Way of the Artist

Monday, August 18, 2008

Posted by Sandy Collins at 6:45 PM

Sandy Collins: Writer, Artist, Professional Cook and Baker, High End-Cake Decorator, Photographer, Gardener, Poet, O-time Independent Film Maker, Ex-President of the PTA, and Somebody's Mom. What is the Way of the Artist? In Japan, Samauri follow the code of Bushido. It means that everything one does--everything--is done artfully. Therefore, samauri practice caligraphy as well as the art of drawing the sword. I think that is how one should view one's life. Every day one practices everything one does--practice makes more better. And everything one involves oneself in is done as an expression of art and beauty. Thus, the art of cooking is as important as the art of painting or music or marathon running or taking a picture or driving, ad infinitum. And if one truly expresses oneself through food, one should be cognizant of the fact that it is also a practice of self healing, which, too, should be viewed artfully. As the archer becomes one with the bow, the arrow, and the target, so the cook becomes one with tools, food, consumption, and absorption. We are what we eat. So eat beautifully; cook the best foods you can, and become one with what you create.