Simply Put: Art is the Cure

Rich, a young British artist, has started a movement with the simple but profound statement: Art is the Cure. Being creative helped save him from the darker demons and as he shared this fact he has found others who it has helped as well. Check out his website and consider buying one of his t-shirts or joining his facebook group.

Seeing....Believing

Too much coffee mixed with a powerful movie on the transience of life ( Benjamin Button) caused me to stay awake all night last night. In the middle of these episodes of insomnia, I often despair about growing old and useless. This morning's light brings to me a story in the paper on Joshua Silver, a grey beared physicist, who has invented a way to bring affordable prescription grade eye glasses to the poor around the world. By self-injecting small amounts of silicon into the lenses, these glasses can be adjusted by the wearer. Wow! Hundreds of thousands of these have already been distributed worldwide. The US military have bought thousands to give away in Africa. His business, Adaptive Eye-care is selling these glasses at about $19.

Whenever I get down- like last night- something like this comes along to remind me that one is never too old to make a difference in the world. Maybe I am biased but I also believe the creative mind, put to work for good, is the antidote for many late night despairs. Except for opthomologists, billions more worldwide will live (and sleep) better because Joshua Silver believed an idea could make the a better place.

M.C. Richard's Spirit Still Burns

photo by Jonathan William


Watching the spirit of M.C. Richards unfold like a flower in this video was inspirational beyond words. I found my muse for growing old without artistic diminishment in her. M.C. was a Black Mountain College faculty member who went on to make pottery, create poetry, and pen the book "Centering" after BMC closed. (She participated in the first ever "happening" at BMC.) In this video we see her discussing the joys of living a creative centered life and gain insight into her life's work from friends and colleagues . My favorite segments include her interaction with her mentally handicapped students and her dancing in the kitchen while patting her bottom and singing about God having a sense of humor. M.C. inspired hundreds if not thousands of artists in her lifetime. This documentary keeps the momentum alive. You can order the documentary at http://www.kanelewis.com/mc/