Why Listening to Inspiring Talks is so Important

Her talk is moving, so is her art,

Poetic, serene and yet so dynamic,

To me, her sculptures are nothing, but wonders of soul transcending magic!

Credits: Google images

Hanging brightly in limitless sky, as you can see in the images above, her artistic creations remind me of Shelly’s Skylark which is “blithe Spirit” and “full heart in profuse strains of unpremeditated art” and Wordsworth Daffodils which, “Beside the lake, beneath the trees,” seem to be “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

But this was not her story eighteen years ago. Janet Echelman, who is a world famous American Artist and Sculptor now, shares in her TED talk that she became a self made artist because she couldn’t get admission to any of the 7 art schools where she applied and then decided to pursue her art, painting, all by herself.

After 10 years of painting, it was in 1997 she reached to India for her Fulbright Scholarship where discovered her magical material in fishernet at Mahabalipuram beaches. This was the time, when she was eagerly waiting for her paints to come by ship, so that she could put up her art exhibition and meet her deadlines, but it was then, she got to know about her missing paints which she could never retrieve again. In her decision to move on and look for her new art material around, she found this inspiration in the net material of Indian Fishermen. This become her paints and focal point of creativity and imagination. And using this Fishermen’s material, she transformed her imagination and creativity into sculptures of extraordinary marvel and  exquisite beauty of inspiration.

And today, she is known to amalgamate traditional craft with cutting edge technology and use materials for building permanent sculptures with soul touching beauty. In her pursuit, she is sharing the “rediscovery of wonder” through her artistic creations, her creations which breath, live and inspire the denizens of all over the world’s nations.

Moved by her talk, I decided to share three things that I learnt from her, which I am sure will make you happy as well.

1. A man can be destroyed but can’t be defeated said Earnest Hemingway. It was Janet’s spirit like the Old Man in the Hemingway’s  creation , The Old Man and The Sea, which forced her to prove her mettle to the rest of the world. Starting her journey as a self artist, without getting admission to any of the seven art colleges, losing her house in Bali, did not make her feel defeated, even at the loss of her art paints. She reflected, looked around and found her new paints, this time in the form of fishermen’s net. Rest is all history as well all know and can see now.

2. Imagination is more important than knowledge said Einstein. Creativity is within all of us. We need to listen to it and we need to pay heed to it. And this is what Janet’s Ted talk all about. She did take her imagination quite seriously and her architectural feats: Bellbottom Series, Red Peak,  Eye of the Storm, She Changes, Line Drawing, Water Sky garden to name a few, reveal nothing, but speak her creative zeal.

She looked around herself, mastered her craft and found herself blanketed in imagination Shawl. Listening to all her internal voices, she kept moving the steering for her art wheel with great patience.

3. Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all, said Stephan King. Certain things are destined to move out of your life like Janet’s paints. So let them go. The things can go but the learning and memory of them always remain. She gave command to the lost things and used their knowledge at her disposal, making her imagination alive. Missing nothing. Had Janet’s colours not gone missing forever, do you think she would have explored the new magic material for her art and sculpture? I am sure you know the answer.

So, let go of the old things and accept and the new things in life.

Like Janet story, we all have many inspiring stories around us. The need is to listen, learn and be inspired from them. I have shared one such with you, now it’s your turn to keep the ball rolling.