I lost a friend to cancer a few days ago. Haven't we all? She was only 51 and should have had many more years with us. But, again, it's an all too familiar story. I wasn't as close to her as my wife was, but she and her husband are our friends and her loss is sad.
Sad also because she was a talented artist. She worked with material and beads and she created some stunning pieces. She worked in other media too, but I think her work with beads will be her professional legacy. She had a unique vision that occasionally left some folks scratching their heads, but that never deterred her. I will always admire her artistic integrity.
I can't help but wonder what amazing pieces she might have turned out if she could have continued to create for the next twenty or thirty years. We always wonder that don't we? What would John Lennon be creating today? Or if Mozart had lived past the age of 37? When an artist dies young we feel cheated. Their vision was/is unique and we feel lucky to have been exposed to some of it. And then they are gone.
The really famous artists get all of the press, but what of the artist next door? Our lives are almost always enhanced by their work too. I have a small painting that I purchased in Tokyo in 1970 that hangs in my office. Most days I take it for granted. But occasionally I spend time just looking at it and allowing myself to get lost in it's image. It has given me some measure of peace for 46 years. And yet, sadly, I don't know the name of the artist.
If you look around your home you may find a couple of pieces that help make your house a home. Art can define us. A book, a song, a painting or a beaded blouse you feel should be framed instead of worn.
I can't change the past. I can't bring her back and I can't ease the pain that her passing has caused. But I can influence the future. I will continue to teach people to play guitar. A simple thing really. But hopefully I will also teach the beauty of art in all it's forms. I'll try to teach the importance of beauty in our lives as we try to navigate the ugliness that invades.
I will also teach the importance of a unique vision. And when a student shows evidence of that I will try to help them honor it, respect it, and develop it. Hopefully I will remember to get out of their way and let them get to it.
To learn to love the diversity of art is to learn to love the diversity of the artists and their cultures. If we hold beauty in higher regard then perhaps we can hold ugliness in lower esteem. Pretty lofty for a commoner like me, but she and all of the others like her are worth the attempt. A simple thing really.