On Friday night I saw Cheng-Khee Chee demonstrate his painting at the Tweed Museum — OMG what an honor and a treasure to watch someone create a painting of Koi before your eyes. Thanks to Tweed Director Ken Bloom for making this possible.

Saturday, I hope to watch Duluth’s Kathy McTavish as part of Northern Spark.

Kathy’s work promises to be intellectually and emotionally challenging — that is the reason I admire her, to be honest — she is fearless about challenging her audience.

I was thinking to myself — I live in the town with the most amazing natural beauty, and I just don’t care. I cram into a windowless gallery to watch a man paint, and I drive 160 miles to watch multimedia projection and (probably) dischordant music as part of Northern Spark.

I think the answer I got was this: What I appreciate about art is the way that intent become manifest in form — in music, in painting, in language. The struggle to make an intention a reality, a thing, is amazing to watch. And even in art where the intention is developing as the work progresses, like a Pollock, is amazing.

As I do not believe in God, I think that the beauty of the natural world is an amazing accident. And I prefer to see the struggle of creation over the accident of creation, if that makes sense.

Is this blog the place to share that revelation? I don’t know.