Libraries

I think Libraries are underrated places. Books are underrated themselves, but people keep pushing them, which is good. However, we're getting more digital books, and Libraries are starting to sink into "the corrupt sands of commerce"--You've Got Mail.
I know a ton of kids don't use libraries. Even in my homeschooling circle I find so many kids who've only ever used a library for required school research. *gasp* HOW? I want to beg of them. I love libraries. They're this big cove filled with shelves and shelves of mysteries. Upon opening some of the boxes, you're met with boredom, junk, or interesting things at another time, but every once and awhile you find a treasure. I know; right now I'm being all cliché and tacky...but I do love libraries.
It's no different than bookstores in my opinion. I walk into Barnes and Noble, and aside from the coffee smell which makes me happy, I get kind of giddy thinking of how many unknown books I'm going to discover in the next hour. Seriously, when you take me into Barnes and Noble, I just walk through shelves, pulling out random books and reading the backs. Usually, I come home with about 4 new books I want to put on my "to-read" list.
Currently, I am still hacking my way through the Amazon jungle known as the novel Les Miserables, and I'm getting rather sick of it. I'm actually getting rather sick of just forcing myself to read it. It never ENDS!!!!! However, one of my friends just recently finished it, giving me hope that I can indeed accomplish the task I started about two years ago.
No matter, that's the book I'm in the middle of, but I've been waiting for Nicholas Sparks' book Safe Haven  to come in at the library. It was taking forever, and I was getting really tired of waiting because I kind of boycotted Les Mis till I got it. So, I didn't read a thing yesterday. So sad. But, today I went to the library, and they had my book and the CDs I requested; and I was super happy. Yay for libraries! I hope they never go out of style.

"Heaven help us, if the library caught on fire, and the volunteer hose brigades-man, had to whisper the news to Maaaaaaaaarian." -- The Music Man

Everyone is an Artist

What is an artist, exactly? The first thought might lead you to paint, thick strokes of green on a bumpy sheet of canvas. Or perhaps your mind took you to the concert stage, the sound booth, or the stacks of CDs on your bookshelves.

But then you're reminded to think in more general terms. Well then...I suppose people in the arts: the painters, the musicians, the dancers, the photographers, the writers, the actors.  But is that all? Is that where the term 'artist' stops? Only someone being involved in the arts? I say, no.

Everyone is an artist, in my opinion. I don't mean that in the way that everyone has the potential to write a poem or sing a song or dance to Tchaikovsky. No, everyone is an artist now! The term applies to everyone, currently, in exactly what they're doing. 

The chef who places the spring of mint on the left of the pastry instead of the right. The architect that slants the roof to this degree versus that degree. The room designer that wants a country feel. The weaver that has a whole box of red yarn beside her. They are all artists. 

To me, artistry is creation. If you can make something, then you're an artist. The home cook who pours the soup into one big serving dish. The engineer organizing steel beams to fit together. The teenager rearranging her room for the fifth time. And Grandma, as she knits that sweater for her ugly dog. All of these are artists. They have the drive, the ability, and the creativity to make something. 

I've been thinking about this subject a little lately. As a writer, I consider myself an artist. I might not consciously state it to myself, but if I were to think about it, I would say I was an artist. I write stories; I create. I am an artist. And you know what, so are you. You don't have to be holding a camera or a baton or a brush...you can be sitting at home making an EXCEL spread sheet. Because think about it, didn't you have to figure out which colors were going to be allotted to which categories, and what columns things were directed into? 

Enjoy the rest of your day! :)