Erin on sat 21 aug 04
Hello,
First of all, thank you from a new subscriber and new student of pottery for
many stimulating discussions.
Although I am "re"new to pottery, I have been writing poetry and weaving
tapestery for over 20+ years. I am also the program director of our local
arts council. So, I feel like I might have a little to add to the question:
why does it seem like some people do NOT create art or feel the need to
create art?
I believe that most people create art where their passion most lies. That
said, much of this "art" does not fall into the category of fine art or
visual art. There is an art to a perfectly run marathon, a beautifully
planned garden, an expressive piano concerto, etc. There are so many
different types of "talent," kinetic, interpersonal, aesthetic... The real
shame is that western education has relegated some talent as inferior to
others - therefore a young person who is talented in throwing pots is chided
to do something worthwhile like become a doctor or engineer, denying that a
talent in visual arts is as worthwhile as a talent in numbers or
book-learning.
This denial of passion leads to entire lives filled with dry depression. If
only our culture could embrace the wide variety of beauty and skill in this
old world, wouldn't we all be happier? If the ability to make money were not
penultimate we would all be free to explore our passions. So why are some
people not driven to create art? It's been squelched out of them, by our
educational system and by the god of "money," among other things. We can
each start a revolution by helping folks explore their passions, even if
they will never be a classically trained painter, play their violin at
Carnegie Hall, or have their pottery at the American Craft Museum. And
craftspeople will abound, because when someone is passionate about a
subject, they will gladly devote their entire lives to learning about it,
and perfecting it.
thanks for your patience,
Erin
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