Sometimes, you just need to kick back a little and take time to smile. And that’s what this video is about. No deep reflection – or shallow reflections either, for that matter – no symbolism, no ulterior motive, just a little fun. A year or two ago I posted a video by Anton Hecht, an artist and indie filmmaker in Britain who, among many things, specializes in what I would describe as “community art” – making art and film by engaging community members in, for instance, playing the paino in a bus station or playing the harmonica in the cause of civic wellness. Anton got in touch to say thank you and since...

Phil Hansen’s ten minute TED Talk is as important as it is poignant. Faced with a condition that made his hand shake and thereby seemed to destroy his dreams of being an artist, he took his neurologist’s advice to “embrace the shake.” When he did, he eventually discovered a number of remarkable ways to make art that didn’t compensate or overcome or even transcend his shaking but rather employed it to lead him to new creative ventures and vistas. What Hansen discovered was that far from reducing creativity, limitations actually increase it. Limitations set boundaries, close off the obvious routes forward, and invite – actually...

…you can build it. 🙂 I don’t know why I love this TED Talk from artist Janet Echelman so much. I just know that I do. Maybe it’s her perseverance. After all, she was rejected by seven art schools after college and yet didn’t give up but struck out on her own. Maybe it’s her resourcefulness. When her paints didn’t show up for a show she promised to do in India, she turned to the local fishermen and solicited their help in producing a new piece of art…and art form. Maybe it’s her relentlessness. Again and again, there weren’t materials or technology yet suitable to execute her ideas, so each time she found partners to...

Have you ever heard of “disability art”? Neither had I. Sue Austin is an artist, a performance artist, to be precise. And she is disabled, confined to a wheel chair. Except that she won’t allow it be confining. Actually, that’s not quite right. It’s not so much that the goal of her art is to transcend her wheelchair, but to repurpose it. To actually make use of it to see – and help us to see – the world differently. It’s a striking idea. That while one can certainly approach challenge, hardship, suffering, and disability as things to be resisted, overcome, and transcended, those aren’t the only options. Another valid...

To aid in Sabbath rest and reflection, I usually only post a prayer for the day on Sundays, something connected to one of the appointed readings. But I stumbled on this last night and couldn’t wait to share it. It’s a virtual 3D tour of the Sistine Chapel that the Vatican has produced. It’s almost like being there. Actually, given the music, lack of crowds, and ability to zoom in on some of the most famous paintings in Western history, it might just be better than being there. 🙂 If you want to visit, click the picture below and then click and slide your cursor in the direction you want to move; the zoom controls are at...