Art and Music

This beautiful piece was made by Martha Starke who is a member of Valley Artisans Market.  It illustrates the beautiful combination of music and art.  You can find Martha's work online at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pulpart?page=2.

Art, music and the written word have the ability to transform our lives and add beauty to our everyday lives.  It is through art and music that we find our collective souls.  We rest our weary minds and find the beauty of everyday things.  Music, art and literature give us the ability to escape for the moment to a beautiful place where we can focus on just that moment in time.  It also reminds us of the past and brings beautiful memories to the forefront.  I cannot listen to Elvis Presley without remembering playing gin rummy with my mother and brother.  We used to do that just about every night and it is a treasured memory.

Today in schools all over the United States art and music programs are being cut.  What will happen to our society if we lose our ability to create?  The past influences the present and the future. We must learn from music and art of the past and add our own unique qualities for the future.  Not every child is cut out to be an executive or an athlete.  There are children all over the world with the potential to become the next Mozart or Van Gogh, they should be given the opportunity to learn from the masters and become a master themselves.  Every child should be able to find their own special uniqueness when learning and making art and music.

Art and music have the ability to connect people from other cultures and the past to each other, to show us all that everything is connected.  I can connect with the beauty of Vermeer and the music of the Black Keys.  The internet is a wonderful way to connect with art and the artists that create these masterpieces but the internet is not enough.  We need to be inspired and learn from those who came before us.  We need to experience the music and art first hand to really appreciate it.  I don't know how I would have reached today had my mother not been so interested in the arts and allowed me to find my own art and music and literature.  I did not necessarily learn the classics but eventually I experienced them from a more adult point of view.

I hope the next time a school board meets and decides what programs to cut you and all your fellow human beings will say please don't cut the arts.  They are much too important to  our civilization and our collective souls.

Please go out today and buy a piece of art or a cd or a book.  Artists have to make a living too, just like executives and athletes.  Blessings!