cello plays–children play

A few years back I heard an interview with cellist Yo-yo Ma. He described a tour in China in which he visited homes of peasant folk. He said that when he would begin playing, the children would get down on the floor and wrestle with each other. When he would stop playing they would stop and stare, wondering why he'd stopped.

We are used to art being something we stare at and performers getting their accolades from having their work stared at. Yo-yo Ma was making a suggestion that perhaps there was another way of looking at things.

In the blog I make a point concerning the creation of useful beauty. This is the start of the May Festival of the Arts. Are the arts something to be stared at or lived with; made actual use of even to the point of being worn out and into the soul of who we are as individuals, families and communities?  The creation and use of useful beauty infuses artful spirit into the fabric of home and community life.

A few years back my high school students had noticed that nearly everything they owned came from China. I asked, "Do you have anything in your home that was made by someone you know?" One of my students answered, "I have the wooden bowl I turned in wood shop." That's a start. Cello plays–children play.

Make, fix and create. Assist others in growing and learning likewise.