Hansel's Dad is a principal of a school in Costa Rica. The first time I ever visited--he set it up so I could host a workshop there for the kiddos. He assured me that the language barrier would not be a problem--with the little I know and the amount of English the students learn from first grade on--things would go great.
He was right. And it was lots of fun. And so different from any workshop I had ever done in schools in the United States. For one thing, the whole school participated--everyone was eager and excited to meet the Artist from the US.
Second, the thing that touched me the most, is that parents and grandparents and aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, and even a few random people in the neighborhood came as well--most bearing Art work that they wanted me to see.
I felt like a saint sitting in a chair having to hold and bless babies as people with great love in their eyes handed me a canvas or a drawing that they had done or a loved one had created.
Each person had the same thing to tell me--they were an Artist--or the person whom they loved that they were sharing their work was an Artist--and what could they do to get better.
These were, for the most part, poor people. People who live in secluded parts of the jungle--where actually having paints or nice paper to draw on is not a simple feat. These were people who barely finished grade school if they even did, had little homes squeezed full of children that needed to be fed, and no access to online workshops or fancy Artist retreats. But never once did any of them question if they were an Artist. No one was there looking for validation from me. No one was worried if what they were creating was considered Art or just being creative.
They saw me as a fellow Artist that came from a place of bread and butter--of opportunities out of their reach--all they wanted to know is just how to get better. To be a better Artist, which to them--and many Costa Ricans actually, is a way to even be a better human being.
In Costa Rica Art is part of life. You paint--you draw--you sculpt funny faces out of coconut shells--of course you're an Artists. No question about it.
Here in the United States, Art is not revered as a part of life. We separate it from everything else--thinking it's something we need to fit in-make time for-or treat ourselves to.
When I started to see and fully understand that Art IS a natural part of life--not just something to do--my compassion for those that struggle with wanting to be an Artist--with wishing they could find time/money/space to create grew deeper as well.
For me, Art is human nourishment. Simple as that.
And if at all possible, I choose to feed the masses, instead of a selective few.
6 comments:
When I was in college, I spent part of semester in Florence and also in London. What I loved was how accessible art was on a daily basis. Walking to school we passed by the Duomo every day. A detour to buy fresh bread and chocolate would take us to Santa Croce and the frescoes by Giotto. In London, the National Gallery was free and I would stop in for my lunch break, to grab a little art after my sandwich. Here, art has been kept locked up, entombed in special sanctuaries where we journey to see it (and isn't a museum trip exhausting? It shouldn't be!) Although, there are places were art is set free ...
this is what I strive for with my daughter - for her to experience art as part of the sacredness of everyday. I know infusing more art into my daily life has provided me the nourishment for a huge growth spurt!
xo Lis
(and what do you think ... creativity and prana ... isn't that what we open to when we practice? or is it, we take prana in and the natural expression of that energy is creativity? jai bhagwan my friend)
Oh wow, Connie, this has me tearing up. What a beautiful, soulful way of life...not just creating art but living it daily, knowing that what you do IS art. No fear of constraints. Thank you for sharing this.
xoxo~
~*~Nan~*~
So awesome! I remember doing art with students while on a mission trip to Mexico. Language was not a problem. We just created and enjoyed! It crossed any barriers. There is so much to learn from experiences like this. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful story.
In my former life as an archaeologist..... in my studies of other cultures, I learned that most peoples do not have a word to define themselves as an "artist". Yet ALL of them believe themselves to be so. In fact, require it and revere it as a normal, necessary - not extraordinary - part of their daily life.
Without such "artists", villages would not have had seamstresses, story tellers, home designers, builders and decorators, basket weavers, totem makers, etc. Making art is a large part of what makes us human - all of us. I believe it's second only to opposable thumbs and consciousness!
We are all called to be artists - co-creators with God. He made us this way. To take what he has given us and change it, depict it, explore it. Some make music, some create homes or houses, some paint, some sew, some make pottery. Life is about creating and we are all artists called to do our own work. That's my opinion and I am sticking to it! Yes, there are professional musicians and "artists" and potters and seamstresses and on and on. That does not change the fact that we are all called to create. Only in the U.S. and perhaps some other industrialized nations do we separate things and decide that this person is a musician and this one (even though she plays the organ at Sunday services)is not. This person is an artist because they studied it but this one (who paints pictures that hang on her house walls and her friends walls) is not. Silly really. It's a means to grabbing a box to keep some in and some out. I refuse to be in a box or put someone else in one. We have much to learn from so-called less developed nations. I think we have too much ego!
Thank you for this post. I live, breathe, and inhale art. I teach sixth grade and so many of them have alredy decided that they can' "do art." So, I haul in my stuff and encourage where I can.
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