Part 1

One of my favorite quotes regarding art is by Ralph Waldo Emerson who says, “Art is the path of the creator to his work.” Another is by Elbert Hubbard who philosophizes that “Art is not a thing: it is a way.” As I began to reflect on what I “know” about art, I realized that art was at once a process as well as a product. As a life-long participant in various aspects of the creative arts (school art classes, museum visits, community actor/director, etc.), I have been involved in both the process of creating art ( material gathering, material preparation, media manipulation) , and the product itself (an ashtray, a play, a greeting card, an interpretive dance, etc.) In a way, the artist is a part of the media used to create art. This is especially true in dance or live theater where the human body is the medium of expression.