The following is from a presentation that I will plan to share with a Unitarian Universalist fellowship later today on the subject of the magical mystery journey of which the creative life is one manifestation. Below, an excerpt. I plan to accompany the presentation with a slide show of my art. I hope to post a recording of both here Monday.

The ancient roots, the etymology, of the word “art” have to do with connection. Art, at its best, is our connection to the mystery, to the parts of ourselves that are deeper and truer than the day-to-day world. Art connects us to our dreams, to the things that can’t be explained with words, to the things that have touched our core, to our imaginary worlds, and even to our  personal chaos. Art has something to do with the part that doesn’t want to be tamed, that can’t be tamed.

Art searches for truth and finds part-truths. Artists stand in opposition to institutions that perpetuate feel-good falsehoods.

Yes, the artist’s role is to work in the land of mystery where things aren’t clear, but however uncertain an artist is, the work needs to be executed with conviction, with certainty. Wishy-washy, cautiousness, makes for weak art. Bob Dylan sings about things we can’t quite understand, that he probably doesn’t understand himself, but he does it with conviction.

Conviction takes courage. We need to assert our vision, even if we’re just as uncertain and scared as the next person. Which we often are.

If it was easy to express the meaning of the mystery through art there would be no point to art, or at least art would lack power. The artist who embarks on that journey is honoring something that is asking for a voice. That voice led Mozart to write music and Picasso to paint.

Our challenge as artists is to muster the vision, the persistence, and emotional cour­age to explore what means most to us. Also the technique. You need to persist with developing your skill, your technique. You need to put thousands of hours into developing your technique, otherwise you are a poseur, a dilletante, an amateur.