Heartspeak Life is Art
Life is Art
Swati Moheet Agrawal opens up the definition of ‘art’ to include the magic that we miss in everyday phenomena Have you ever seen dust drifting back and forth, like flecks of gold, in the
light of the sun streaming through your window? Have you ever noticed how the shadow on the asphalt grows longer as you walk beneath the streetlights? Ever observed the interesting patterns scattered hair strands make on the bathroom floor? Intricate patterns of a spider’s web? Dappled clouds? A firefly dancing in the dark? The way a mother rocks her baby to sleep?
It’s all about giving depth to the banal; discovering art in the mundane. Finding beauty in the everyday; finding solace in the most unexpected places.
The word ‘art’ conjures up images of galleries and museums, but there is so much more to art than that. Consider these day-to-day consolations: Daisies growing in the cracks Sunflowers nodding and dancing in the breeze
Latte art
A quirky tattoo Swans nibbling on a piece of bread Rain drumming on a corrugated tin roof Mist filling the valleys
Pigeons huddled together on a windowsill in the rain An owl hooting on the treetop
Butterflies rising from behind a lime-green bush A ladybird resting on a wild rose A hibiscus in full bloom A line of ants trudging along the edge of a table Dew on antirrhinums
Deodars cloaked in a mantle of white The night sky tremendous with stars A peacock preening itself under a tree A grasshopper reclining on a leaf
How much more interesting life becomes when you learn to uncover the extraordinary within the ordinary. It is a conscious choice we make to pay attention and appreciate the beautiful delights of the day. Everything around gains new resonances, new meaning. A new lease of life.
The mystery and beauty of art
Art even lurks in the most unlikely places— only if you have the ability, or rather the gift, of
being able to see beauty everywhere. Consider a wildflower growing out of rubble or a dandelion sprouting in a crack of concrete against an azure spring sky. In the words of Eden Phillpotts, “The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”
Art sustains and stimulates. Art evokes and inspires. There are few comforts greater than art when your hopes have been dashed. Art revives, art recreates: A great poem speaks to you; it has the power to transform. The world is never the same once a great story or poem has been included in it. A song has the power to move you to tears; tears of happiness and gratitude. A photograph makes you take a trip down memory lane.
Is there anything more artistic than nature? There is a sunrise and a sunset every single day, but most of us miss it.
To quote Mia Kirsher, “Bursts of gold on lavender melting into saffron. It’s the time of day when the sky looks like it has been spray-painted by a graffiti artist.”
“A sunset is the sun’s fiery kiss to the night.”— Crystal Woods
Art is everywhere: The way you make your coffee, how you savour your morning tea, the way you smile, the way you dress, the way you cook and present your food, the way you talk, the way you write. Everything is art.
Even the earth without art is just eh!
When she is not mollycoddling her baby girl, Swati Moheet Agrawal spends time writing in her favourite coffee shop. A poet and writer, her work has appeared in Muse India, Setu, Active Muse, The Alipore Post, Modern Literature, Indian Periodical, Potato Soup Journal, Rhodora Magazine, Friday Flash Fiction, Ariel Chart, Thimble Lit Mag, and The Criterion among other literary magazines and journals.