Alive

I love the Proust quote about not needing to travel to new places but rather “having new eyes” to see and know where you already are. In fact the first show I curated at the Aspen Art Museum took this phrase as the title. And I am very much a proponent of the Buddhist principle of beginner’s mind and the gracious opportunity to begin each day anew. The idea of self-forgiveness associated with this concept first arose for me in the parenting classes we took in advance of having our first child. Doing new things takes courage and often involves failure. And the allowance for imperfection in our efforts facilitates grace and love, for ourselves and then for others.

Recently I was in Mark Manders' gorgeous new studio in Belgium. It is a space he co-designed and purpose built for ease and simplicity and it is clearly both a massive and glorious manifestation of his decades long project “Self-Portrait as a Building” and also a factory of ideas and making. Perhaps my favorite space exists behind a non-descript white door: a vault of good ideas. When asked why he makes art Mark replied, “Because I am so grateful to be alive.” After the visit I shared with my husband that I feel protective of Mark’s work and practice because in it I find the joy and intrigue and importance of celebrating each day with new eyes, a fresh mind, and a gratitude for life and I can’t think of a better recipe for living artfully!

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