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Mar 17, 2023Liked by Minnamari

I love this! In reading I for some reason start thinking about the ending of the song "25th floor" by Patti Smith:

"the transformation of waste is perhaps the oldest pre-occupation of man. man being the chosen alloy, he must be reconnected—via shit, at all cost. inherent with(in) us is the dream of the task of the alchemist to create from the clay of man. and to re-create from excretion of man pure and then soft and then solid gold.

all must not be art. some art we must disintegrate.

positive (anarchy must exist.)"

I wish I could create-or not create just because I feel like it. Something abut that freedom has been lost, or exchanged for money, when I started WORKING with images and words and SELLING my stories. I don't think it will be lost forever, but I try to let myself feel some grief and longing for that freedom anyway.

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Hi Minnamari, :-) I enjoyed reading your words. There are several things that come to mind as I read through your thoughts. I'm 72 now .. I'm the oldest of six .. my father was artistic and posed for several important paintings before I was born .. and I can remember having a small box of cards with famous art on them. So my influence in art started very young .. but other than one year of Commercial Art .. I never got a lot of formal training. I can remember being in the 7th or 8th grade and one day a week our teachers would give us a period of time on a Friday afternoon to do artistic stuff. One day the teacher looked at my work and said, "You are an artist" .. that began a journey for me .. but even then I didn't completely understand the implications.

I have worked in restaurants, hospitals, designed, and built steel buildings .. but always I thought like an artist and often brought my work to show others .. as well as did art for those businesses I worked for. It wasn't until recent years .. maybe the last 12 or so that I thought about adding "Artist" to my name. So on FB it's Merwins ART .. but in other things I might write .. "~Merwin Abbott - Artist" to something I have written or painted. In the same way a Doctor or Dentist writes MD or DDS to their name. The reason this is important .. is that we uplift the value of "Artistic Thinking" .. it is Magical .. because we create something out of nothing .. and as the word also implies .. it speaks of "Wisdom" .. that's what the word, "Magi" means .. Magician, Wise Man, ART" ..

When we write .. we are using words to create pictures that reflect our own thoughts .. but also to convey ideas to others .. but they will be perceived differently by the individuals who take the time to look and listen. We do not think in "words" .. we think in pictures! So a painting is a conversation .. in the same way as your painting, "Out of Pain .. Something Good Will Grow". This is the process of birth. I have helped the mother deliver her child on 4 emergency situations.

What we choose to create will either make the world a better place .. or a worse place. It is up to us to help paint a better picture for those who are full of pain, sorry, fear, and worry. It is not easy because we are easily affected as well. There is no reason for the citizens of this earth to constantly be killing each other .. we have become our own worst enemies. Everyone wants to see their children grow up and have children too.

Lastly I want to leave you with something else to think about .. as I noticed your fascination with the "Book of Nature" .. a book most people do not know how to read .. (by design). Our educational systems have taught us how to read man-made books .. through which spells are cast .. to dull the mind .. and bend it toward ideas that those who are behind the educational systems .. want us to believe. This is true for religious schools as well. They all have their own language .. they may speak the same language such as English .. but within their system .. there is a language for a medical doctor, a scientist, an artist, a priest, etc. They all have their special words .. like engraving tools .. but designed to impress the mind.

The "Book of Nature" .. has it's own living language. It uses symbols .. in the same way we use symbols in a language to create words .. such as "TREE". Now, when we look at the word, "Tree" we don't immediately know what is being talked about .. are we talking about a fruit tree, nut tree, oak tree, or a family tree? We have to add words to help the reader understand what we are saying .. but in nature .. we can walk around the tree and notice things .. such as the bark, leaves, and fruit or nut to learn what that tree is telling us about itself. There is also a living gender or sexual content as part of the picture .. and all of what I just explained .. is seen as well in the animal kingdom as well as all the plants .. because every flower is a sexual organ of that species. It is extremely beautiful, detailed, wonderful, and an amazing thing.

As I understand the story .. some medical scientists researching in the Jungles .. asked the locals .. how do you know what plants are good for certain things? The native answered, "They speak to us!"

As one Artist to another .. I hope I have inspired you today .. and maybe many others. :-)

~ Merwin - ARTist.

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