Artists are Dumpster Divers

While walking a trail in Ridenour Park last week, I found a treasure trove of painted rocks. I was touched by the idea that someone, possibly a child, spent time creating for the benefit of some unknown recipient. Pablo Picasso said, “Art washes the dust of daily life from our souls.”  In a world turned upside down with Covid-19, these ordinary rocks shone like jewels there on the trail in the afternoon light, and I felt my soul get a good washing. Austen Klein in his book Show Your Work, says, “One of the jobs of the artist is finding treasure in the trash of others, sifting through the debris of our culture, paying attention to the stuff everyone else is ignoring, and taking inspiration from what others have tossed aside for whatever reason.
        Thank you, my young friend, for providing such a wonderful example for the rest of us.