22. Walls Can Be Broken

Dear Sade,

Another of my favourite artists is Henri Matisse who once wrote that an artist should not be a prisoner of his style. In essence I think he was talking about the ability of an artist to be flexible and open to change, as many of us get 'stuck' at a certain stage of our development and we stay there in this imaginary safe-haven. Some time ago your Gran and I attended a day's workshop given by a recognized and much sought after artist. Years later we took in another of her workshops only to find that she was simply regurgitating the same old techniques, practices and theories from the previous time. She was firmly stuck in her comfortable groove and didn't realize that she was a prisoner, caught inside her self-made walls of inflexibility and dogmatism. To me, art is a journey during which I experience new things, fresh ways and innovative change. Occasionally during this journey I stop in order to fill the receptacle in my mind. The joy is in the journey itself, not the destination and it's the one time when you don't have to drive carefully!

Love
Gramps