The Art Spirit

“When the artist is alive in a person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature. He becomes interesting to other people. He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and opens ways for better understanding. Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it, shows there are still more pages possible.”
~ Robert Henri

There are individuals in the world who call themselves artists, yet work on closing doors, setting boundaries and systematically destroy all the inherent properties of truly living in the art spirit. Really, you are not living in the art spirit if you are policing others and helping to set systems in place that hinder creativity and artistic endeavor. The quote above is by an American artist and teacher who inspired a wealth of students to live in the art spirit. Greg, my beloved, has been sharing quotes from this book with his students since his introduction to the book at Art Center. It’s one of those books that will always have prominent place in ones heart and bookshelf.

The photograph above was taken while Greg and I were in Prague. ©Roxana Villa