Hi. It's nearly here again. Valentine's Day.
OK, don’t be like Van Gogh. I mean, do not despair, don’t cut off your ear and hand it to anyone, although that is one of my favorite Valentine cards – a smeary red heart shape and the copy reads: I hope you like this…. I did it with my ear.
Well, at least Van Gogh spent lots of time in the south of France, one of the loveliest regions on Earth, and at least his brother bought some of his work while he was alive. Van Gogh may have been a grouchy character, but he had interesting friends, too. I miss that there doesn’t seem to be coffee houses around now where artists and poets can and do meet to talk with each other about life and their creations. COVID notwithstanding, where are those coffee houses? Filled with people peering into laptops and phones. Not really conversing with anyone near them. It isn’t okay.
Artist who become famous after they are dead don’t make me happy. I’m glad someone had the forethought to buy the work while the artist lived but for only the collectors to make money from the art is very sad. I’m telling you, buy art you enjoy now from living artists. Go into hock for a piece if you really like it. It is a better addiction than booze or gambling. Fill your walls with real handmade by the artist art. Buy a scarf that was knitted by a person rather than a machine. Start gaining an appreciation for hand made everything if you don’t already have that.
I used to try to raise the consciousness of my students by telling them to realize every object not made by nature and the cosmos was made by some person. A designer drew up plans for that coffee mug, even paper ones. Your pen, your shoes, your jewelry, your car, your bed, your skirt, you hair brush…everything manufactured was designed by humans, dreamed up and figured out and put into production. There is art and design everywhere.
Never mind that tired argument between what is Art and what is Craft. They are going steady. They have lived together a long time. They might even be married. Craft is just as beautiful and colorful and tactile and Art is just as studied and planned – okay, not always. Art can be spontaneous and fast but craft rarely is. It is like trying to argue what is more important to an omelet… the frying pan or the fire. You need both, if you have eggs to cook.
Do you get what I’m saying here? This keyboard, these eye-glasses, the ring on my right middle finger that my husband of over 40 years made in high school and I just love it. You should see the amazing wooden box he made for me as a Valentine present. If I can figure out how to insert a photo, you’ll see it.
I had a fantasy once that I wanted to live in a house and everything in it was hand made. In a way I’m not far off. My walls are covered with art, both mine and others. There are objects everywhere, a real housecleaner’s nightmare. It’s okay though. I say I’m an artist, not a housecleaner. My idea of cleaning is to sweep the room with a glance. I don’t remember who said that first, but I couldn’t agree more. See you later.
Leslie
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