The pursuit of happiness

Bonnie Rea

We recently received a poster from Bonnie Rea, one of our artists of last October session of Studio Italia, announcing her upcoming lecture “Wine, Women and Words” (see details on the image beside). Bonnie, who lives in Dallas, Texas is a real estate broker, a sailboat captain, a painter and as we just found out, she is also a humourist. Not a big surprise because in Italy we had noticed how naturally hilarious she is. But what we find fascinating of this story is that at all age life offers opportunities to develop our individuality which is composed not of one, but many identities.

Bonnie reminds us of how life is about reinventing ourselves. This idea has been preached by many influential philosophers. For example, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) claimed that art is the supreme act and that happiness results from a continuous process of self-creation. In a similar vein, Henri Bergson (1859–1941) argued that life is meant to be creative and that our creative projects produce a sense of achievement that leads to happiness. Anything we make may it be a painting, a song, a book or an enterprise contribute to the making of our own self, to the construction of our identity. And when we think about this, what could be our most important creative venture if not life itself?

During our art workshops, we continuously meet artists of all levels and diverse backgrounds, including medical doctors, nurses, engineers, entrepreneurs, etc. Some of them are entering into their retirement stage and are looking for new meanings in life. They aim to create themselves a new identity by doing things they always wanted to do, by finally unleashing their passions longtime sacrificed in the name of security. While some live a “double life” in the sense of a rational job during the weekdays and a dream activity during the weekends, others prefer to leave their professions completely and start a new career. In any case, when we do things we love we get closer to becoming who we want to be. And this feeling is indeed a great source of joy

by Monica Marquez | Mar 27, 2016 | General, Inspiration |Thoughts, Painting

3 Comments

Laurent on March 27, 2016 at 10:30 pm

je comprend, que nous nous comprenons

Reply
barbaracail on March 28, 2016 at 12:03 am

My experience in your art class in Tuscany lives as an ongoing visual reference within my mind. It was a peak experience and I still have my very amateur paintings lying around in my study. This keeps the memory very fresh. Yes, life is all about creativity and we personally grow accordingly.
Cheers to you both
Barbara Cail

Reply
Anne Swiderski on March 30, 2016 at 8:50 am

Un beau rappel a la richesse de la liberté!

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Who are we?

We all make art! It is part of culture. It is deeply rooted in human nature as a way of communicating with others. We all need to tell our stories because it is stories that link us all. We are all one, one creative mind! Though, all unique and equipped with unique ways of expressing ourselves. We live in constant search of that unique liberating voice. At Walk the Arts we aim to facilitate our art makers to explore new territories. Our painting classes and art history trips on three continents are meant to be rounded art experiences among small groups of like-minded adults. We offer an environment that fosters creativity. As we always say, art as religion is just a matter of faith. This blog is about living fully the experience of art, about finding our single artistic path, about the joy of art-making. We believe that making art accessible to all will lead to a betterment of our society.

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