Do You Feel Devoted To Nothing?

Time and time and time again I wrestle with this thought. Something that all artists wrestle with at some point and probably, if your like me, multiple times...

Nothing lasts forever...what's the point?

Truth.

No "thing" will last forever. Why then, as an artist, will I devote so much time to creating "things"?

Of course, I would be lying if I said, "I don't create for that high you get when you are totally enveloped in creative bliss." Absolutely I do! This is one of the many perks of the creative process. I love when an idea ignites so intensely and no amount of dousing or wavering can damper the flame. But, is this the only reason we as artists create? Of course not. There are many reasons we do what we do, but in the end we are still just making "things". Things that will deteriorate, fade, burn, die, and even become forgotten. So why then devote so much time?

At the top of my list. Spirit.

Spirit lasts forever. Art is just the tool. Though images and words fade, their meanings and their bonds made along the way; they live on. That painting above your couch can give you peace in hard times and now becomes forever, identifiably your anchor. That aria you heard can bring light and understanding to a troubling question. It now forever identifies that enlightenment. The human spirit is ever moving, growing, reaching...I create to enrich this spirit. I create to inspire. To encourage. To connect and grow. Human being to human being. Mankind to God. If I can create a "thing" (drawing, painting, photograph, sculpture, song, story, dance, etc) that will help develop a more fulfilled relationship between mankind and himself and between mankind and his Creator, then I would devote a lifetime to doing so.

Commission for The Hernandez Home.2014