As you walk through the many museums in Arizona, you learn that the history and cultures of Native American people of the area are inseparable from their expression as artists. From various symbols to geometric designs, there are similarities that inspire you to want to learn more.
Happy New Year! Perhaps similar to your own experiences, I found myself at the end of 2015 reflecting on the past year and new year simultaneously. Instead of resolutions and lists of changes, I considered the potential of the creative process found in the arts.
The recent Phoenix Symphony Orchestra performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, was an important reminder for everyone present of the value and beauty of contrast.
I had the privilege of conducting the Arizona All-State Band last month. The experience was extraordinary. One hundred students from schools throughout the state participated after going through several steps to qualify.
Artists work in a flexible, fluid environment. It is an internal setting that is vulnerable to the process of openness and trust. When you begin a painting, sculpture, musical composition, or performance, there is potential for that artistic expression to develop into something.
Different art forms are often placed in a position to compete with one another. One art form is better than another? Surely that isn’t the case.
The recent CALA International Festival in Phoenix, Arizona, showcased the way that artists investigate the world around them. Festivals like this one take place all over the world, and they’re particularly advantageous to individuals who participate as artists, but also to the communities that support them.
Opportunities to engage in the artistic process are important for everyone in this increasingly complex world of the 21st century.
Musicians, painters, dancers, sculptors, and actors know that the artistic process requires you to keep at it—to constantly create and maintain momentum.
Artistic expression is much more than a skill or a line of work. It’s an imaginative, inspired, and innovative way of communicating and living life.