Above are my fellow exhibitors and I, the annual toast at the beginning of the White St. Walk. From left are Karen foster, clay artist, Eleanor Lux, weaver, Max McKee, sculptor and I. There were several hundred art lovers in attendance. The large cherry desk shown behind us is one I made for Eleanor several years ago. Today we have a clean-up day at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, ESSA to prepare the school facility for this year's classes.

My wife and daughter thought I was a bit harsh in criticism of the work of Jeff Koons work at the MOMA, and perhaps I am out of line in criticizing "art" at all. To look at a single blog post out of context to the understanding of the mission would also be unfair. But we have created a schizophrenic relationship with the arts. They are over there, on view, done by others, disconnected from our lives except on Sunday mornings when the museums are open for free. Instead we might live lives where the arts are at hand, expressed through the activities of each and every hand, revealing the workings and profound nature of our own hearts. Perhaps it is a wonderful thing to go to the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts and look at big inflatable dogs actually made from stainless steel by a team of 95 dedicated employees fulfilling one man's artistic vision. We should also be directing people young and old to discover the fulfillment and potentials offered by their own hands engaged in artistic process.