Sparks of Beauty - Take 2.....a series of sharing the "little things" I find to be extraordinary.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. "
                                                                                                           Theodor Geisel  (aka Dr. Seuss)
                                                                                                                                      

Twelve days may not sound like too significant a gap when measuring the length of time between blog posts, but when it comes to this “sparks of beauty” business, I assure you, I am slacking. Now before you go thinking that I’m being overly critical of myself or having unreasonable expectations – especially given the magnitude of  this  life transitioning of which I’m currently in the throes – let me clarify. I have a small journal filled with notes about things that have recently touched me in such a way that I can’t wait to pass along their beauty to anyone and everyone I am able. The fact this this is only post number 2 since coming up with this little series is disappointing , because as I mentioned in the previous entry, the true beauty to me, lies in sharing it. I’m certainly not complaining about having so many notes about such things – quite the opposite – but I do want to make it clear that I will follow through on this, and it’s my firm belief that each "spark" shared will be more than worth the wait to anyone who takes a look.

Case in point – Confessions: of a Funked Out Eye Candy Freak, by the incomparable LaLa Boom.  If I were to carry on a casual conversation about pieces of writing that have truly spoken to me in a very personal and meaningful way over the years, Confessions would easily be in the mix - to my mind and heart every bit as poignant as the works of the well known literary geniuses that constitute the rest of that list. I am fortunate enough to know Ms. Boom personally, which in my opinion ups my hip and mysterious cred as a writer, but I have no doubts that she would be on that same list of mine, whether we were friends or whether we were complete strangers. Talk about the beauty of truth ; her work is so personal, so uniquely her own, so very honest, it truly leaves me in awe each time I read it. Honesty of that caliber, where all that lies in the hearts of so many, never to be heard, is put forth in such a raw, shoot from the hip kind of way, is not an easy thing to offer. LaLa expresses that rawness in such a creatively clever way, she makes it seem like the world would be a better place if we all had the courage to express ourselves likewise. You may agree with her point of view, you may not, but either way, she will make no apologies, and keep on offering all that she has to offer. My only objection to anything regarding Confessions is how in the world she has managed to stay under the radar on a site like blogspot for so long. This woman should be published ; that’s all there is to it. Please do yourself a huge favor and check out this truly awesome site. I’m currently more down and out in the financial realm than I’d care to admit, but I would have no problem betting my rent check that you will be impressed with what you find there. It’s a privilege to share her work with you, and an honor to call her a friend. Now go….embrace your inner “funked out eye candy freak”. You won’t regret it.

Sparks of Beauty…..a series of sharing the “little things” I find to be extraordinary.

    
"Society exists only as a mental concept ; in the real world there are only individuals." 

                                                                                                      -Oscar Wilde

After all that talk of my new found writing fever, it appears I haven’t done a very good job of following through , given that my last post was written over a month ago.(gulp) But for maybe the first time in my life, I don’t feel guilty about it. I don’t feel like I started something new, only to leave it by the wayside to become an eventual part of online oblivion. I know, for once, that instead of fretting about not being able to accomplish what I initially thought I “should”, I have been preoccupied with exactly what I need to be doing to get back to truly living again. Actually,I’ll go a step further and say that I have been busy not merely getting back to living, but to beginning to live life in a fuller, more meaningful way than I ever have before. But just because I haven’t been blogging, that in no way means I haven’t been brainstorming, and taking notes, and writing what I feel inspired to, at a furious pace. Yes, “writer's fever” is definitely still intact ; I simply haven’t had the opportunity to give the proper attention to really dig into many of the ideas and musings I eventually hope to share.

In my frequent jotting down of random thoughts, ideas, experiences, etc, I’ve noticed that while I do have some notes of inspiration recounting some of the “bigger" things that have recently proved meaningful to me, it’s those smaller discoveries, those simple everyday experiences, that have the ability to make me feel alive in a way I’ve never felt before. I’ve said it many times, and I’ll keep on saying it – there is so much beauty to be found, even in the midst of great adversity, and I’m so grateful that I have been fortunate enough to really see it, especially in those quietly extraordinary ways.

It’s with that inspiration in mind that I decided I’d like to try a little different type of blog posting, in which I don’t say too much, but simply offer a “link” if you will – both figuratively and literally – to those bursts of beauty that have moved me to take notice of them in a unique way. Whether bringing a friend’s personal brand of creativity to light for a wider audience, sharing a photo of a scene that stirred my senses while passing it on any given day, or recounting an experience that spoke to me in some poignant way or was simply a lot of fun – it’s my hope that whatever is shared will provide the reader with at least a sampling of the inspiration that was brought to me.

So without further ado, I’ll get the sharing started by offering a site link to the wonderfully unique artwork of a dear friend of mine.  My reason for choosing to share the artwork of Carlos Delgado goes far beyond his obvious talent and my personal taste with regard to visual art – that’s merely the baseline. The sheer passion and open honesty with which he expresses himself seems to shine through every brush stoke, every pencil line. Though fortunate enough to have been employed by a world renowned art museum for several years, I admittedly have a limited knowledge of painting, printmaking, sculpting, etc,when it comes to proper technique. I’d like to think my appreciation and interest makes up for my lack of “skill” in this arena, but the fact remains that even my stick figures leave much to be desired in the realm of accuracy and pleasure to the eye.  But art - any form of creativity and expression – is personal. I normally do my best to steer clear of "shoulds" and "shouldn’ts", but this is definitely an exception where I feel it appropriate to say it should be personal, if it is to be truly beautiful. What good is any form of expression, if it’s merely a carbon copy, going along with the crowd or conforming to what “critics” may say is acceptable? To me, even if something is clearly striking at first glance, it's the level of honesty and individuality shining through that take it to the next level, taking hold of my senses and giving me a different perspective and openness to it, that I hadn’t initially possessed . The ability to instill an appreciation and awareness of something other than my own way of looking at the world will never cease to be beautiful in my eyes. That’s where I believe the true beauty of sharing lies, and it never fails to render me speechless at impact.

So regardless of anyone’s personal preference, there’s no denying that Carlos’s work possesses that quality in a very special way. Reading his biographic page alone exemplifies that fact. It’s my hope that you’ll take a look for yourself to get a taste of that firsthand. And of course, any of you that know me personally have an open invitation to stop by my soon - to- be new home in the coming months and take a look at a particular project of his that will be taking up a place of honor on my coffee table – an “autographed” copy of the second edition of Swipe Magazine of which is his an editor and contributor. Maybe one day its value to me will be matched by the art world. Few would deserve that more.

CARLOS DELGADO :   http://www.carlosdelgadoart.com/