that is a pic of the earrings I designed recently for "Girl's Night Out", an upcoming fundraiser for a local women's shelter which I'll be attending as a vendor. I made 6 pair of these by hammering and soldering steel wire to form the symbol for "woman", and then adding a Sterling Silver earwire. I call them "strong woman" earrings, with the steel symbolizing the special sort of strength found in a woman who survives adversity and comes out shining.
I just came in from my nightly walk, wrote a long journal entry connecting music, visual art, and emotion, I tried to cut and paste something, and lost everything. So, faced again with this blank slate, what do I choose to retype? How about just these (now seemingly disjointed) bits:
"Late in the Evening" by Paul Simon is a song that will incite mad skipping or dancing down the street. If it doesn't at least make you want to tap or move your shoulders a little, check your pulse, then turn up the volume and try again!
This week a couple of scientists were on the radio discussing the connections between music and memory and how it pertains to alzheimer's patients. I found the commentary fascinating and enjoy wondering about the special artsy place which exists in the brain...one which processes music, art, etc., and is akin to the depths of the ocean in terms of how little anyone understands it...it is exciting to think of all the strange little brain-crustaceans coming out to play when you listen to your favorite tunes or gaze upon something beautiful.
Also in my original post were some quotes on art...here's Edgar Allen Poe's two cents:
"Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it 'the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.' The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of 'Artist.' "
This is an important quote for me as it expresses an idea I discussed a while back with a truly gifted artist...the idea of "translation" being an artist's chief duty...to take notice of something, and reflect it back to a wider audience in a way that sheds some light upon it's secret message. Pablo Casals said, "sometimes I look at a tree or a flower and I cry at its beauty." It is the communication of these moments of reverence, whether it be through music, visual art, or prose which I believe is an artist's true purpose...The rest of us get to enjoy a human experience that is enriched because of it, and we also save that special place in our brain from getting all dusty!
In closing, I'd like to share some pics of a few of the items on my own inspiration wall...some things that make me happy, and exist only because someone took the trouble to translate their perceptions:
"You make me feel like dancing"
-Leo Sayer