Vince Pitelka on thu 2 jan 03
I wrote the following message to Clayart late on New Years Eve, and it never
appeared on the list, so here it is again. Happy New Year -
- Vince
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Steve's message about his new baby was delightful. What a great Christmas
gift and New Years blessing. Hey Steve - make sure that your new child gets
both a Christmas and a Birthday celebration every year.
My second grandson Luca Carpen Pitelka was born on Thanksgiving morning, and
my wife and I have been out in LA for the past two weeks enjoying the
holidays with family, especially with my son, daughter in law, and two
grandsons. Almost every day I have taken my 19-month-old grandson Ravi for
hikes up into the San Gabriels, riding on my back in a Kelty kid-carrier
pack. It has been an immeasurable joy.
This afternoon a thick fog was hugging the mountain peaks, and as I was
coming back down the Lower Sam Merrill trail with Ravi on my back, we
dropped down out of the fog to witness the most spectacular sunset. It was
absolutely incredible, with linear streaks of vapor zig-zagging across the
horizon and brilliant rose-colored clouds overhead. We both stared in awe,
and then Ravi said "WOW," currently one of his favorite new words. He is
delightful.
This wonderful discussion about the Union Station art installation gives me
hope. I am an idealist, perhaps to a fault, and I believe in the power of
art to change things for the better. Among my wishes for the new year, I
hope that a lot more young (and old) artists like Clinton Boisvert take the
initiative to produce political art that will get people's attention and
make them think. We need that so badly today. It is folly to underestimate
the power of political art, traditional or contemporary, just like it is
folly to underestimate the power of youthful enthusiasm.
During a live performance in the 1970s Tom Leherer said that he was engaged
in a scientific project to prolong adolescence beyond all previously known
limits. The luckiest people in the world are those who retain youthful
enthusiasm into old age. I believe that youthful energy and enthusiasm
prolonged into maturity have been responsible for much of the brilliance and
innovation in the world.
Okay, enough rambling. Happy New Year everyone. Let's do everything we can
in 2003 to promote world peace and economic and social justice.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
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