Creating Heals....

 "My task which I am trying to achieve is, 

by the power of the written word, 

to make you hear, to make you feel — 

it is, above all, to make you see. 

That — and no more, and it is everything." 

                      Joseph Conrad

     As I ease into each new day, typically at 5:30 am, I reach for my coveted coffee and begin searching and posting for interesting facts and other information to share with my students. I gradually deepened my searches and interests, and began sharing my findings on facebook each morning as I sip that first cup of coffee.  

     My interest started as reading a quote a day, but then went on to include artist and historical birthdays and facts. One birthday I mentioned in todays post was that of Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness. While Conrad  does not hold a particular fascination for me, I was merely attracted to one of his quotes (The quote is the one mentioned above.) I then read a little of Conrad's biography since I wanted to share his birthday this morning on fb. 
     By the age of 12, both his parents had died of tuberculosis. Conrad's father was a poet and a translator; I assumed that at an early age, Conrad developed creative insight and interest. Conrad joined the Merchant Marine and travelled the world. One morning in particular, he just began writing...describing the sunlight on the "roofs and windows." Despite his loss, he never forgot beauty. ( He wrote, "It was an autumn day ... with fiery points and flashes of red sunlight on the roofs and windows opposite, while the trees of the square with all their leaves gone were like tracings of an Indian ink on a sheet of tissue paper.")

     As I read about Conrad this morning, I was reminded of several things. For one, I was reminded of the thankfulness I had that my mother read to me as a child. The stories were fantastic stirrings of the imagination and took me to places that were utterly delightful. I can still remember those stories to this day. Once, I translated one of the fables into my first successful piece of art...I drew what I imagined as it was read to me. I was appreciative of the travels and local color my father exposed me to. He pointed out the tiniest of details, such as the colors reflected in an old piece of brown glass we dug up in our yard.  These events began shaping the foundations of who I am today. 

     I began pondering how art, whether it be writing, music, dance, or the visual arts, appear to be developed from some sort of initial experience.  As I looked back at past postings, at the 'creatives' I have had the pleasure to connect with, and my own experiences, I found a renewed interest on how creativity and experience, especially painful ones, are so closely linked. 

     The visual arts, for me, have been a healing resource. As I have looked around, listened, and read, I noted in my readings and artist interviews that several 'creatives' I admire, have had an experience that has shaped them to respond to their lives in an esthetically moving way. I am more convinced now, more than ever, that the creative process is one of those inherent qualities that we all need to heal. I think more so that it is the drive to create the world to survive life and the experiences we endure that make our art and life more compelling. 
     As usual, tomorrow I will awaken and post about another amazing creative, or two. As I see it,  the infinite exposures of our lives, and  the glimpses looking into the lives of other creatives only fuels the energy and validates that art, in any form heals, and convinces us to really see.  

     Joseph, Thank you.  
     Mom and dad, THANK YOU. 
     To all of you who have helped shape my experiences, 
     THANK YOU!