art is long, life is short

Hey Everyone!! Today's blog post comes to you from Don, who will now be joining me here in blogland every now and again...

Daddy Blogs:

Do you ever wonder where the artist gets their inspiration? Who are their muses? What makes 'em "tick" or "tock?"
Me too! As an artist, I can only tell you that it all comes from the soul and the heart. If your soul isn't into it, then the heart won't be either.

I figured that out when I saw my first Escher print at a gallery in the mall...I was 10 years old. His self portrait in the sphere put me directly into his world - some of his feelings - and I thought to myself, 'Why can't I do the same thing with my art?' You know, show others a different world through MY eyes, take them on a journey of the soul through the "windows" in MY head.

Now that I'm grown, I look back to that 10 year old boy and ask him, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And I answer myself, "I want to be an artist." That is all I have ever wanted to do - make art and live a happy, simple life.

Well, back in the real world, bills need to be paid, kids need to be fed, wife needs lovin' (..oh, wait, back on track)... Why can't I make that boy's dream come true? All things are possible, right? But, how?

And that's when my wonderful wife said, "Why don't your sell wooden toys? I mean, you love making toys for the kids, why not make other kids happy, too?"... Great googa mooga! I love my wife!!!! Yes, I can do that!
I was watching my son play with a castle set I made for him, when it occurred to me that he wasn't just playing "castle land" as he kept calling it (4 year olds are awesome!). He was also playing "jump the dragon" and "chase the king" and "flying queen" ... that's when I realized that the simpler the toy, the greater the imagination! Which means the more his head was working, thinking and GROWING!

I quote Albert Einstein, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." And ol' Albert is right! If you can't imagine your way through a problem, you'll never KNOW your way - period. You'll just be stuck in a dead-end drab life that you hate and that's not who I am.

I imagine a bright, colorful, and wonderous lovely life. A life worth not just living, but enjoying and making up as I go. A happy-go-lucky utopia.

Besides Einstein, I could quote an anonymous Roman, "Ars longa, vita brevis." Art is long, life is short. Or a bunch of others basically saying the same thing - create beauty to live in a beautiful world.
Since I have found new inspiration through my children, I've decided to live out my fairy tale dreams of that 10 year old. Now I make art, live simple and have a happy home, which makes this big kid a happy man.