POEM: THE BLANK PAGE IS A LIE DETECTOR
The blank page is a lie detector
More strict than we’ve ever known.
When you compose or blather on,
Your inner truth is shown.
Stop short of telling everything
And they’ll know it in the end:
Too cowardly to share the tale
Of what you did back then.
©2014 Bill LaBrie
Boonie: Can I bug you about writing a blurb and how you do art? I'm curious about your creative process and how art has helped you heal. Do you think there's a stigma associated with being an artist? Why or why not?
I think depression -- at least sub-clinical depression -- is oftentimes the result of falling into one's self. It's a deep sort of loneliness where all one can see is oneself. One of the worst kinds of torture is the isolation chamber, after all.
When you make art -- whatever it is -- you're projecting something of yourself on to the world around you. That can be affirming. C.S. Lewis has that line about why we read: So we know we're not alone. I think that's why we write/paint/sculpt/perform as well.
My work with Release The Fear has further convinced me of the healing power of the arts. We have these kids--participants from horrible backgrounds--whose lives are often transformed by a few hours of encouragement and a couple more with a blank canvas. It's happened in hundreds or even thousands of cases.
There will always be a stigma that comes with being an artist among certain people, but to me that bespeaks a certain poverty. It's saying that we are so desperate as animals that we can't do anything for its own sake, and that everything we do must be justified in terms of utility. It's a slippery slope, I find, since by that reasoning most of us ourselves can't be justified. I guess I see love itself as the ultimate axiom that needs no justification, and art is a sort of path towards realizing love.
Thanks!
These lovely photos are from Bill's Instagram. :)
About Bill
Bill's MBTI preference is ENTP and he is awesomesauce. I consider him as authentic as it can get. He's an encouraging fellow artist, lifting others in the community, and I hope his works are shared with more. Thank you, Bill.
More of Bill's lovely writings:
BillLaBrie.com: I Question Your Questioning
