Can Joy and Art Exist with Sadness and Turmoil?
Off the Canvas with Jenn Van de Vooren
English - March 05, 2022 20:16 - 13 minutes - 10 MB - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsVisual Arts Arts Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Can Joy and Art Exist with Sadness and Turmoil? Episode 7. Off the Canvas with Jenn Van de Vooren
This episode has been tugging at my heart with the state of the world these days... so much polarity, sadness, grief, aggression, isolation, heaviness. I've been feeling like, "who am I to carry on with my happy life, making art, speaking freely, creating podcasts, sharing joy while so many are feeling oppressed, scared, sad, lonely, hopeless?" Recording this episode and thinking of these polarities through the lens of art helped me reconcile if it's OK to make art and carry joy in my heart while also carrying sadness and grief.
SPOILER ALERT: You probably guessed it but I landed on the conclusion that not only is it appropriate for us to share our joy, light, and art during hard times, but those things are needed more than ever. Creating light in the world does not add to the suffering, and oppositely, dimming our light and being mired in sadness and depression in solidarity with those who are suffering, does not help alleviate those situations. Leading with love is always the answer and our hearts are big enough to carry it all... empathy and inspired action for those who are suffering while we continue to share our gifts more than ever to flood the world with goodness.
Onward beautiful soul. If you ever needed a reason to start creating art and shining your light, it's to help uplift the world. If not now, when?
Quotes that are resonating with me now:
"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman
"Art has the power to render sorrow beautiful, make loneliness a shared experience, and transform despair into hope." - Brene Brown
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Art is a wound turned into light." - Georges Braque
"The arts empower. The arts give a voice to the voiceless." - Robert L. Lynch
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." - Pablo Picasso
As always, I'm so grateful to share this space with you. Sending you light and love. Shine bright beautiful soul!
~ Jenn Van de Vooren