the negative space in which relationship exists...

I have in mind the need for an art museum in my home town of Eureka Springs, but it's not just because we are a town filled with artists, and it's not just because there are collectors who would like to contribute works to a new museum, but because a small museum would tell a very special story of relationship and the way a community of artists and patrons in a small town can encourage each other's work.

Last night we held the Mad Hatter's Ball at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs to support the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. Each year, the ball features a silent auction in which various donated works of art are sold in support of the school. The quality of work is always amazing.  The story told consistently in our community is of artists who are generous with their time, whith their work and toward each other. A small museum might serve as an example to inspire other small communities to foster the arts.

In the arts, we are reminded to look not just at form, but at the negative space between forms, and in community, we are reminded to look not just at the objects as distinct and separate, but at the relationships that enabled them to be created.

Yesterday in the school wood shop, my high school students worked in their shaker boxes. In my own shop, I applied a second coat of Danish oil to boxes, preparing them to ship.

Make, fix, create and offer others the opportunity to learn likewise.