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A World Without Art

Try to imagine living in a world without art. What would be missing from our lives? 

Well, to start with, there would be no movies, TV shows, magazines, video games, YouTube, Snapchat, Flickr or Instagram.  There would be no wedding photographs to share, in fact no photographs at all. Food and product labels would be generic and our clothes would be devoid of color and style.

You would not bother to travel to see the architecture or the many art treasures in Rome or Paris or go west to see the artwork of Native Americans.

Art enriches our lives and culture. It lifts us out of our everyday struggle for survival and gives meaning to the things that we do, it gives us a way to make sense of life.

To be sure, a world without art would not be a world without beauty. Nature is more beautiful than anything that we can create but by learning to appreciate art, we can more fully understand the beauty that surrounds us.

In many African languages and cultures there is no word for art because art is simply an integral part of life and there is no need to separate the two. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from other civilizations that have existed for thousands of years.

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Art and Creativity

Creativity is defined as having or showing imagination.  Art is defined as the product of creative activities.  Therefore, by definition, we are all artists in our own way.  We all are creative and express our creativity in different ways in our lives.

 Some of us express ourselves in the clothes that we choose and the original ways that we combine and wear fashions. Others can whip up a wonderful meal out of leftovers. Still others can take beautiful photographs or design an entertaining Facebook page or problem-solve at work.

Many of us take our creativity for granted because it comes easily to us but sometimes we should pause and consider how our skills help make us the unique and special people that we are.  Take the time, especially at this hectic time of year, to take stock of our own talents and gifts and give ourselves the gift of personal recognition and appreciation.

Art is the extension of creativity and a form of personal expression.  We are not all visual artists but we can all be creative and the artists of our own lives.

 Share with us on the blog how you are personally creative.  We would love to hear from you.