Do your art.

Today was a day of celebration and catching up.

My friends S and K and I sat down for breakfast and laughed for five hours. The pandemic stopped our regular gatherings so this was much needed.

I’m sharing this on my piano instruction site because we often lose track of why we are doing any of the things we are doing.

Here’s what I mean:

My life is deliberately set up for art.

I didn’t just pick any ole piano for my home—I deliberately sought out a grand piano with a specific history that felt amazing to me.

The home that I’m renovating is large enough for small concerts, and the walls are large enough for my friends’ amazing art to hang on. Buying art from a store is ridiculous when all of my friends are artists. I’ll buy theirs.

I have so many friends who are authors. To fill my bookshelves, I have begun acquiring my friends’ autographed works. Art!

My clothes are curated for materials that feel fabulous against my skin and that’s easy to care for. I have two tailors now, so I buy high end clothes at discount stores because I like The Fashions okurrr and then get them altered immediately because I want it all to look right on me. Do that, and I found I end up saving money on the clothes and looking like a model.

I learned that, by the way, while teaching at the Art Institute. I taught at a system of schools that focused on art.

My life is art.

As a result, when sitting down at the table with my college friends, I have joy to bring to the table. I have contentment. I have stories overcoming obstacles in pursuit of Art.

And in their respective fields, they are able to share the same. The conversations are different when everyone is doing what they love.

Do your art not for the recognition but for how your life elevates and for how all of our lives are elevated and for how the world really is changed because you dared. And also make sure you’re getting paid for that and you are ahead of the game—you hear me?—because nobody can do your art like you do and you deserve every penny which is why I have no problem paying full price for my friends’ work.

Do you understand how much time we spent talking about such and such a thing with such and such a song playing? Or someone who did something on stage that one time? Or the time that so and so did such and such and beautified whatever?

That was our whole five hours.

We talked about someone’s Art the whole time.

Celebration, indeed.