Yesterday I read “On Russian short stories, criticism, and how art won't heal us... (but gardens might?)” for self-centered reasons 😊. This morning with a clear head, I reread it to learn and dig deeper into my work. I have never thought of art as healing a viewer - so much. However, I can see how it could. From my perspective and conversations with other (primarily middle-aged female) artists, where I see art heal is in the making. Many of my art friends came to art to save themselves. Their making is their therapy from the painful life experiences we humans suffer. I do romanticize the idea that making art can heal the maker and the viewer. And if that does not work-study a garden. Study a garden that supports living organisms above and below ground like you would a complicated contemporary painting layered with modern industrial made and biblical materials, natural history, injustice, community, color, movement, and try to understand the symmetry in contemporary ecological balance and you will change how you see life. And isn’t how we see our mental health.
On Symbiosis- I have spent much of my life fearing failure and letting that dictate the challenges I take on. Now in my mid-60s, I know this is my last chance to see what I can achieve. I also know that the only way to find one's limits is to test them. I alone can not change the ecological path our civilization is on. But if my ideas touch one other person and that one person tells two people, and each tells two people, “We” can heal our planet. I believe in the people of Houston. Thank you Laura, your newsletter just told more than two people. Humans can be amazingly human. Tell two
Yesterday I read “On Russian short stories, criticism, and how art won't heal us... (but gardens might?)” for self-centered reasons 😊. This morning with a clear head, I reread it to learn and dig deeper into my work. I have never thought of art as healing a viewer - so much. However, I can see how it could. From my perspective and conversations with other (primarily middle-aged female) artists, where I see art heal is in the making. Many of my art friends came to art to save themselves. Their making is their therapy from the painful life experiences we humans suffer. I do romanticize the idea that making art can heal the maker and the viewer. And if that does not work-study a garden. Study a garden that supports living organisms above and below ground like you would a complicated contemporary painting layered with modern industrial made and biblical materials, natural history, injustice, community, color, movement, and try to understand the symmetry in contemporary ecological balance and you will change how you see life. And isn’t how we see our mental health.
On Symbiosis- I have spent much of my life fearing failure and letting that dictate the challenges I take on. Now in my mid-60s, I know this is my last chance to see what I can achieve. I also know that the only way to find one's limits is to test them. I alone can not change the ecological path our civilization is on. But if my ideas touch one other person and that one person tells two people, and each tells two people, “We” can heal our planet. I believe in the people of Houston. Thank you Laura, your newsletter just told more than two people. Humans can be amazingly human. Tell two