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    The Soul of Art
    The Soul of Art
    The Soul of Art
    Ebook77 pages54 minutes

    The Soul of Art

    By Alfred J. Garrotto

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    About this ebook

    “The Soul of Art" offers a thoughtful, spiritual approach to human creativity, especially as broadly expressed in "the arts." Topics stem from the author's belief that all creative gifts spring from a higher, divine source, whom he calls "Creator-Spirit." Artists of all genres are invited acknowledge their gifts, their true source, and their role in the furthering creative processes of the universe. Thoughout, artists are called to serve humanity's greater good by sharing their gifts and thereby making our common habitat a better, more beautiful place for all to live in. Well-selected and eclectic quotes support the case for the high calling of gifted people. Lined workbook pages allow the reader to contemplate insightful and challenging questions related to their personal gifts and their mission as artists. This is a book to be treasured by all artists. It is also a perfect gift for all those creative people in your life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlfred J. Garrotto
    Release dateJan 4, 2017
    ISBN9781370429837
    The Soul of Art
    Author

    Alfred J. Garrotto

    I was born in Santa Monica, California, USA, and now live and write in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am the author of thirteen books, including seven novels and two children's books. My most recent work of fiction is There's More . . . : A Novella of Life and Afterlife. My most recent nonfiction work is The Soul of Art, in which I explore the spirituality of creativity and the arts in all forms.

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      Book preview

      The Soul of Art - Alfred J. Garrotto

      The Soul of Art

      By Alfred J. Garrotto

      Published by Alfred J Garrotto at Smashwords

      Copyright 2017 Alfred J. Garrotto

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Cover Image, "On Dancing Light

      © 2016 by Douglas MacWilliams Lawson

      Used with permission. All rights reserved

      Foreword

      I completed the second of many drafts of this book while vacationing in Princeville, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. On an alternately sunny-drizzly Saturday afternoon, we strolled peaceful Hanalei Beach viewing entries in a sandcastle contest. Though constructed mostly by families, not professionals, each entry showed imagination and artistic ability.

      We saw mermaids shaped breast-to-tail fins around live young women, who seemed not to mind being admired while encased in damp sand. Other sand sculptors shaped miniature locomotives. Another formed a realistic tribute, featuring surfboards, with Olympic rings on one side and a big Aloha+2016 on the other. With the Rio Games running at the same time, this became a popular photo stop.

      The event reminded me of an inspiring quote by author Shannon Hale that sustained me through each subsequent draft:

      I'm writing a draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.

      I’ll let you decide if this little book—a shovel full of words like grains of sand—has become a castle. It sure has been fun bringing it into being. The concept originated as a one-day retreat/workshop on the spirituality of the arts. Its launch at San Damiano Retreat in Danville, CA, was so well received that converting and expanding the material seemed an inevitable next step. In sharing these convictions in book form, I hope to reach an even wider audience.

      While my primary focus is on the widespread community of writers, composers, dancers, musicians, actors, etc., I am aware that creative people in many fields give expression to imaginative ideas. I’m thinking about inventors of all types, men and women who design the products we use every day—and take for granted—and all other creative folks, who do not call themselves artists, but whose ingenuity enhances the lives of count-less people. While they are not my primary audience, I pay homage to them for their contribution to the betterment of our world.

      Part I

      Imagine!

      Seeing in the Dark

      Only the artist can see in the dark.

      Brian T. Joyce

      Night-vision is a gift bestowed upon every artist. Among all humanity, the artist best comprehends the difference between seeing and perceiving. Every sighted human can see, but there is a dark-ness, a blindness in the human spirit, that has little to do with the ability of the brain to communicate electronically with our optical nerves.

      Jesus of Nazareth knew this better than anyone. That's why he taught primarily through the medium of story, referred to as parable. In doing so, he bypassed—but did not dismiss—the truth of facts and history and science.

      In a passage from the Gospel of Matthew (13:10-17), he explained the dynamic of seeing in the dark.

      [Jesus'] disciples came to him with the question, Why do you speak in parables?

      Jesus answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people. For the one who has, will be given more and he will have it in abundance.

      "But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables, because they look and do not see; they hear, but they do not listen or understand. In them the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled:

      ‘Much as you hear, you do not understand; much as you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back and I would heal

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