Prescription art?

I've been thinking about the upcoming Tulsa Blue Dome Arts Festival this weekend.

I have a special place in my heart for artists. The way I see it, they are more valuable to our national well being than anything because they think and see the world differently. Who better to solve the world's challenges than to have creative people thinking about things differently?

I remember the first time I was touched by color. I was living with my mother after dad left in a cramped apartment in Dallas. I was seven years old, the oldest of six very busy siblings. My mother, exhausted, sent me to the store on a cold, wet day in February to buy some milk. She gave me a faded $5 bill and told me to get bread and milk and to bring her home the change. (Milk was much less expensive then!)

I was seven. I was cold. I was looking for something warm and comforting.

After a frigid walk, I entered the convenience store where my eyes went right to them: a set of seven markers that glowed against the drab counters. It was as if the entire world was black and white and the markers exploded in front of me saying "Here! Here! Here!"

I looked at the bill in my hand. I looked around me. I made my decision.

Once at home, I told my mom, "They were out of milk but I got these instead!" Jubilantly, I pulled out the markers and watched my mom's horrific expression.

I don't remember much about what happened after that. I remember my mom crying. I remember feeling terrible about being so selfish. But I also remember that she let me keep the markers and I used them throughout that icy winter on all kinds of projects.

And my mom posted my creations all over the house. It was my first art gallery and my mom, my first patron.

There is a saying that I like, "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" and I believe that. Who hasn't been slayed by a beautiful painting, felt tears emerge from a piercing song or stopped in awe at the colors in the sky?

Most artists give to their creative life in ways that are expensive in more ways that just financial. Artists deseserve our attention, our support, our appreciation. This weekend is a great opportunity to do just that.
http://www.bluedomeartsfestival.com/