I have been thinking about the ways in which life is art. How you live your life, the way that you shape your days, what you choose to do with your time, is all part of a tapestry. Parts of your life become stories, myths or even legends. Some of your life may be strikingly poetic. Single moments may be paintings in the eye of memory. And then there are the physical artifacts that you create or change: your home, the food you cook, maybe even literal paintings you draw or films you create. But taken as a whole, the collage of your life makes up a greater Work, a maximal art form that goes beyond all of its independent components.
Like a painting on canvas, it is entirely possible to get through a certain level of work and decide to scrap the whole thing, and paint over it all. The underlying work will still be there, presenting an invisible support for your new work.
One of the key challenges about this piece of art is that you are building it in view of the public. There is almost always an audience who will gladly share their criticism and sometimes their praise. They haven't seen the whole work, yet, but that doesn't stop them from having opinions about what it is or will be in the end.
Sometimes you know full well that your (metaphorical) giant sculpture in the middle of town is looking pretty darned ugly. But you also know that it won't be ugly for ever. It's still in process. Don't tear it down, just because the critics tell you to. Of course, if tearing it down is part of the process of building the final piece, then go right ahead.
Right this minute I'm going through a design phase. I spend a lot of time in the design phases, actually, but I like it that way. That's just the way I do this life thing. But it all makes me wonder, about the art in other people's lives.
Tell me a story about life, about how you made it art or poetry or a great story, or about the art in someone else's life that inspires you deeply.