art
A Poem A Day #186: Ink
A Poem A Day #159: The Streets are Art
A Poem A Day #68: Collaboration
My Poem “A Poet and Their Muse”
It is not as easy as some people might think to imagine something from nothing as fast as it takes for someone to blink… even for those people who are skilled at improvisation, the ability to be able to come up with something on the spot is a miraculous gift of inspiration… unless you know someone or something well then it is almost impossible to create an expose about them without first spending some time with a particular person or thing and observing everything about them – from the way that they talk, to the way that they look, to the way that they listen, to the way that they move… and unless you ask questions and get answers then no one can know anyone, nor anything, nor find out how, nor why, they do what they do. How does a painter paint? How does a writer write? How does a human being or an animal live and breathe? And the answer to all those questions is the same: simply by doing so – because creativity, like most facets of instinct, is involuntary, and it is done first and foremost without any thought of personal gain. Artists create art because they must… sometimes there is more to say about something old than there is about something new… there is something more interesting about finding out how, why, when, and where something emerged into this world as a result of a specific converge and configuration of cosmic dust that had to occur. Artists can describe an idea, a thought, a piece of art that they have originated – but, in all honesty, no artist could ever accurately tell you where, when, why, nor how they are able to do all that they do, because the sharing of inspiration from the source to the artist is a language that is only known by a poet and their muse.
A Poem A Day #4: Bigger on the Inside
My Poem “Soapbox”
In any public area there exists an arena where those who have both the creative spark and also the drive to perform can show an audience what calls out to be heard within their core... the stage might be a grand bandstand, or perhaps just upturned used crate - but no matter who they are, or where they are, what every performer wants more than anything is to perform. Most performers who perform on street corners, or in the middle of a town square, do not do so simply for monetary gain - because the first love of most performers who stand with their instrument, a live microphone, and a speaker by their side, is that of sharing what they feel for the music within them and the magic of music that has the power to draw everyone. For most performers a stage of any kind feels like a second home - and every time every performer feels those pre-performance nerves sometimes they feel as if they have to put on some kind of metaphorical second skin, or step back into a psychological pair of comfortable shoes, with which they can use to help them soak up every ounce of attention upon them so that they can convert their audience's enthusiasm into a fuel to turbo-charge their art; however, for the more reticent of performers, a spotlight may be the last place that they want to be - but even the most introverted artist can, over time, find a way to create an alter ego with which, in a sense, they can become someone else, and make it possible for them to climb to heights from where they can make themselves, and others, believe that they have this extraordinary, electrifying, transcendental and other-worldly power. In this day and age a stage does not need to be a physical place at a particular time... in this day and age, because of the constant advances in technology that have been made in the way that we all communicate with one another, anyone, anywhere, can do what they love, and they can be whomever they want to be, and put on a live performance of their own - even from the sanctuary of their own bedroom... in this day and age someone who is categorized as "unknown artist" can quickly create something and go "viral", and for as long as the place where their performance was shared remains, archived forever for posterity, someone, anyone, could become a constant source of hope and joy for someone - especially for those people who, at times, feel lost... in this day and age you don't need to have a message written in the sky to get noticed, because anybody with the tenacity, the courage, the spark, and the love for performing - that every performer has within them - can find the perfect place, can find their perfect audience, where, and to whom, they never want to step off the stage of, or say goodbye to - because every performer has their soapbox.
My Poem “The Way of the Artist”
Everything changes... everything evolves... everybody doing every thing has their own process... new things have naturally arisen over time to replace other things and other ways of doing things; however, some things never change - and one of the things that will never change is the way that artists are inspired, the way that artists seek out new sources of stimulation, the way that artists wake up every morning and want to create art, the way that artists cannot settle down to sleep without first either thinking about or doing something about the nugget of an idea within them. There is something inherently human about art and about attempting to capture the sometimes incomparable, about the need to express our inner most thoughts, feelings, emotions, dreams, hopes, fears, and our natural insecurities... there is something primal about the experience of having this overriding instinct that we feel compelled to act upon... there is something almost genetic about how people young and old seem to have the same unconscious ability to be able to go to the same places that other people are unable to, because there exists this continuity of connection that crosses generations like some kind of universal melody. All my life I have created art, I have witnessed art being created, and I have come to recognize the look in a fellow artist's eyes when they are deep within that moment when the inspiration and the art within them are in full-flow, as if it were a sixth sense of mine that I have slowly but surely developed over time... all my life I have looked at the natural beauty of the world rise like waves upon an ocean and literally change the geography of a well known place or monument... all my life I have witnessed something come from something - and I have come to believe that "nothing" is in fact a type of "something" that we have not yet given a name to, because certain things are like energy and no matter what they will always exist. Looking for an answer to a question that may have been asked for centuries and expecting to find what has not occurred to anyone else before, at least to me, is not in any way a sign of madness - in fact, I believe the art of being inquisitive and never asking the question "why create art in the first place?" and just feeling this need to create some kind of art is the most powerful gift and the most fulfilling way of every artist.
My Poem “Eternally Illusive”
Some of the most influential artists
are the most illusive…
some of the most prolific artists
are the those who most people
will never be lucky enough to meet…
some of the most powerful artists
have worn masks all of their careers…
some of the most emotional artists
are those who never publicly shed a tear…
some of the most acclaimed artists
are those who want to be judged
upon the quality of their art
and not by how they look…
some of the most accomplished artists
are those who draw people to them
because they speak a language
that is universally understood…
some of the most loved artists
are those who respect their audience
and layer their work with insights about
them that reflect who they are within…
some of the most iconic artists,
who are worshipped as if they were a deities,
live on after they have ascended this world
and leave words, sounds, messages,
music, and sustenance for the mind,
the heart, the soul, and everything in between…
some of the most poetic artists
infuse their masterpieces with
so much of themselves that they illicit
memories, feelings, and emotions in others
capable of being retroactively reciprocated…
some of the most intriguing artists
will always be considered as such because of the way that they can cause somekind of surge of energy in the imagination
of people near and far, old and young –
while continuing their enduring legacy of remaining eternally illusive.
Dedicated to Daft Punk
My Poem “Perseverance”
The perseverance of imagination
is what gives an artist their muse…
the perseverance of an extraordinary idea
is what inspired the first philosophers,
the first explorers, the first inventors,
the first daredevils, the first pilots,
the first men to set foot on the moon…
the perseverance of a team of dreamers
is what has propelled all the man-made
exploratory robots launched into space
to get close up eye-views of the planets
of our solar system and has led to trails
of human built wheels to leave their mark
upon the dusty copper coloured
surface of the planet Mars.
Perseverance is having the strength
of mind to decide to not give up
no matter the distance that has to be crossed…
perseverance is moving forwards despite
others having reservations about your plan
because you know with all that you are
that not following your heart
would be a sacrifice with too high of a cost…
perseverance is finding answers to questions
that were once thought to be irrevocably lost…
perseverance is thinking about the potential
future of everyone on Earth instead of anchoring
yourself to the ideals of the distant past.
The perseverance of life is why there
is so much diversity of species
that is unique to this beautiful planet…
the perseverance of light is why
stars continue to shine long after
their life-span has come to an end…
the perseverance of spirit is why
singers continue to sing,
why painters continue to paint,
why actors continue to act,
why dancers continue to dance,
why people listen to music, fall in love,
and often find themselves living in a trance.
The secret source of success
is not achieving more of something
than somebody else –
the secret of true success is realising
what it takes to do what has to be done,
what it takes to make it through the hard times,
why it is important to believe in yourself,
why it is important to believe in others:
because it is remarkable what extraordinary
feats can be achieved by people
when they are inspired and they are compelled
by the power of perseverance.
Mark Hastings 