Why make art that no one will see?

Why make art that no one will see?

Well, first of all, that statement isn't quite true. You are "seeing" this sculpture, in a way. Yes it is just a photograph. Yes it is not the full experience. You are not hearing the stillness of the forest, the gurgling sound of the waterfall as it tumbles over and under the ice to the pool below.
You are not feeling the cold in your fingers and toes (maybe this is a good thing! ) nor the exhilaration of standing in the icy water to get this shot (definitely a good thing!). But, you are seeing something of the magic that was present in this moment... the impossible view of shards of ice rising up to form a delicate archway over the black ribbon of water deep in a secluded corner of a nature reserve. No trails lead to this place so it is most likely, no one but me saw this sculpture once I completed it. And I know it did not last the night because we had strong, warm winds the next day and much of the snowcover melted so its a good bet this came down sometime in the night.


But the pictures don't convey the awe experienced when a beam of sparkling sunlight, drifted down thru the pine branches hundreds of feet above , to settle on the foot of the ice arch which set the whole sculpture glowing into a delicate crystalline bridge of light....sadly, the photos cannot capture what the human can see nor what the human heart can feel.

Which brings up another point... just because only one pair of human eyes got to see this sculpture does not mean it was not seen by others. And this is one of the parts that is so hard to explain... for when I am out in the forest, doing this work, feeling in harmony with the landscape and environment, I do not feel alone, not one bit. I feel the presence of the great trees, sleeping in the snow... I feel the presence of the small birds and lively squirrels high in the branches above...and I feel the deep and powerful Presence of both Mother Earth and the Great Spirit which hold it all together. And I feel more than this, even... I feel the presence of graceful beings of energy and light. Some might call them Faeries, some might call them Devas or Elementals or angels, even. But the point is, they are there too and sometimes, when everything is just right and peace is big in my heart, I get to feel them too.

And that is one of the big reasons why I do this art... as an offering... for them.