Monday, February 16, 2009

Lady Bird Said That?

Art is the window to man’s soul. Without it, he would never be able to see beyond his immediate world; nor could the world see the man within. Lady Bird Johnson

I don’t often find myself quoting Lady Bird Johnson, but I ran across the above quote from her that I really love. It especially spoke to me because I’ve been spending a lot of time on my art lately. “My” art is stained glass mosaics and fused glass and recently, singing. I’d neglected them for quite a while but for the past six weeks I’ve been neglecting housekeeping and cooking to spend time cutting and melting and warbling. It is very satisfying to see or hear something that didn’t exist ever before and then it does exist because I created it. I thought it up, I shaped the pieces and I put them together differently than anyone else might have. Though the process is different from visual art, the song I sing won’t sound like anyone else’s, either. For some people, the creation of the art is enough, and it is powerful for me, too. But I guess I’m insecure enough that I also really enjoy the feedback I get from my art. Seeing someone wearing a piece of my jewelry or driving by a house and seeing a large piece of my mosaic hanging in the window is very rewarding. Hearing applause after a performance is the ultimate high for me. I guess I think it means the world approves of my “man within.” Sometimes I need that.

Stretch,
Jo

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