Welcome friends, to Artful Friday,
here at my spot on the web.
A gem, a beacon, a guide,
to those who are artists in any capacity,
is Blessed JP II's 1999
As parents, as homeschoolers, as Catholics,
it is vital that we familiarize ourselves
not only with our
Beloved Holy Father's intent, but also
his style,
his benevolence toward his flock
and
his love of The Arts.
Have you read it?
Lately?
Now that the school year has wound down,
I felt I needed the rejuvenation of
his words.
After all, he is my family's hero.
He's our go-to guy for all things Catholic,
all things love,
all things right.
I've written about being in the presence of this saint
here and here,
if you have the time to click over and read further.
In our homeschool
The Arts play a significant role
in that each of my children
study several instruments and
act in local community theater.
In addition, my older son blogs and writes a column at a tech site.
They "do" art.
They "live" art.
They need BL JPII's guidance.
So do I. Big time.
As a writer and blogger, I find I need to read and reread his words to artists
to remind myself about the why and the how of my craft.
Not the competition.
Not the bells and whistles of blinkies on my blog sidebar ...
Yeah they're cute though. No?
Not the stats and the linky parties.
Not the number of "likes" or shares my recent
Catholic Mom column garnered.....
(Not many.)
But still.
When I get another freelance rejection.
When I see a post I poured my heart into is not widely read or commented upon.
I need the reminder of this.
Do you, also?
About the real reason behind why we do what we do?
The real driving force?
Here is the beginning of Blessed John Paul II's
Letter to Artists:
To all who are passionately dedicated
to the search for new “epiphanies” of beauty
so that through their creative work as artists
they may offer these as gifts to the world.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gn 1:31)
The artist, image of God the Creator
1. None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your eyes when—like the artists of every age—captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes, you have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you.
To read the full text of this landmark piece
by our 264th Pope
and
my favorite artist/actor/writer
turned priest....
Revel in the words he intended.
Just for you.
Their beauty and their magic.
Thanks for visiting, friends!
If you'd care to dust off something from the archives of the past
Artful Fridays,
here is the list of previous posts:
( knitting, winter crafts, the theater and piano)
As always, thank you for spending some
of your precious time here at my home on the web!
Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
by scrolling to the subscribe button at the top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.
Until next time,
~Chris
And since today is the 'anniversary' of our engagement
