I play until my fingers are blue and stiff from the cold, and then I keep on playing. Until I'm lost in the music. Until I am the music--notes and chords, the melody and harmony. It hurts, but it's okay because when I'm the music, I'm not me. Not sad. Not afraid. Not desperate. Not guilty.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the deep connection between the artist and their art, illustrating how immersion in creativity can provide escape from pain and negative emotions.
Jennifer Donnelly expresses the transformative power of music and art through her quote. She conveys that while physical discomfort may accompany the act of creation, the process of becoming one with her music offers a reprieve from personal struggles such as sadness, fear, and guilt. This highlights how engaging with one's passion can lead to an exhilarating experience that transcends everyday hardships.
In practice
In a speech about the power of creativity, this quote can illustrate how art helps artists cope with personal challenges.
Most people, if they were generous, were so because they thought life was short and that one must make the most of it. Sid Baxter was generous because he knew that life was long. It went on and on even when you had no use for it anymore. It was happiness, not life, that was short, and when it visited - in the form of a fine evening spent talking with a friend - he honoured it.
I would passionately make the case that the harder the times, the more we need things that aren't just about keeping our job and making a buck - important though those things are. Arts programming isn't some sort of add-on or ornamental luxury.
Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.
I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the things that could save us.
Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
It dawned on me that comics were not an intrinsically limited medium. There was a tremendous amount of things you could do in comics that you couldn't do in other art forms - but no one was doing it. I figured if I'd make a try at it, I'd at least be a footnote in history.
The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others.
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