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From my favorite "Letter to Artists" May 6, 1999
"All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardor of the creative moment: What they manage to express in their painting, their sculpture, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendor which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit." - Pope John Paul II
Haven't many of us here spoken of the "zone" we find ourselves in when we are deeply creating, and it is really happening? My last portrait drawing was of my boyfriend's deceased father, with only a 1930's high school picture as reference. I had never met Charlie. In the middle of the night, when I was fairly finished, but terribly unsatisfied, I sat back and blurred my eyes and "got into Charlie Deegan". The portrait placed him a good ten years older than I knew him to be in the photo. What was I not seeing? Then I had that moment, the "dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardor of the creative moment". The poor quality photo, faded and fuzzy, breathed for a minute second and I saw the 18 year old. With tremendous ease I was able to adjust the portrait and finish, satisfied with the likeness. On Christmas day Charlie's family gasped at the portrait, I watched in awe as tears welled up in children and grandchildren's eyes. They each discussed what features were passed to which sibling, grandchild. It was the most satisfying experience I have had relative to my artistic endeavors.
"...and here we touch on an essential point. Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation, feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole" - Pope John Paul II
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