Day 79 - Ch 9 - Art is a Spiritual Path

Allen focuses her last chapter of Art is a Spiritual Path on building an image community.  As a founder of a community studio where she offers the members a safe place to explore, she began to understand the impact in which an image community has on discovering meaning.  One of our difficulties with society is our inability to slow down, observe, listen to others by giving and receiving.  Allen saw the importance of the creative process in its ability to do this with her studio participates.  She also brings attention to the change that takes place when payment for artwork is exchanged.  Allen shares her experience that in most cases when payment is made, the relationship becomes blunted as there is no longer a fiduciary obligation.   She encourages to build commercial free communities to develop the relationship, as "we cannot purchase meaning or a sense of belonging.”  As art becomes a way of knowing one’s world, Allen encourages one to find whole living.


I encourage you to buy a copy of Art is a Spiritual Path for a better understanding of your own creative process.  Whether you're a master artist or beginning artist, this is an excellent book.

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