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Learning an Art

     For me, the idea of learning an art is rather a tricky one.  Part of being an artist is to express what is already in you as well as to possibly present something to the world in a way that they haven't seen it before.  Lessons seem likely to stifle that.  Lessons teach you how other people have created art.  You learn their brush strokes, their representation of light and darkness, and their favorite subjects.  How is that art for you?  You are not learning to be an artist but a copycat.
     I feel strongly about this, but there is another side to it.
     What if there is a picture (or a story, or a song) locked inside of you and you don't know how to get it out?  You can see it; you can feel it; you can hear it; but all of your attempts to express it fall horribly short.  Then what?
     What sort of pride keeps you from listening to the ancients?  Why do you refuse to "stand on the shoulders of giants?"  If you keep stumbling along, will you eventually find a way to share your hidden art?  Maybe...after many, many years.  Or maybe not.  How many people have lived and died without sharing what they wished they could share?
     What if the study of art (or writing, or music) was not a way to re-express what others have already said but a way to unlock the art inside of you?  Would you study it then -- teaching your fingers to make your heart visible?  Is it something you want to be good at?
     Can art be learned?  Can art be studied?
Probably my favorite. I love ballet and Edgar Degas... <3
Degas
via Pinterest
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