Joseph Campbell said, “The way of the artist and the way of the mystic are very much alike, except the mystic does not have a craft.” Creativity is not just a personal tool for our projects. It’s an alignment with a higher intelligence. The creative process allows us to have a conversation with Something greater [ Read more … ]
artist
The brilliance of painter Robert Henri
One of my favorite books about art-making and creativity is Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit. Here are a few passages that stood out to me: “…we must get rid of this outside feeling of looking in on art. We must get on the inside and press out. Art is simply a result of expression during [ Read more … ]
check out my article in Medium: The power of thinking in shapes
There’s a reason bank buildings are square. There’s a reason that when we need rest we go to a large body of water… or the desert. There’s a reason web designers use lots of white space. (Space allows readers’ eyes — and brains! — to stay calm so they can absorb the material.) There’s a [ Read more … ]
Our world needs the artist’s cognitive capacities
The physicist Arthur Zajonc says that our culture needs the artist’s cognitive capacities. But what ARE those cognitive capacities? Perhaps those capacities include the artist’s willingness to be confused, welcoming any unlikely connection that shows up. Perhaps it’s his or her sensitivity to nuance and qualities of beauty that others miss. Perhaps artists are more [ Read more … ]
Art is love ~ Paul Reynard
The artist Paul Reynard wrote: “A work of art is necessarily incomplete. It is a way of learning.” We’re all in this process of art-making, whether we think of ourselves as artists or not, because we’re all learners. Reynard was asked before he died, “What is the place of art in contemporary life?” He responded, [ Read more … ]