I’ll explain…
After our cats died in ripe old age, we went catless for a couple of years. It was wonderful to head up north spontaneously without having to arrange a cat-sitter. I relished putting on a perfectly furless black sweater. We vacuumed less.
But when we arrived home and opened the door… nothing. Silence.
Now we have kittens and you never know what you’re opening your door to. What have they destroyed, stolen, eaten?
Often I come home and they’re just waking up. They rest while I’m out running errands so they have the energy to go completely bonkers when I’m trying to paint or write or design something! What is it with cats and keyboards?
But they’re alive and they’re in our house and it’s unquestionably better. Messier, but better.
Art is kind of the same, minus the mess. Obviously a painting on your wall isn’t going to tear up that carboard box you were saving, or shred the curtains. Nor is it going to purr and make biscuits in your lap.
But like animals, art brings life and delight into our homes. You look up from your screen and see something made by a hand, a heart, a life. Someone felt compelled to make it, to share it. It spoke to you, and each day you can renew or rediscover that connection.
Human beings are creative creatures. Whether we’re blazing our handprints on cave walls, solving business problems, or cooking supper, we were made to invent and create.
Art in your home echoes and reinforces this essential aspect of ourselves. And of course it also brings colour, texture, and uniqueness into your space.
When I work, I strive to create something that feels alive, that feels true or sincere. For me that’s the marker of good work—it has life in it that you can feel. There’s something honest about it. It feels whole-hearted.
In our troubled, digitally-oriented world, art feels more essential than ever.
Harriet at 5 months, photo by Lindsay Smail, 2023 | The Green Stripe (Portrait of Madame Matisse), Henri Matisse, 1905
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