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So, I just returned from a whirlwind trip through England and France – and I do mean whirlwind! A day here, a day there, staying in accommodations ranging from friends’ condos to castles. Let me tell you, it’s pretty sweet to wake up in a castle on your birthday!

In so many ways, it was a trip celebrating art in all its forms. We experienced the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Tour, with real sets, costumes, and props from all the movies. We had great fun admiring – and purchasing – the works of artisans at a medieval festival in Sedan, France. We strolled through Montmartre in Paris, filled with art galleries. I even had a moment of incredulity with one piece in particular. I approached a staff member, dubious, “Ce n’est pas l’original.” I said as I pointed to the painting. It’s not the original. And she reassured me, “Oui. C’est l’original.” It was then that I knew I was looking at the original Campbell’s soup can painting by Andy Warhol. #Notaprint. We reveled in the glory of cathedrals such as Ely and Sacre Coeur, where we were a little taken aback by a crazy organ solo after the service that reminded me of the beginning of Ghostbusters. And the patisseries! As beautiful as they were delicious!

I was surrounded by so much culture, so much beauty, so, so many stairs. And throughout the journey – because my brain is always running on all cylinders – I was confronted with a big question: what am I willing to deal with, to sacrifice, to do what I’m here to do as an artist?

We met a fellow from Regina, Saskatchewan working in a pub who had moved to Paris about seven months ago. I asked him if he enjoyed living in the city and he told me that Paris wasn’t a perfect place but the pros outweighed the cons and he liked it so far.

What may be required of us to fulfill our missions as artist? Do the pros outweigh the cons on our own journeys? The discussion brought to mind a real estate show where a young woman was moving to Paris to study fashion. Seems like the perfect place to pursue such a dream. In her search for a place to live, she came across a place – I think it was a condo – that met her budget of around $100,000 USD and provided a grand total of – get this – 86 square feet of living space.

Would you live in an 86 square-foot condo for your art?

When I was visiting New York, I had the same question. With my interest in theatre and with Broadway being the heart of the medium, you would think it would be a great place to connect and make things happen. But, while it was a fun place to visit and I had a fabulous time, could I really live there?

And we can extrapolate that to other aspects of our craft. Can we accept that there will be rejection, possibly a lot of it? Can we accept that, in the case of performers, we are working while others are celebrating? Can we accept that we may have to be away from home more than we’d like? In the airport in Nice on the way home, there were a couple of what I assumed to be models and I wondered what it would be like to live their lives, and not just what it would be like to be so beautiful and tall. Did then enjoy traveling from place to place or did they find it tedious? Did they mind not being able to enjoy life’s culinary pleasures as much as we mere mortals do?

I read somewhere recently that life will truly move forward when your passion is greater than your fear. Well… okay… it was a horoscope, but it’s a profound, universal concept nonetheless. More than just fear, I take this also to mean that you will move further on your path – it will rise up to meet you – when you are prepared to accept all that the path entails, embrace all of the pros and cons, fully cognizant of the fact that there really is no such thing as perfection.

This is more of a musing that offering any advice, per se, but I invite you to look at your creative dreams – or any dreams, really. Are they worth the rejections? Are they worth the paperwork being filled out to apply for grants? Are they worth hours spent in airports? Are they worth crowded streets? Are they worth a few rats here and there? Are they worth living in an 86 square-foot condo for a while? Are they worth climbing up and down stairs for what seems like all day every day? I mean, you will build up the leg muscles and it does apparently get easier but the stairs are still going to be there no matter what. I’m just saying. 🙂

You may truly be able to create an ideal scenario for yourself – a situation where you are creating your art stress free in exactly the environment that pleases you. I’m not saying it’s entirely impossible. It’s more likely, however, that there will be some aspects of your dream that are less ideal than others. And you will have your own priorities. You alone know what’s most important to you and it is to be honoured, even if you choose not to live “la vie bohème”. But if you can look at the whole picture, all the ups and downs, and see the joys of the process as greater than the potential setbacks – if you can breathe and tell yourself, “Okay. I’m hoping for the best but I’m ready for it all.”- then your dream will rise up to meet you and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

The world reeled at the news of the burning of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris last week. And I’m not exaggerating too much when I say that. Most of the time I think it’s completely cheesy when someone claims the entire world is affected by anything. It’s like, get over yourself. But I know I wasn’t alone as I watched my social media feed be dominated by news coverage, memories, and hopes regarding the historic edifice. Having never been to Paris and not being a Catholic, I have no personal emotional connection to the building, but the loss of such a monument was saddening nonetheless.

Now, you can say what you want about all the money that was donated by wealthy tycoons to support the rebuilding. What more significant problems could they be solving with all that money? What is the Vatican doing about it? They have billions. You can interpret it how you wish – and I’m not saying your questions are not valid – but I would like to entertain another interpretation to the events following the incendiary incident.

While it is a pivotal location to the Catholic community, the people commenting on Notre-Dame are not only Catholics. The mourners cover every faith and non-faith out there. So it’s not just about religion.

Stories like Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame have brought the idea of the cathedral to the imaginations of the masses, elevating it to an almost mythical status. And visitors can’t help but be mesmerised by its beauty and power – the architecture, the stain glass windows. They are captivated by its art.

Think about that. The world is in mourning over the loss of art. Corporate moguls have donated over a billion dollars to the restoration of art

People – even those who pride themselves on their practicality and claim art is a waste of time that takes energy away from more important matters – are affected by art in ways they may not even know. Why do you think some governments over the ages have made the creation of art an illegal act? It’s not because it is a waste of resources that should be utilized elsewhere. No, art has been outlawed because it has the potential to be so powerful, so influential, that it poses a threat to their domination.

We may or may not ever become part of something on the level of Notre-Dame, as inspiring and delightful a notion as that might be. But we cannot forget that what we are doing as creators is important. It’s worth doing on some level. Even the most logical among us – those who love to tell us to get a real job or do something useful with our lives – still remember their favourite childhood story, the song that was playing when they had their first kiss. They are not immune to art’s power. They must acknowledge that someone wrote that story, composed and performed that song that became a part of their history – part of the soundtrack of their life, as I like to say.

If it is within us to do so, we have a right and a duty to contribute to the history of our and future generations with the art we create. We cannot know what will become of it. Our work may be momentarily enjoyed and forgotten. It may endure and be celebrated for hundreds or thousands of years. It is not our job to prophesy the fate of our art. It is our job to create it and share it as we are so inspired. As the reaction to Notre-Dame will attest, the world needs us to do so.

Pros and Cons: What’s Your Creativity Worth To You?

What The Notre-Dame Fire Says About Our Values

WORK WITH STM

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