I don't know when "the beautiful" became so important to me. Was it an idea or an experience? Notions of truth came first, primarily because of a religious upbringing, and the good wasn't on my radar for many years, at least not as a concept. But somewhere along the way, "beauty" came along …
Cynics: Passionate Creators in Distress
Rosamund Stone Zander (family therapist) and Benjamin Zander (conductor of the Boston Philharmonic) pointed something out in their book The Art of Possibility that brought me up short in my reading this morning. "A cynic, after all, is a passionate person who does not want to be disappointed again." And "the secret is not to …
The Spirit’s Arrival: The Wait is Over
What can an artist take from the story of what Christians call "The Day of Pentecost?" In Christian teaching, the day of Pentecost is the day on which the Holy Spirit of God first took up residence in the hearts of those who follow Jesus Christ. This same "Spirit of God" is the one who …
For The Love of God…What Do Artists Do?
On the one hand, they take materials in hand and make something. Craft, craft, craft. Depending on their discipline, they maneuver the materials they need (paint, voice, clay, what have you) to create objects, experiences, and ideas that alter something of the way we perceive and navigate our world. On the other hand, sometimes they …
Focusing Wonder, Narrowing Mystery
Help me out here. The project? Focusing my blogging, narrowing my subject matter. Answering the question: what is all this blogging about? I mean the blogging in the jeffberryman.com world. If you've been reading my work for awhile, tell me what you think I'm up to. It's not that I don't know...exactly--after all, …
JEFF BERRYMAN 