My brothers and I grew up in an “artistic” household. Of course, we were unaware of this at the time. We thought we were normal kids from a normal family. We knew our parents were involved in the arts and mother painted and dad did something called “architecture.” As we got older we began to appreciate the significance of our family “artistic-ness.” Our parents raised us in a home full of beautiful things in an atmosphere of tolerance, encouragement, praise, and affection.
Art, I came to realize, was not so much about pictures in frames, hanging on the wall. Art, above all, was about awareness. “Carpe Diem” could have been our family motto. The mantra that rang through our lives was, “This is the day which the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it.” From my parents, I learned that art comes from savoring the small stuff. The essential joy in life is found in the little things. keep your heart and eye open-let nothing worthwhile escape your notice or be taken for granted.
As my mother noted in a quote by Emerson, I embrace the common, I explore and sit at the feet of the familiar, the low. Give me sight into today. As an artist, I have discovered that you can study the masters, you can learn techniques, and you can develop a style. All that artful work comes to nothing, however, if you do not have an appetite for life.
