Lawren Harris- Ice House, Coldwell, Lake Superior 1923
Art is the distillate of life, the winnowed result of the experience of a people, the record of the joyous adventure of the creative spirit in us toward a higher world; a world in which all ideas, thoughts, and forms are pure and beautiful and completely clear, the world Plato held to be perfect and eternal. All works that have in them an element of joy are records of this adventure.
—Lawren Harris
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I love this quote from the great painter (please note that I didn’t preface it with Canadian) Lawren Harris. I know that whenever I am working and am excited with the joy of what is unfolding before me, I feel closer and more connected to some sort of power that is beyond my knowledge. It’s as though I feel tapped in to that winnowed result of the experience of a people as Harris puts it. That is a great feeling, exhilarating and calming at the same time. It is ultimately the feeling that brings one to art, both as a viewer and a creator.
Unfortunately, in the course of creating, it is sometimes a feeling that is forgotten, put aside for ends other than this element of joy.
It’s easy to do, believe me.
But rediscovering that joy is like coming across it for the first time. Even though you know you have experienced it before, it feels all new and shiny, full of promise.
Effervescent– that is the word that comes to mind when I think of these moments of joy.
So, let me stop right here. I am close to my own joy and don’t want to delay it for another minute. Effervescence will not wait around too long, you know.
Hope you find some of your own today.
Redtree Times 