Artists are unique. Great ones can reach into our souls and pull on our emotional triggers.
As a new day arrived, the shade of the morning sun was distinctly different. The orange colors I have grown used to were replaced by gentle yellow pastels, soft in the mix early morning mix of marine mist and desert sands. As the emotions of what I was seeing wash over me, I could hear voices, see paintings, and even touched sculptures of different artists I have met over the years. With each memory, I realized how important gifts of rare beauty are in my life. The lesson reminders include the following.
In the experience of an artist’s voice, I find a story and message. In an unguarded moment late at night in a small dingy club, a specific frame etched itself into my mind as I listened and observed a jazz singer through a 200mm lens. In that moment I experienced emotions so intimate and personal that I pur my camera away and simply sat motionless as she finished her set. The lesson of the power of raw honest emotions changed my view of those closest to my heart including Divinity herself.
In being led by an artist to experience a perspective I never imagined, from tag-free graffiti zones to Bible stories to how individuals see her/himself, I discovered the ways honest emotions can open the doors to deeper understanding. In the hands of trusted friends, the journey took me to new places which I now know as sanctuary, solitude, and inspiration.
An artist who made monumental sculptures which always moved invited me to pull and hang onto the exposed rope. The experience which followed, in my role of a banker working on Wall Street taken on a journey by a swinging sculpture with a force I never imagined, taught me to trust in the goodness of others.
In the soft pastels of the morning, I replayed the psalmist words with Divinity’s artists in mind; “Your thoughts – how rare, how beautiful! God, I’ll never comprehend them!” (Psalm 139.17)
