By Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

What is life without art? Dare i say, they are one and the same. Art, in fact, takes many forms, has no rules, is everywhere. Thou art. Everything we see, hear, f eel, think, sense, is a reflection of all that is around us and in us. Its vibrational energy connects us to other people, different lands and cultures, ways of being, inspires understanding and change. Art is a bridge, not only to other worlds, but to our very own.

There is much that may give us pause in this or any day of angst and challenge. Therefore, the ability to take off time and put on space is devoutly to be wished for. Art offers that kind of timeless, childlike wonder. Not unlike Alice’s fall through the looking glass, we discover through our imagination, that magical mirror upon which we may reflect. A space in which to create our own story.

Everyone and everything has a story. But self-reflection is hardly possible without reflecting upon the lives of others who mirror our own. When I am strolling down the streets of Paris, i often look up at the many storied-buildings and think to myself, behind every window lives a story .In every room, another chapter, another person with whom I am connected. Someone with whom i may share similar thoughts, struggles, regrets, dreams. Art offers us the opportunity to visit the many rooms of ourselves, to be invited into the sacred space of another being. To listen and to hear what is being expressed. Gives us the ability to better understand othes’ ideas and feelings. To empathize. This is Art’s great gift to ourselves and humanity.

We learn, as well, from those qualities that are dissimiiar to our own. They, too, give us pause, give us something to respond to. Response and the response-ability to respond to is what helps us to develop character and to build a life as well as a community. The ability to pay attention, to become more aware, as well as give voice to our own thoughts and emotions, can be both a valuable and humbling experience. It teaches us to unlearn, to accept that we don’t already know as much as we think we do. It opens our eyes and ears, our heart to that which we often take for granted. Even ordinary life when expressed through various artforms reminds us that life is never ordinary, but rather extraordinary. And, thus, we gain a renewed appreciation for life and the world around us.

When we see a painting, the contours and colors exude pleasure, remind us of our likes and dislikes, awaken us to a new perspective, the varied multi-layers of experience. When we hear a selection of music, it may offer us a key that opens us to another world, one that is strangely familiar. When we read literature, our curiosity is piqued. What will happen next. we are suspended in another’s time and place...hoping that the protagonist will fare well in the end. And, then, there is poetry and the reading in between the lines that gives us, yet; another glimpse, another insight. It reinforces our intuition.

While art is often appreciated for it’s aesthetic value, perhaps it’s greater purpose is to implore us to delve deeper. It makes us think. It encourages us to ask questions, to explore ideas, philosophies, activates the activist in us. No longer a dead noun, we are now transformed to a living verb. To be alive is to be forever involved in the R-Evolution of the soul. Art sounds the many voices that wish and need to be heard, including our own. Art is, in fact, a necessity!

To take pleasure in art, to express with passion, to send a positive message to the world is sorely needed. To impart meaning—what artist does not wish to aspire to this? The art of living and of loving is no less. They are, in fact, perhaps the greater arts. But, what may inspire and fulfill a life are the simple and not so simple acts of kindness and creation, re-creation. And, do we not, as ever, create in our own image and sometimes even the Larger Image. Art helps to bring us together, bring it all together. We are the world, after all, a living canvas. With every good turn, we are created as we create. We carry the world in our own round-about way, our own embrace. Art is but a universal language that often transcends words, a language that simply expresses what it feels like to be alive and oh so human. May it continue to lend understanding, may our every act--big or small--be but our labor of love.

Antonia Alexandra Klimenko is the Writer/Poet in Residence for The Creative Process and the Poet in Residence for SpokenWord Paris. A nominee for the Pushcart Prize, The Best of the Net, and a former San Francisco Poetry Slam Champion, she is widely published. Her work has appeared in (among others) Jazz and Literature, XXI Century World Literature (which she represents France) and Maintenant : Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art archived at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. She is the Poet in Residence. for SpokenWord Paris. Her selected poems On the Way to Invisible was recently published by The Opiate Books and is now available.

The Creative Process is created with kind support from the Jan Michalski Foundation.