What is Art? and, Creative People You Should Know: Tina Contreraz

Isn't that a question that evokes all kinds of responses? A definition we've all heard is something like 'art is anything someone creates'. The Webster dictionary defines art as 'a skill acquired by experience, the conscious use of skill and creative imagination'. So I guess the real question is what's the purpose of art and what is it's real value? We have all seen created things that are full of hate, perversion, angst; and then there is art that communicates beauty, hope, healing, peace, joy; all the things humans crave in life. I do not need hate and anger and perversion, and while we, as humans need to express ourselves, I question the value of simply venting negativity and broadcasting the problems in life to the masses. It seems to me that it's not rocket science to identify the problems of this world; it would be more helpful to bring solutions. I believe art has the capacity to reach to the deepest parts of the human spirit and soul. It should  be used to speak life, not death. Beauty speaks life, and beauty inspires. Beauty can be seen in a myriad of ways, not just the obvious. I'll get off the soapbox now, and onto the pint of this post.

Last year I was given a book by a good friend by Luci Shaw called Breath for the Bones; Art, Imagination, and Spirit: Reflections on Creativity and Faith. At the time I was in the midst of some rather meaty reading and found that I could not get into this book, so put it down for the time. Books are that way for me; it's all about timing. If I find that I'm reading the words and they're not making a connection, it's likely not what I need to be reading at the moment. I really trust the opinion of the friend who gave it to me, so knew it would be good, it the right timing. That's what happened with this book and probably a year later when I picked it up again  it really was breath for MY bones! Only a few chapters into it, I would already HIGHLY recommend it. Having said that, I will state a disclaimer that I may not agree with every one of her views, so don't hold me to them! I just have been underlining a lot of what I've read already! She has some views of art and creativity and beauty that just ring true and are encouraging.

Last night I read a portion where she quotes an excerpt from the diaries of a Canadian prairie woman who in 1870 wrote about her quilt making: "I make them warm to keep my family from freezing; I make them beautiful to keep my heart from breaking" This woman is like all of us in some way 'to construct a quilt for her is to make beauty and meaning out of life's scrappy leftovers'. Creating rays of beauty through the bleak months of winter on the prairie. The human heart longs for beauty, and we find a multitude of ways to bring it into our world, from the sprucing up of your office space, to the clothes you wear or the color you paint the kitchen, or the flowers you plant outside in summer, not to mention things like poetry, music and the varied visual and performing arts. In the mundane we decorate, beautify our surroundings, and some of us begin to craft the raw materials around us into new things that bring life where we are.

Reading this entry reminded me of a very recent conversation with a new friend, Martina (Tina) Contreraz. She was born in East Berlin and her family somehow managed to get out just before the Berlin wall went up. She was still living in West Berlin when the wall came down (she showed me pieces of it she has stored in a zip lock bag!). She has seen a lot, but she loves people. She met her US-born husband while he was serving in the military stationed in Berlin. They now live in Lake Station, IN. For her, knitting and quilting is quite utilitarian, and she says most Germans see it that way. She knits wool socks and sweaters for her family because they are warm. She makes quilts because they are warm. Maybe sometimes we can't call things 'art' because we feel we need to justify spending time doing something we enjoy. After all, art is something 'frivolous', isn't it? But Tina actually enjoys the act of quilting and knitting, and they are works of art. She told me she was not an artist because 'she does not draw or paint', then I saw the quilt she was working on for her son. Even according to Websters, it was art! So I took some photos, and that is why the rambling about "what is art". I think she probably enjoys quilting and knitting for a few reasons. One, it is relaxing, but another reason could very well be that it is a legitimate expression of that longing for beauty around her and she is pouring love into every piece she makes. It is most definitely art. Her son likes snakes and reptiles, so she designed this quilt (above, front & below, back) with a variety of fabrics to represent a sort of impressionistic snake skin effect. She told me that the original background fabric looked too 'camouflaged'  so she hand dyed the fabric black for more contrast. The stitching doesn't just hold the pieces together, they are beautifully designed, expertly stitched! If you are a quilter or knitter and would be interested in a quilting or knitting group, please let me know. I will pass the info on to Tina, as that is a desire of her heart. I also want to know who else out there is crating these wonderful works of art but doesn't know it! And please read Breath for the Bones if you get a chance and let me know what you think!

"Where linear, logical thinking may produce prose with specific function - information or historical record or critical analysis or instruction - art selects and reflects on a small slice of human experience and lays it out there, a gift to anyone who is willing to savor it and enter into the artist's experience even in a minimal way. The artist, ideally, communicates experience in images and forms so precisely tailored, so personal, so multi-leveled that its insights go far beyond bare facts or mere usefulness." Luci Shaw

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Snow and Winter Art

Just a quick note that may be of interest, given our current winter weather... I am working on other blog posts, coming soon, sorry for the big delay!

Snow is a thing of beauty to many, but the shocking winter of 1564-5 set off 150 years of harsh European winters (now called the Little Ice Age) and inspired what is considered to be the first winter landscape painting, below. The Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder shows mixed reactions to the extreme weather.

Click here to the ArtsJournal Newsletter article link on the history of snow in art.  

Westerner Joseph Ellis is one of a growing number of artists flocking to China to set up shop, despite the challenges. He was commissioned to create 100 life-size ice sculptures of children (below), which were left to melt in a Beijing park to raise awareness of global warming.  Click here to read the New York Times article on artists moving to China.

Have any interesting examples of winter art? Let's hear from you! Post a comment or contact artfoundations@sbcglobal.net

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Creative People You Should Know: Michaela Potterbaum, Photojournalist

I recently followed a few links from a comment posted on last week’s blog post, and was blown away by what I found. I want to introduce you to an incredibly gifted young photographer named Michaela Potterbaum. My first introduction to Michaela’s photography was her website, and the home page is creative wedding shot highlighting lime green running shoes. These are photos that just make you feel good, even make you laugh, yet they’re so beautifully composed. I took a look at her blog, then back to the website, noticing the tab for ‘Documentary’ photos. Image after image,     I was struck both by the sheer talent and giftedness here (Michaela is clearly proficient in the skills of photography) and by the passion that comes through in every photograph; her choice of subject, viewpoint, composition, whether it’s a wedding in Chesterton, Indiana, a poor outcast Gypsy girl in Romania or an umbrella in the rain. I found myself deeply affected by her work, thinking about what I had seen all through the day. I really had to take some time to process what I was experiencing.

It would be easy to stir up emotions purely with the images of hardship and tragedy, but that’s not what’s happening here. She’s able to capture something that’s not seen; “the gold” that lies within these people that God has created. They are valuable, and even in extreme circumstances, joy can often be found (see the shot from the dumps in Guatemala City below). It was beauty that I was experiencing; hope that I was seeing. Good art, whether music, photography or any other art form, communicates more than the image or verbal message itself. Art has the ability to bypass our reasoning and communicate straight to our hearts. Often you feel something that you don’t yet understand. It also communicates and transfers something of the heart of the artist. In the case of an artist like Michaela, who is motivated by God’s heart for humanity, she is communicating what she herself has first ‘seen’.  

Before I came across her work, I had met Michaela, but did not know anything about her, other than the fact that she comes from an incredibly creative family. I had no idea that this talent was behind that quiet smile. These photographs are a bit of insight into the artist who framed them; they made me want to meet her. Michaela grew up in the Goshen, Indiana area, and a few years ago moved here (to Valparaiso) with her family. She tells me that while growing up she actually spent most of her time involved in sports but did play drums and was in a band for a while, actually traveling a bit. After High School, she was involved with YWAM (Youth with a Mission), making trips to Morocco and Spain, but it was in Amsterdam, taking a digital communications and graphic design course, followed by a photography course where this passion for photojournalism was opened up. The class took a trip into Romania and it was in the process of recording the lives and stories among the Gypsy community that “really messed her up”, as she puts it. Michaela loves people, and loves photographing them “because everyone has a story” and that first assignment opened her up to the depth and beauty of those stories and ways that she could capture and communicate them. (Those photos from Romania are on her website).

She’s been on an increasing mission since that time, spending a year in school in Redding CA, and photographing the people on the streets there; traveling to Ecuador and India; and just returned from Guatemala City where she spent time with the families living in the garbage dumps (watch for more photos on her blog and/or website). She is planning 3 more major trips outside the US before summer, taking a team back to Guatemala in March and to Nicaragua in January. (Where will the third will be?) Her long term goal is to travel to and photograph 25 countries. I believe she’ll do it. Traveling and pursuing your dreams costs money and if you make a visit to her website you’ll see that her creativity is equally alive in other types of photography, including weddings (mainly during spring and summer; traveling during fall and winter). I have never seen anyone have so much fun with a camera! Although I really suspect that a large amount of what you see really is an inherent gift; ‘a natural eye for it’ you may say, her design training is evident in all of her work. Here again, her love for people comes through as Michaela just captures the individual personalities (stories) of her subjects, whoever they are!  I can see Michaela Potterbaum’s wedding photography becoming a highly sought after commodity; you’d better make your reservations early.
 
“As much as I love shooting weddings, along with eating delicious cake and watching the joy of a wedding day-- there is another side of my heart that beats with passion to see the underprivileged and broken of this world fully restored and shown what real love is... Every photo you see here represents a people group around this globe that has captured my full attention. There is no doubt that I have left a piece of my heart in each one these places..."  

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