In today's unique episode, I have compiled some of our earliest guests' answers to the question, "What is art to you?" This delightful compilation brings a plethora of unique, honest, and inspiring answers to that question, and I'm excited to share part one of this limited series with you today. Enjoy! 

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Episode 74 - "What is Art to You?" - Part 1

[00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:06] Krista: "I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life."

[00:00:12] Roman: "All I can do is put my heart in to the world."

[00:00:15] Elizabeth: "It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever, really. I mean, as long as you, you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough."

[00:00:23] Elna: "Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experience as so beautiful."

[00:00:31] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm your host Lindsey and today I have a very unique episode that I'm really excited to share with you. It is a compilation of all of the different, amazing answers I've received over the last year and some change to the question, "what is art to you?" I love asking this question, because the answers I get are always so diverse and beautiful and unique and challenging. And I just can't wait to share the insights that I've gathered over the year with you. So enjoy and I'll catch you next time.

[00:01:14] Ashley Taylor: To me, art is way for us to make sense of the world that we live in at its most basic level. I think we can do that a number of different ways. For one thing, sometimes when I think of art, I think of still life painting or landscape painting. That's like a very basic example of art. Or even going back to like the cave paintings, which is little stick animals, right? That's a way of humans who are saying, " Here's what I see. I'm going to try to copy it or represent it."

[00:01:45] And that's a very simple, almost primitive way of trying to make sense of the world of the world that we live in. So we can start there, or we can go all the way to very abstract paintings or dances or music, which sometimes are so abstract that the audience doesn't even understand what the inspiration was, but that is somebody trying to make sense of the world in their own way.

[00:02:08] I'm sure even trying to say, I can't make sense of the world--life is meaningless, so I'm going to make this hard to tell what it means art about it, right, that's still representing something. It's our way of trying to grapple with what we're seeing and experiencing.

[00:02:24] Bryant Williams: Art to me is inspiration. Art to me is vital. I think that's the best--where art is vital and art is a form of expression meant for the world to share in a mutual experience.

[00:02:39] Krista Eyler: I think it's making something from nothing. And no, there's a song called "Finishing the Hat," and it talks about that creation of, you know--I made a hat where there never was a hat, and art to me is really just that. And I'm glad I rhymed those two lines. It's making something from nothing that hopefully will make somebody else feel something very important or have a very visceral, emotional response. I mean, everything I write musically is to reach someone else, is to entertain someone else, is to give, you know, that pleasure in your ears from some really great music and singing.

[00:03:27] That's, that's kind of how I see art. You know what? I'm not a scholar of art. I'm not a scholar of dance. I'm not a scholar of music theory. I'm basically not a scholar of anything except the raising my children, but when it comes to art, I just, I just really feel great satisfaction when you make something that wasn't there before and then it's there, then you've brought it into existence and then you wonder why it was not there before.

[00:03:58] Rick Wright: I feel like to me, you know, it, it's an outlet and an exploration first and foremost, and I think if we're lucky it becomes an end product, but I don't know that that is necessarily the most important. I think there is, there is value in the exploration that, that just happens with all things creative, whether it's dance or it's paint or it's clay. It's about communicating, it's, it's communicating with different materials or in different ways than the verbal or auditory that we're used to. I, I think it's, you know, it's a little bit of your, your soul, you know, uncovering your soul, whether you realize it or not. I think it's about just exposing your, your true self.

[00:04:52] Danielle Guy: Art is expression of truth done a visual way. So where it is taking some form of reality and putting it in a way that can be physicalized, whether it be by, you know, painting or drawing or by moving, or by speaking--just a different way to look at it--that is different from what our normal reality is, which can be quite boring.

[00:05:19] Roman Mykyta: Art is ultimately a worldview. I think art starts with a worldview. It's very intentional and it's very presentational and it's always a form of communication with the creator and the viewer. But where my head is now as well, I kind of feel like art is everywhere around us. Even just looking out the window, the art is within the worldview to be able to see anything and to give it meaning, and it can be good or bad meaning, but I personally always like the good meaning, and to just kind of commune with all of these things in our life, which are indicative of something.

[00:06:02] Erin Paige: Art to me is an expression of the soul. And I think that that just comes in many forms, whether it's a street performer that feels the need--even a little kid that is dancing to some music, I consider that art. So really anything that you're inspired to do that your soul is telling you to do? That's how I see art.

[00:06:33] Elizabeth Cooper: I would say I would define art as a piece of work that someone is inspired by, like someone sees something around them and they're inspired by it and so they want to then recreate it in a way that means something to them. I feel like art is, you know, it's a very personal thing, you know, everybody sees it differently. And so yeah, I guess I would, I would just define art as anything that, that is inspired by the things around you, that then you create something from that inspiration.

[00:07:12] Jeremiah Kauffman: I guess art is any creative process to produce something that's meaningful to the artist and they want it to show up other people. And I don't really, I don't think there are any boundaries to what art is. There are no limitations. And if you produce a sculpture or a performance, choreographic performance, apart, whatever or painting. And someone says, ah, that's not art. If you say it's art, because the creative expression of what you're trying to share with others and it is art. So, I'm not one that looks at a particular, you know, like painting, you know, all right.

[00:07:50] So somebody paints hyper-realistic babies or, or kittens. And someone says, yeah, that's art because that's hyper-realistic. But the, the abstract painting that somebody did --that's not art. That is not true. The abstract painting is just as much art is the cute little kittens. It's just the art is the expression of creativity. That's all it is. I don't think we should pigeonhole art. Art's anything that illustrates emotion from both the artist and the viewer. It's something that entertains and teaches, and something that can be used to make our lives better. It can be something that improves our society or just makes us happy or just helps us feel better about ourselves or helps us. It gives us comfort when we need comfort or gives us inspiration when we need to be inspired, and if it affects and produces all range of emotions. And I think that if there's an emotional response, then that's also art.

[00:09:02] Katheryn Krouse: So I think I would define art as a thoughtful form of expression. I think it doesn't have to necessarily be creating a painting or writing a song or a poem. I think it can also include how you dress or how, how you cook, how someone cooks can be a form of art. I think that it can be anything or any way that one chooses to carry themselves--how, you know, how they decorate or different, different things. I think all of these are good forms of art.

[00:09:40] Heidi Loubser: I think if I'm trying to one sentence to it, I mean, art is the act of creating . You know, we take one resource and we transform it into another. We take a body and we mold it to do certain things on stage. We take clay and we turn it into a sculpture. So maybe, yeah, the act of creating, if I had to boil it down to a phrase.

[00:09:58] David Weinraub: I define art as anything that can enhance an emotion. I can go outside and I can see, you know, a turtle on my back deck who somehow found its way, you know, up the stairs to onto the porch. And, I find beauty in that and therefore that is art. To me, it elicits an emotion when it happens. Some people say that's where they see God in the world. And, I think in some ways, God and art are synonymous.

[00:10:37] Grace Strachan: Well, I think art is in the eye of the beholder. I really believe that. I consider art nature. I consider art beauty. I consider art feelings. I consider art love. I really believe that art is all around us. I don't think we appreciate art the way we should appreciate art. I get very sad when I hear about them taking art out of the schools. I just think that is the most, I don't know how to say it in a very polite way, but wrong. I'll just say it. It's just, it's totally wrong. One of the biggest reasons I, I got into art as a child was because I happened to have a very good school system where we were taught art. And so I took, and then I ended up taking art on, you know, outside of school as well. So I think art is so important and it makes people creative. It helps children blossom in so many ways . And I think we, we tend to not appreciate the art around us. I grew up in a small city in Canada. So I grew up with art all around me, and I've always been, I felt very blessed by that because to have the theater and having that around me, I think gave me a different aspect and a different look on life. I ended up getting into working in theater and doing makeup and, and doing some backstage stuff when I lived in Canada. And that is, that's something that I could never, ever, ever, be lucky enough to repeat again. So I think art is just everywhere and everything.

[00:12:18] Julie Ulstrup: I believe art is an expression and a like a, an interaction between the person who creates it and the person who's looking at it. And it's, it's a shared, it's a shared experience.

[00:12:45] Kevin Dinneen: I think art is, is taking some base components, some raw material and forming that raw material into something that a viewer or listener or someone experiencing that in whatever shape or, or vessel medium that might be, and something that enhances their lives. Whereas you take this, there's a piece of paper and this pen and separately, you glance over it, but you take those things and you combine that into a, into a moving-- I don't mean moving physically, but something that moves the person that sees it. And that is what art is. You have these raw materials that you create an experience from, and I think that's art. And doesn't have to be happy, it doesn't have to be sad. It doesn't have to be hard to understand. It doesn't have to be easy to understand. It's just creating something moving from raw materials.

[00:13:54] Elna VanGreuning: I think art is anything that's so beautiful for the eye that you either wanted to touch it, hear it, see it, you know, and you could even eat it, if it's like, in cake. So it's something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experience as so beautiful.

[00:14:15] Liza Lomax: To me, art is an emotion. it's anger. It's sadness. It's happy. It's frustration. It's irritation. It's gratefulness. It's blessings. When I look at art, I can feel what the artist was portraying at that time because I'm an empath. So looking at art is very impactful for me because I can see it and I can feel what the person was trying to express or trying to convey. You know, there's so many pieces of artwork where people are like, they don't understand it. They don't get it. Like, what is this? It looks just like a bunch of jumbly blobs on a canvas, and I can look at it and I can see what they were feeling and what they were doing and how they were--what they were trying to convey through the art. So to me, it's--art is emotions.

[00:15:11] Trenna Reed: I would say art is human expression, because I guess the way that I think about it is, of all the species on this planet, as far as we know, humans are really the only ones who can convey art and understand art. I guess dogs can watch TV, but you know, they don't really comprehend what's going on, so that, I would say, it's a human expression. And, for me it's just, it's art is love and passion, and it's how we express those emotions or any emotions, which is such an important part of being a human being.

[00:16:09] Kent Rader: Art, art to me is something that you created that is unique to you. And there's a difference in my mind between art and success. Too many people want to be successful, so they recreate something somebody else has created or they mimic something else that somebody else has created. And that isn't art to me. Success, I mean, how do you define success? You know, it's more important that it's unique and that it's personal to me. And I remember a turning point in my life as an artist was stop making it about your success and make it about bringing joy and happiness to an audience. That was a huge turning point, but also it had to be so personal and so come from me. I want it to be so much about my life that nobody else could make it theirs, but they could relate to it as well.

[00:17:18] Meghan Spencer: I think art is communicating to the outside world a feeling emotion or something else you want to say, because it can be tangible. It can be movement. It can be makeup. It can be--there's a lot of, there's a lot of ways that art can take forms, but it's always about communicating something.

[00:17:51] Lindsey Dinneen: Art is an expression of creativity that shares someone's life experiences-- whether that's feelings or situation or dreams-- with the world.

[00:18:14] Robyn Jameson: I would say that I'm a little bit of an art snob. So I consider art anything that is created with the intention for it to be, for its only function to be, presented and appreciated. For me, art is music, poetry, literature, literature, dance, visual art, film. And for me, originality is important.

[00:18:44] Lantz McDonald: To me, I tried to break it down to the simplest terms that I can, 'cause I had thought about this a little bit before we started recording. I would say it's, to me it's an ambiguous expression. And some, some pieces of art are more or less ambiguous, but at the end of the day, you were trying to relay an emotion and there's nothing unambiguous about that. Yeah, I think it's just people trying to express themselves to other people. We all want to be heard and listened to. And this is just one more way to do that.

[00:19:23] Helen Ransom: I have learned over the years, having a sister who dances and having my mom who loves nature photography and myself, I prefer the people side of things. Art is a lot of things to me. And art is walking through the Plaza Art Fair and admiring all the different mediums. And art is watching my sister dance and seeing the way that storytelling can happen that way with no words and just movement. And art is the beauty of nature and the majesty of creation. And art is a smiling toddler, or a mom rubbing noses with her sweet baby. It's all art and it's beautiful. And to me it describes humanity and the world we're living in.

[00:20:16] Crystal Tiehen: Art is a creative outlet. It's an emotional support. It's, it's a way to give ourselves permission to be a child to bring fun into our life, to not have to be so serious all the time and, and really be able to explore that childlike facet of ourselves. And even if it's not childlike, just being able to, to bring something that only you have created into this world. That's what art is.

[00:20:56] Alden Miller: Art is presenting whatever is in your head out to the world. It's like your mind's eye just kind of like showing it, you know, "Hey, this is what I'm thinking about," or "this is what I'm feeling or showing."

[00:21:10] Emerson Mertens: Art, I think, it's so many things. It's, it's kind of hard to pinpoint an exact definition, but I think what stands out to me the most is that art is really a form of communication. So it has that ability kind of, like I said earlier, to connect people. And it has a way of touching people that I think a lot of the normal ways of communication can't always do. So it's a form of communication with others. And I think it's also a form of self-expression, which is, in a way, essentially sort of another form of communication because we're communicating what we think or feel ourselves to others. So I think that's really true of any kind of art, whether it's dance or music or painting or, or graphic arts--it's essentially communicating some idea or feeling, or even maybe an entire story. Like in the case of dance, a lot of times it's an entire story. It's communicating that to the viewer or listener in, in that artist's own unique way. And that can be a really powerful thing.

[00:22:22] Kim Pierce: Well, to me, art is, it's really any creation or expression that provokes thought or a reaction. Every interaction that you have with art is an opportunity to have a silent conversation between you and the artist. The person experiencing it has a dialogue going in their head and the artist has already put something out into the world to discuss back and forth. I want to be a part of that conversation regardless of the role I'm in, whether I'm the person experiencing the art or I'm the artist. And to me, that's art. Art is just something that makes you think, something that makes you have a reaction.

[00:23:03] Anh Le: To me, art is something where for me I can utilize to heal the wounds of society. But it's also a very interesting way of expressing storytelling because I've seen, for example, abstract art, and I'm an artist myself too. So sometimes I see it and I just connected with things maybe, for example, the sun or, or like the womb of someone, every person sees art differently. And, even with one movie, people can say so many things. For example, like, one person can say, "Oh, from this movie, I learned more about domestic abuse and the effects of it." But another person might say, "I've learned about the importance of having a mentor in life." So you can have one movie. It's the same exact story. But so many different takes. And I think art has pursued the same way, because it is a way where we share, we share stories and everyone takes, has different take based on how they were raised, how they were influenced by art and so forth.

[00:24:16] Maggie Rader: Oh, to connect, I'd say. You know, we were joking before we started rehearsing. It's like, "Oh, why does live theater still exist when movies are around?" And if you mess up, you can just start over and you only have to do it once then. But that's why live theater is still around. It's so much about connection. And I feel like out of all the, and maybe that's why I love the stage. It's, I feel like when you're doing live theater, you get to connect so much more than in other artistic mediums that I love, and enjoy, but it's not my particular passion. So yeah, I think the most important role is, or thing you can do, is to connect.

[00:24:57] Tessa Priem: I actually did a presentation that had a lot to do with what is art. And I ended up looking up the various definitions and like, the Oxford dictionary and Miriam Webster. But one thing that really sticks out to me from what I learned just about sort of the definition is, well, first of all, let me back up just a little bit throughout history. This has been debated and continues to be debated. It's such a interesting question because people always have different answers. So I think even the Greek philosophers from long ago, like really examine this question, what is art? So anyway, from the dictionaries, I thought it was so interesting how they really emphasize that the aspect of skill. So developing a skill. And I, I'm not going to go into, you know, your level of that skill or something, but, but you know, whether it be drawing or whether it be dance or whether it be music of some sort, right? So you have this certain skill or craft that you work on and you end up making something in that skill or craft and that what you make expresses something, right. There's some sort. Of purpose behind that making. And then furthermore, beyond that sort of purpose, whatever it might be, that can be so varied.

[00:26:28] It's so varied for each artist, but from that purpose of whatever you've made, usually after that, that work, that creation is often shared with others, usually. Not always, not always, but it's often shared. So those were just some aspects that I thought were really interesting about what is art, you know, it's kind of, it's this skill or craft that people have that people work on and they pour themselves into it and they make whatever it is that they, that they need to create. And often then they share that work. Not always, but, but frequently that's what happens. And then what happens from that is that the audience in some way responds. And so, I guess that's kind of, maybe that's art, it's, it's making something. And then you go on to either just keep it to yourself, which is special, or you go on to, to share that with others to potentially impact others in some kind of way. But it's definitely something that you make -- definitely something that you make.

[00:27:41] Shari Augustine: I think it's different for every person. It's a way of using your creativity to allow your feelings to be put out there without--sometimes you can't say what your feelings are. And so it's a way of allowing your feelings to come out for you. Yeah, or it, it can be putting a message out and everyone might take that message in differently, because we all look at art differently and that's okay.

[00:28:20] Debbie Dinneen: Oh boy, to me, first thing that I think of is anything visual, but you know, art encompasses so much, you know, music, theater, dance. Art is everywhere. Art is when I look out my back door and I see birds on my bird feeder. We're just surrounded. That's how I feel about it.

[00:28:48] Joe Pilgram: Art could be so many different things. you know, for, for me, it's definitely passion. Whether it's, you know, I use art as a way to, to get my emotions out, to be able to dance it out. But other people as an art will sling paint or, you know, do different things. I believe that musician Sting, like the best songs that he wrote when he was with the police, he talked about, it was when it was a really bad time in his life, he and his wife were having problems and some of his best art came out at that moment. And I, I feel that, you know, art is definitely a, a human expression, that, that we all have. I guess I look more at other artists for the guidance in that realm, that it's, you know, it should be something that's explored, that it's something you create. You have people that are, that are machinists that some create some pretty fascinating stuff. 3D printer guys, doing things with that, and I don't know if I know you asked me what, what I think it is. I might throw this little plug in here from Felicia Rashad and it was, she was talking about art and she said, "Children," and she said, "Before they write, they draw. Before they stand, they dance. Art is a human expression. It's a fundamental human expression." And so I, I guess I'd like to hop on her bandwagon with that.

[00:30:42] Lindsey Dinneen: Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed all of the answers to the question, "what is art to you?" I love hearing those responses. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have reliving these moments of inspiration and beauty. And if you're feeling as inspired as I am, I would love if you would share this episode with a friend or two and we will catch you next time.

[00:31:10] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.