"Flameproof"
Last week, I blogged about the emotional issues faced by thousands of college age students. Today's blog is about another drama that befell many of the art students at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn this February.
One's art work is an expression of their emotions ... their visions ... and a part of their soul that often taps into something not on this spectrum of reality.
Now imagine watching years of your hard work suddenly going up in flames. There are no words to describe the loss as I learned from a Pratt student, and client, this weekend. How you handle loss goes to your personality and awareness - and the learning lesson gained not just at university but in the university of life. Luckily, in the age of technology, my client had photographed her art work and showed it to me on her iPad as a sort of memorable to her loss. I'm not sure if she's going to put it on YouTube, create a tattoo, or something else.
The speed at which her work was taken away, ignited the flame to quickly create something new as suddenly there was a goal - one she never dreamed would happen - a Manhattan showing of her work. In times of stress, the greater part of our soul steps in and comes to the rescue, showing us another aspect of who we are and why we are here. With the help of faculty and benefactors, the students' new art will be exhibited at the Seagrams Building May 9-14 - the title of the showing "Flameproof".
Life repeatedly teaches us to rise from the ashes and create something new and better. Now, this would make a great film for the Tribeca Film Festival, mentioned below.
An Exhibition for Students Who Lost Art in a Studio Fire
New York Times - April 11, 2013
The show has become an exciting watershed in a healing process that many students said had changed the way they viewed their work. Several said they felt oddly renewed by the losses suffered and had taken imaginative leaps that they might not have risked before. "Loss is part of being a painter," said Rebecca Warlick, 21, of San Diego, whose canvases were damaged, though salvageable. "You sell a painting and it's not yours. But everything you learn, the fire can't take away from you. I've learned that painting is more about experimenting and taking risks - and not making it such a sacred object."
