Art in Our Heart

The book of "300 Writing Prompts" asks:  "What is your favorite work of art?  What do you love about it?"

I don't have an answer for the question and I find that odd, I suppose, because I like art.  I enjoy seeing items crafted by the mind and hand of man that exhibit exceptional giftedness.  I also enjoy such items that may not be exceptional, but show a depth of thought and observation that reflects something of the nature and character of the artist.

Keep in mind that I don't limit art to painting, or drawing -- to me it includes many other things.  There is art in writing, in sculpting, in acting, in music, in pottery-making and in the thousand other things normally considered as art, but there is also art in business, in sales, in negotiation, in machine-work, in wood-work, in teaching, in computer programming and in the way a cattleman handles animals.  There is art all around us if we observe closely.

To me, art is more than what we traditionally consider as "the arts."  Art is craftsmanship, it is a depth of understanding that permeates ones work.  It is the "heART" of one's craft -- whatever it might be.

There are many people who know a trade; they can perform a job admirably.  Few attain the status of artist.  An artist, to me, is one who has achieved the pinnacle of their calling.

The answer to the original question must be that I have no favorite, but I see art all around me.  I see it in the design of a small box that sits on my desk.  I see it in the cell phone which is beside it.  It is in the way the wood grains are aligned in the desk itself.  It is all around me in the works of many different hands.

Art, however, is merely imitation.  No matter how flawlessly one presents their work, it never equals what surrounds us in the natural world.  We merely aspire to, but will never achieve, perfection.  The fact that we seek such is heARTening, though, because it demonstrates that deep down we truly desire that which resides only in God -- perfection.