Artists Creating Life

Who are your favorite artists?

I admire those artists in every genre who can see beyond sight and have that innate talent to be open to possibilities. A Michangelo, who looked at a block of granite and saw David, who could, with a brush, paint the vibrancy of creation on a ceiling. Artists who looked up at a starry sky and saw something beautifully creative even as they suffered the loneliness of depression. Those who, through music and song, can evoke the deepest of emotions, love, betrayal, and life. Harmonies that are pitch perfect, from the haunting chant of monastics to the songs of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and the small church choirs that bring their talent into the music. I admire the many poets and writers whose works grab our attention on many levels of life, from murders to three ghosts on a Christmas Eve to the simple story of a spider and pig, all showing us our humanity. My favorite artists are those who open up my world, who give me hope even as we see our world burn and our passions turn to dust, knowing that from that dust, life rises.

Not Fair

What’s your all-time favorite album?

This is not a fair prompt; I have too many favorite albums, and to pick one would be like saying I don’t love all my children.

Music is Life

What would your life be like without music?

Without music, my life would be a dark and lonely void, bereft of any joyful noise. Imagine missing the vocal harmonies of Crosby, Stills, and Nash or the Wailin Jennys or the Eagles; imagine no Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven. I would have never heard my mother singing a lullaby or her favorite hymns, never have heard the soaring score from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or The Lord of the Rings. Music travels with us across the boundaries of the heart and soul. Music gives us sweet and sad memories of people we have known and loves we have found and lost. A life without music is not a life at all, so I can truthfully say that music is the color that brightens each day, reminding me of my gratitude and zest for life.

Music for the Soul

What do you listen to while you work?

I’ve selected Pandora on my iPhone and have the JBL speaker Bluetooth connected, all set to play one of my favorite stations. What I listen to depends much on how I feel, both physically and mentally, and spiritually. Sometimes, I want to rock out to Bruce Springsteen, while at other times, I need to chill, so I tune in to my Dave Carter/Tracy Grammer channel. What I like about Pandora is the way music is chosen based on the track selected. On the one hand, the Springsteen choice yields a selection that includes Tom Petty, Jackson Brown, Bob Seger, and the like.

In contrast, the Dave Carter channel includes a variety of folk musicians, including John Prine, The Wailin Jenneys, Kate Rusby, and the occasional Gillian Welch. No matter what I choose, the music helps when engaged in a repetitive task like painting or doing housework. It is also helpful when I’m just daydreaming; the melody floats along on a stream of consciousness, creating pictures and feelings that grab my soul’s depths.

Listening to Pandora

Sweet harmonies flow

the voices of angels

on the air sing of love

amidst the loud noise

of the darkened minds,

singing songs of peace

their voices melded as one

quieting the troubled soul

giving voice to the grace

of creation in the gift of music

I listen to them and sense

a great calm over the waters

that turn and toss the wayward

who have no anchor.

I dream of harmonic chords

that call us into one Body

all singing the songs 

that call us into being

whispering life into dust.