The Art of Friendship

It has been a great blessing in my life to have many friends who are artists, and such a variety of artists! I remember on my 35th birthday sitting with a group of friends and saying, “wow, here I am with a singer, a sculptor and a dancer, I am the only one who is not an artist.” To which one immediately said, “What do you mean, you are an orator.” It is good to recognize that we all have been given a special gift to create as people created in the image of God, the ultimate creator. One special way we reflect our creative skills at the best is in the act of relationships, in particular in friendships, those relationships we choose and are not borne into.

The first thing we bring to friendships are ourselves, and we come ready to receive the other. I had a great artistic metaphor for this when I arrived in that I brought the first piece of hand-blown glass I had in a collection I gathered over the years. The piece was a vintage Murano Clown from the 1950’s a gift from a friend when I was in clown ministry. And of course as a reflection of me, my clown arrived in Piegaro with its head broken off, and not quite in perfect shape. We are all breakable, all us crazy humans, which is one reason friendships are so important. We need one another for healing. One of my dear friends here informed me that in her research of our lovely town she discovered that the name of our village, Piegaro, has its origins in the word for wounded. I can’t think of a more healing place than this when one is feeling broken, lost and in need good friendly people.

While in Venice with my beloved daughter I spotted clowns of the same workshop as mine, and found another great metaphor…it was easy to spot the clown of the same maker’s hand, and yet this creation was so different than my own. For that matter, in the art of any artist’s hand you cannot get the same results twice, each is unique. Just as we, the creation of THE creator are different. With some time, some effort, the two become a great pair, they match in an odd, sweet way. The one with a little glue, a little stability, and a careful hand was restored, head in place. The other needed to be carefully wrapped in order to make the journey from the workshop in Murano to its new home.

So often in this world we forget we are all created of the same maker’s hand. We forget that with some work and effort we can see where we are alike and we match. The reminder in stories and teachings of the bible are reminded continually to love one another….to love enemy….to be friends. Not an easy task, as we are all as fragile as the hand-blown glass, we are all art to be cared for. However, if we can, at times, remember that we are called to be creators, artists in this life and world, we will know that we can all create beauty, create friendships.
How do you see your life as creative, as an artist?
How do you see yourself as a work of art?
How do you heal and be a creative healer in a fragile world?