Connections and The Power of Art...

I love it when we are able to make connections in life, and how our past and present have a way of always keeping us grounded in the present. Last night I was reading a short story by Ray Bradbury entitled IN A SEASON OF CALM WEATHER. (here's an excerpt.) Those of you who have trekked around my site know that I was fortunate enough to have shared some time with my childhood hero, Ray Bradbury.

Up until last night, this particular short story had never surfaced in all my reading. Well, it's about a guy who has a chance meeting with the one and only PICASSO on a beach one day. Suddenly, Picasso grabs a stick and begins to create a huge mural in the sand, and well... I'll leave the rest up to you to enjoy.



Yesterday, prior to reading the story, I had spent a good half hour staring at Picasso's GUERNICA, which is my favorite piece of art. It depicts the bombing of Guernica, Spain, by twenty-eight German bombers, during the Spanish Civil War in 1938.

Did I mention that it's 11 feet high and nearly 27 feet wide. Talk about making a statement.



Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. After the painting made a tour around the world, it became widely acclaimed, and ultimately brought the Spanish civil war to the world's attention.

The Power of Art.

Again, it goes back to a theme that I think resonates in my work, and that is the positive power of any artistic endeavor--for the sake of some higher purpose other than making money.

Think about these inspiring words by Picasso:

Give me a museum and I'll fill it.

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.

I don't believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. There are no accidents.

My mother said to me, "If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope." Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.

Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.