chips away at my eyesight and I never liked collecting or had a proper space to store and utilize all the uni-tasky equipment required to tattoo. That said, I’m grateful to Ayla Roda taking me on as a client and am looking very forward to my appointment with her in October. The real work of art at hand is ourselves. We create heaven (or hell) right here, right in this moment, through the experience of our own lives. It’s not “out there” waiting for us when we die after living a good life. It’s a collaborative and completely creative effort – A multiplicity of trial and error to the ends of transforming this very planet that we all share in common, from a galactic insane asylum to a paradise. But how do we actualize this state of grace that is inherent to each and every one of us if we cannot reconcile the division in our own minds and heal the wounds of separation in our hearts? How do we realize heaven without first becoming angels ourselves in the eyes of one another? Read More5 Reply Jill4 months agoJillBeautifully said. I agree. 2 Reply Carol4 months agoCarolYour response to the question is a work of art! 3 Reply Javier Visionquest4 months agoJavier VisionquestThank you, Carol. There are days when I’m inspired to pour my heart out here for our daily writing prompt (other days, not so much) and certainly not for the ¢heap currency of social media ‘likes’. I usually compose these entries during shifts at my unfulfilling retail job where my authentic work is placing myself in service to so many that I see held tightly in the grip of the deep trance states of ego identification and consumerism. When I’m able to reach through to even only just one...Thank you, Carol. There are days when I’m inspired to pour my heart out here for our daily writing prompt (other days, not so much) and certainly not for the ¢heap currency of social media ‘likes’. I usually compose these entries during shifts at my unfulfilling retail job where my authentic work is placing myself in service to so many that I see held tightly in the grip of the deep trance states of ego identification and consumerism. When I’m able to reach through to even only just one of my cherished customers it’s enormously and personally gratifying to know the world around me might just be shifting to a more loving and peaceful frequency, one heart at a time. Read More3 Reply Carol4 months agoCarolYou are a gifted writer and I’m quite sure an old (not in years but in wisdom) soul. 3 Reply Javier Visionquest4 months agoJavier VisionquestI’ll be 50 by the end of September, hence the occasion to finish up my ink 0 Reply Michele4 months agoMicheleThanks for your reflection – I totally forgot about my tattoos, they are artwork indeed:) I love when I get compliments on them. I’ve sat for 4 hrs for one and 5 for another. I think I have 9 total now, stopped counting lol. 3 Reply Javier Visionquest4 months agoJavier VisionquestThank You, Michele! We often overlook ourselves in prayer or whichever spaces of compassion we choose. At the end of the day we still need to care for ourselves before we’re of any help to anyone else. Isn’t it funny how we begin this journey with a single tattoo; after a couple years we’ve accumulated five or six, within a decade a dozen more to the point where their edges begin to overlap and stick together and we’re, essentially back to just one? Like the medium or not, my register at...Thank You, Michele! We often overlook ourselves in prayer or whichever spaces of compassion we choose. At the end of the day we still need to care for ourselves before we’re of any help to anyone else. Isn’t it funny how we begin this journey with a single tattoo; after a couple years we’ve accumulated five or six, within a decade a dozen more to the point where their edges begin to overlap and stick together and we’re, essentially back to just one? Like the medium or not, my register at work in the summertime is like a mobile 8-hour art exhibit! Keep cultivating the garden of your heart and share its bounty with anyone willing to accept your graces! Read More2 Reply Zenith4 months agoZenithArt is a priority for me. I find it curious that for someone who needs beauty around me as much as I do, that my circumstances do not allow me to invest in it. Very strange.. But beauty is essential to my well being. 3 Reply Mica4 months agoMicaThank you, Zenith – most of the art I have is from friends and family. My son said that made my art poor, but a gallery owner said it meant the art was really special to me. It’s not expensive, in either case. Do you ever make art? I like to do that, working with things that are ready to be discarded, often. I like to make ‘hi touch – hi tech’ art – parts from broken electronics and soft fabric-type things, sometimes assembled in an old picture frame. Hugs and ‘warm’ wishes to you – 2 Reply Mark Featherstone4 months agoMark FeatherstoneArts place (position) is fundamental in life… Art is creative activity… it’s the world around me and my response… it enables change…. without it I’d be like a cold hard rock traveling through space… being the appreciator of the world enables me to create a good life… Gratefulness is key to life... (Being the appreciator is like being in the back of the car, and seeing all this life around me, being the creator is like sitting in the drivers seat and responding to what I've exper...Arts place (position) is fundamental in life… Art is creative activity… it’s the world around me and my response… it enables change…. without it I’d be like a cold hard rock traveling through space… being the appreciator of the world enables me to create a good life… Gratefulness is key to life… (Being the appreciator is like being in the back of the car, and seeing all this life around me, being the creator is like sitting in the drivers seat and responding to what I’ve experienced) Read More5 Reply sunnypatti4 months agosunnypattiI am both! Art is all around us daily, and I appreciate the beauty of the sky and trees and the ocean and flowers. But I appreciate others' talents, too. A girl I work with was showing me paintings she had done. They looked like photos of work you would see in museums. Amazing! My favorite artists are musicians... I am a music junkie and love listening to all kinds of music and hearing how it all comes together. As for me, I create with food and surfing. Surfing is like painting - you are giv...I am both! Art is all around us daily, and I appreciate the beauty of the sky and trees and the ocean and flowers. But I appreciate others’ talents, too. A girl I work with was showing me paintings she had done. They looked like photos of work you would see in museums. Amazing! My favorite artists are musicians… I am a music junkie and love listening to all kinds of music and hearing how it all comes together. As for me, I create with food and surfing. Surfing is like painting – you are given this blank canvas of a wave to draw lines and connect with the power that is the ocean. As a cook, I love to create dishes, pair things you wouldn’t think go together, try new seasonings. I also create cheeseboards and am working on the artistry of that every chance I get! Read More5 Reply Trish4 months agoTrishI greatly appreciate the beautiful objects people can mold, carve, paint~almost like it’s coming out of the thin air. I don’t have those talents so I find them remarkable. Art is everywhere: I can create lovely meals & haunting poetry. It’s great fun to appreciate all the unique gifts of one another. 5 Reply Howie Geib4 months agoHowie GeibArt plays many roles in my life. Inspiration from the written words of others have deeply influenced my character (nods toward David Whyte). Paintings, buildings, music, sculpture, photography, film and dance all vessels to trigger my imagination and develop my own awareness of feelings which can slice through veiled prejudice and ignorance to deeply disturb my complacency or despair. I have been trained in several arts over the years. I have applied them in my way. My wish is that as people stu...Art plays many roles in my life. Inspiration from the written words of others have deeply influenced my character (nods toward David Whyte). Paintings, buildings, music, sculpture, photography, film and dance all vessels to trigger my imagination and develop my own awareness of feelings which can slice through veiled prejudice and ignorance to deeply disturb my complacency or despair. I have been trained in several arts over the years. I have applied them in my way. My wish is that as people stumble upon them now or in the future they gain some insight for themselves through that experience. Read More2 Reply 1 2 Next » My Private Gratitude Journal Write an entry in your private gratefulness journal Get Started This site is brought to you by A Network for Grateful Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax deductible in the U.S.A. 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