The Story Behind “Artist Connection”

On a personal front I have a lot on my plate. There has been more stress in the last few months than in any time of my life. I have been leaning on a small group of people who have been standing with me through the storm. Saturday before last I just needed to walk it all off. I grabbed my Pentax K3ii Limited Silver edition, packed some lenses, batteries, and a water bottle into my photo vest, and took a train to downtown Chicago. And I walked. 

I walked over seven miles and came across the Gold Coast Art Fair in Chicago’s Grant Park. I found my spirits restored connecting with artists and art. Before I left I decided to have a cool drink by a bandstand. Simple trio. Acoustic strings, a violin, and a voice as beautiful as the instruments. I sat and enjoyed their music for a few songs while I drank my virgin concoction. 

Then I stood up and started finding different perspectives and compositions to shoot the band. This one was not the sharpest of my shots and it was not the most creative composition. But what it had was worth more than those things in the ongoing quest for the decisive moment. It has connection. The singer and I made eye contact and held it as she sang. Artists connected. That was the theme for the last hour of my life. Connection. Art. Artists. This was the moment. This was the shot we created in an impromptu collaboration. 

Lost and Found

Thomas Merton once said, “Art Enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” I felt the truth of the statement in that afternoon. For a brief period I was restored and found myself, but I was also lost in the beauty. 

What does art do for you? How are you lost and how are you found?

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I write a Bi Monthly 20 page zine and I also have a few other published works. You can read more about them and purchase these stories here. 

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More Connections

In the story above, I met some of the artists. They are painters, metallurgists, and potters. Even when there was not eye contact, we had connection. Take in their beauty. They create the art that breathes life into us all.