Your thoughtful and insightful comments were both revealing and helpful to me. While not particularly an artist myself (I’ve spent my long career primarily as a technologist), I’ve become deeply enmeshed over the past year and a half in the design, development and maintenance of a statewide arts and entertainment focused web site, http://www.SONewMex.com. During this time, I’ve often pondered the question of precisely what it is about this work that so enthralls me. In your words I believe I may have found at least part of the answer to that previously imponderable question.

There’s something about this work that for me transcends the images and sounds on paper, canvas or film that we report on. It extends beyond the beauty of the jewelry, sculptures, or the products of loom, kiln and workshop. It surpasses the importance of individual stage performances, poems and music; and is more than new friendships and relationships… and an endless series of deadlines. Indeed for me it has been more than the sum of all those parts assembled in a single ever-changing and growing web site.

I’ve known these things for a months now. But until reading your words I’d been unable to put my finger on precisely what it was about this work that so engrossed me and made it feel so important for me to do.

For me, you hit the proverbial nail on its head here, Arlene. So, I wanted you to know your words lead me to a moment of personal epiphany. For me the importance of this work reaches beyond the beauty of any piece of art or the skills of any one artist. It’s the remarkable power and shared spiritual experience of the combined energies of ALL these artists and arts communities as seen from the perspective of one who has the honor and privilege of sharing their works with the world that keeps me coming back at 5a.m. to tackle each day’s new projects.

You’ve helped me see that for me the reward of this work is knowing that in doing it — in using technology’s tools to present the works of our state’s thousands of talented artists — I’m able to share with the world a glimpse of the awesome power of human creativity and in the process offer a hint of what it could mean to our global society and culture if we were to focus more of our energies on our ’shared stories’ and the creative arts and less on the tools of mayhem, war, chaos and disunity.

I found your words enlightening and inspiring, Arlene. They pointed out with laser precision exactly what it is about my work that I so enjoy and helped me solve a mystery I’ve been pondering privately for months now.

Thank you!

Best Professional Regards,
Greg Platt
WebMaster and Publisher
Steppin’ Out New Mexico – http://www.SONewMex.com

I have just finished writing up a report on the Conference, and highlighted was both your address and your workshop. As I said to you after the workshop — if indeed, we can call it that. It would more aptly be called an experience, reflection, meditation — the timing was perfect. We needed to come back to the “why” of our work. For me, of course, it is a ministry, a spiritual endeavor, and effort to build community.But you added such richness to that, and again, for me, began a “process” that has continued: to reflect on each of the lenses. I am pondering ways that I might be able to use such an approach with our young people who staff our camp and After School Music Program, as well as our Board. It would of course be with all due reference to you as designer and inspirer….

As I told you, our sub-title is “REaching for Peace Through Music”, so I also see “Peacemaking or Peace Building as another lense.

Enjoy our website — it needs to be updated, but the basics are there.

Blessings on all you are doing for humanity!

Beth
(Member of Ursuline Order, as you may recall)

Thank you for your profoundly beautiful insight. You have blessed me with a powerful reaffirmation of our common mission in and through the arts.

My colleagues and I from The Learning Arts and Creative Leaps International have long thought of our work in spiritual terms. It is a deep motivator and clarifier, though we seldom speak of the “spiritual” per se as we perform or engage our audiences in discussions. However, the thought is never far away and often arrives of its own accord.

The values and stories you mention are universally our stories as well. In 35 years of practice and performance, the resonances only grow stronger, the mission as educator, healer, innovator only more sacred.

Yours is a warm, wise and elequent voice which I much admire. I thank you for being so generous with your gifts. I would relish an opportunity to correspond with you further.

Warmly,

John

John Cimino, President & CEO
Creative Leaps Interbnational
The Learning Arts
Icarus Musicworks
845-469-7254