On Being an Artist

“When you look back on a lifetime and think of what has been given to the
world by your presence, your fugitive presence, inevitably you think of your
art, whatever it may be, as the gift you have made to the world in
acknowledgment of the gift you have been given, which is life itself. And I think the world tends to forget that this is the ultimate significance of the body of
work each artist produces. That work is not an expression of the desire for
praise or recognition, or prizes, but the deepest manifestation of your
gratitude for the gift of life.”

Stanley Kunitz
The Wild Braid, A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden

A dear friend shared this with me. She is a gifted artist and shares so much beauty of this life with her creativity and musical talent.

Stanley Kunitz says so well what being an artist means to me.