What will the new year hold for me? I eagerly desire to consume or experience more art, and even better to create art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the library I found \u201cWhat is Art?\u201d by Leo Tolstoy. It\u2019s not an novel, not like his epic War and Peace or Anna Karenina. The was an academic exploration with careful and tortured sentences\u2014poor miserable academics!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I discover this conclusion that art is how a person can share a feeling with others. When I feel alone, stuck with the feelings, thoughts and experiences I long for connection with someone else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tolstoy concludes that when a person shares a story, for example, and the audience feels what the story teller felt, that spark of transfer is the connection that makes it art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One answer to the question<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is art?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is that what you are sharing with me, Leo? Maybe your convoluted sentences gave me the thrill you got when you arrived at this definition. I can carry around this answer like a gemstone in my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can I be pleased with my art if it meets this specification? There is a warm feeling in my heart as I accept it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is that enough? And also, how can I do it even better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s what this blog is about, to share my ideas, thoughts and feelings. To do it to the best of my ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my isolation, I\u2019m not alone. Tolstoy called it, and other artists must feel it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know how I\u2019m doing. Did I arouse that feeling in my readers?
If it is read, it must have achieved a bit of that. Interest is the lowest rung. Stronger feelings are higher up the ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And a response!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this digital landscape, a like or even better a comment back, is an indication<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I plucked a resonant string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is me realizing and appreciating the connection I have with my readers, as we make this together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, it\u2019s me asking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you read it, click the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If it made you think or laugh, I\u2019d be very interested to hear it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t have to be alone in this human experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What will the new year hold for me? I eagerly desire to consume or experience more art, and even better to create art. In the library I found \u201cWhat is Art?\u201d by Leo Tolstoy. It\u2019s not an novel, not like … Continue reading