Express Yourself

My husband is so wonderful. He hates to shop, yet spent two hours in the heat and humidity, which he may dislike even more than shopping! We enjoyed the Laumeier Sculpture Park Art Fair this weekend and found this metal peacock for our garden. We both agree it may have been a purchase-on-a-whim, but we couldn’t pass up his face. After placing it in a suitable spot, it looks as if this peacock has found a home.

The artists at the fair expressed themselves in unique ways. I enjoyed speaking with them and hearing their stories. Booths of wooden and whimsical creations resided next to intricate silver lace, which sat alongside beautiful sculptures and paintings. The Mud Poet was so excited to show me his “lazy Susan-style” pottery, which must be turned to read the entire poem. His mantra is, “Don’t become famous for doing something you don’t like.” He clearly lives his passion as do many of the other artists I met; each following their own path to enlightenment.

God stretched out the heavens, stippling the night with impressionistic stars. [God] set the sun to the rhythm of the day, the moon to the rhythm of the month. . . . [God] formed a likeness of [God’s own self] from a lump of clay and into it breathed life. [God] crafted a counterpart to complete the likeness, joining the two halves and placing them center stage in [God’s] creation where there was a temptation and a fall, a great loss and a great hiding. God searched for the hiding couple, reaching to pick them up, dust them off, draw them near. . . . In doing all this, God gave us art, music, sculpture, drama, and literature . . . as footpaths to lead us out of our hiding places and as signposts to lead us along in our search for what was lost. . . .We must learn to look with more than just our eyes and listen with more than just our ears. . . . We must be aware, at all times and in all places, because windows are everywhere, and at any time we may find one. . . .What do we see in those windows? What do we see of who we are, or once were, or one day might become? What do we see of our neighbor living down the street or our neighbor living on the street? What do we see about God? ~ Ken Gire

If God is creator, and we are made in God’s image or Imago Dei, then we are, in our essence, creators. We are, in our essence, artists. Therefore, when we open ourselves to the expression of creativity, we also open to the movement of the Divine within us. ~ Christine Valters Paintner and Betsey Beckman