Leonardo d Vinci - on the Science of Art

Well said, Leonardo da Vinci! 

A gem from a FB page called The Great Library of Alexandria. It is inspired by the Great Library of Alexandria that existed in the 3rd century B.C.E in Egypt, under the rule of Ptolemaic dynasty (Egypt's Hellenic period). 

"It was filled with every bit of information about the known world at the time, which included Astronomy, Philosophy, the Human body, Medicine and many many more. Many famous philosophers came to the library to study the mysteries of the natural world and figure out the many questions that we face in life. It was said that in the 4th century A.D philosophers had almost discovered the mystery of why objects always fall to the ground and not float away (Gravity). The circumference of the earth was discovered at the library and also it became a known fact that the world was round and not flat."

The page administrator writes :

"I would like to create a page where like minded people can converse and try and philosophize the mysteries of life and our existence. It doesn't matter if you believe in god or not, nor does it matter if you believe the earth is flat, we are all here to learn off each other and ponder the mysteries of our existence.

Every member must follow the five tenets and respect them or they shall be removed from the page

Five Tenets;
1: There is no such thing as a unintelligent person, nor is there such thing as a stupid question.
2: We're all brothers and sisters, act like it
3: Harsh language or abusive language will not be tolerated
4: Ask questions, be curious
5: We're all here to help each other achieve some sort of enlightenment, help each other and be respective to one another.

And i write :
Yes, i do believe, to nurture creativity, one must have a wandering mind, a mind that forever seeks the mysteries of life. One doesn't just paint or crafts. Besides having to develop a skill in painting or improve one's craftsmanship and using a medium to its full potential; one also has to explore the possibilities of this world to its length and breath, to question, to seek and then put into 'form' those ideas, questions, found answers - in whatever medium one chooses.

The Courage to Create

"Courage is not the absence of despair; it is rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair. … Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations." —Rollo May, The Courage to Create.

I can relate to that. Many people have a fear to go out of their comfort zone. And painting or crafting is one area many people would rather avoid. It's no help that many are 'traumatised' in art class because their still life drawing does not look like the still-life on display. .. and so is reprimanded or laughed at by their peers.... Aiyoh, havent they heard of Picasso???  So we get people who rather look and comment, than take the courage to DO IT.

I have not done much drawing or painting after school (accept when i enrolled for a fashion design course years ago). Always looking, always admiring but never the 'time' (another excuse) to sit and really do it. 

Instead, i prefer to talk to artists, to listen to their ideas, their stories... and feel inspired / empowered.. yet still the brush is in the drawer. Instead the fingers type and i blog and i organise events and i help others to connect to artists..  Not a bad thing to be doing as I find people and their experiences riveting.

I should start reading  this book - The Courage to Create...  lol!

I googled and found some quotes from this book -

“What genuine painters do is to reveal the underlying psychological and spiritual conditions of their relationship to their world; thus in the works of a great painter we have a reflection of the emotional and spiritual condition of human beings in that period of history. 

If you wish to understand the psychological and spiritual temper of any historical period, you can do no better than to look long and searchingly at its art. For in the art the underlying spiritual meaning of the period is expressed directly in symbols. This is not because artists are didactic or set out to teach or to make propaganda; to the extend that they do, their power of expression is broken; their direct relations to the inarticulate, or, if you will, 'unconscious' levels of the culture is destroyed. 

They have the power to reveal the underlying meaning of any period precisely because the essence of art is the powerful and alive encounter between the artist and his or her world." (pg 52)” 
― Rollo May, The Courage to Create

Need some motivation to move your day?

Read Nathan S. Collier's blog
http://www.nscblog.com/

and subscribe to his daily post. You'd get lots of interesting human & business relationship stories... A little like 'Chicken Soup'..(i think)