ART (All Kinds) and What It Communicates

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


ART - well, when you get into the subject of ART, you get into an area that is actually very personal and very subjective.

I have been exposed to various forms and types of ART all my life - I believe since I was a baby.

I had relatives -- and friends of relatives -- who did various types of Arts and Crafts -- and, yes, some of it was "in capital letters", though some of it was just for fun.

• Music
• Drawing
• Painting
• Sewing
• Needlecrafts (Crochet, Knitting, Needlepoint)
• Mosaics
• Writing

Also, when I was very young, I was exposed to some of those who are considered "Great Artists" -- mostly Musicians and Painters -- through musical recordings and classical music radio stations -- and I don't remember the first time I was taken to the Art Institute of Chicago, but I believe I was very young.

I was quite young - still a child, not yet in my teens - when I "fell in love" with the paintings of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists I saw at the Art Institute of Chicago, such as Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, Renoir -- these works so full of light and color, which I just adored!! To be seen there, for example: Monet's various landscapes; Van Gogh's vibrant - and what I would call dramatic - colors and images; Seurat's grand landscape by the water with dots of colors which together form almost an enchanting composition (to me) - I would stand entranced for a while; Renoir's delightful compositions - both of people and landscapes!

-- And then the works of later painters that I grew to love, such as Marc Chagall and Georgia O'Keeffe!

-- And the various sculptures and pottery and glass works!

-- And the music, as a child and in my early teens -- from Beethoven, Bach, Handel -- to the folk artists, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Buffy Sainte-Marie -- to the Musicals, such as "The Music Man", "Fiddler on the Roof" - I loved the singing of Theodore Bikel!

As I ventured out on my own -- my love of the Impressionistic painters and a few other painters (especially Georgia O'Keeffe) only grew. My love of music also grew and expanded -- and the musicians that I met -- and some I got to know -- added so much to my life!

As I got into studying Photography (I got my first camera at the age of 6, but never really studied it until my 30's), my admiration for (Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Freeman Patterson, David Muench) and interaction with various Photographers (Craig Fucile, Jan Pietrzak, Steve Cohen - and other environmental photographers) in various genres added so much to my life.

What it all comes down to -- there is something in what the works of these Artists commuicate that reaches me and adds such a feeling of joy to one's life!!

I think all Artists have some kind of message -- though that message may be interpreted differently by each person experiencing the art -- for me, it is that experience which adds so much to my life - and I can truthfully only speak of my own experience.

So, now I am involved online with some Artisans who do Handmade on Etsy -- from the Thread Artists to Painters, Photographers, people who work in Wood, Clay, Glass, Needlecrafts, Fibers .... as usual, there are always different viewpoints and different things that different people like, but I have found so many that I personally admire on Etsy!!

There is something in what these Artists communicate in their Art that brings joy into my life -- and I thank all of them for it!!