I recently learned something about of the art of Henri Matisse (1869-1954). He was a French painter, sculptor, and print maker. In the early 20th century he helped to define the revolutionary developments coming about in visual arts, particularly in painting and sculpture. Over the years, his art changed and in a way he was continually simplifying, until in his later years he only used line and color. In 1941 Matisse was diagnosed with cancer. A surgery left him house bound and bed-bound for a very long time. But he found ways to continue his art. He said, "An artist must never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of a style, prisoner of a reputation, prisoner of success…" He, with the help of his assistants, made paper cut-outs of colored paper. His assistants mounted them onto white canvases. At first these cut-out collages were small, but his last series is displayed on giant canvases that fill the huge museum walls!
The art of Mr. Matisse evolved over the years mostly due to his health issues, but I admire that he found a way to continue creating. He just found another way.
My husband has been fighting cancer this summer, too. As he started to grow a bit stronger after intense radiation and chemo therapy, he found that he needed something to do to keep his mind active. He had wasted away to 130 pounds and lost all of his fat and most of his muscle mass. I admire him because he has been thinking about little projects he can do around the house.
By keeping to a strict activity and rest schedule, he has found that really he can do quite a few things. Not the big building projects that require strength to heft beams or operate big power tools, but artistic and engineering projects nonetheless. He has created barn doors to finish off a storage unit on the side of our house. He has engineered how to add a cement step on our back patio and had our son help him to the heavy lifting. Now he is planning other little projects as they pop into his head.
The quote from Matisse has been a wonderful inspiration for us both! What a great way to forge ahead -- change your style rather than be a prisoner to your health situation. That is good advice for all of us!
My husband has been fighting cancer this summer, too. As he started to grow a bit stronger after intense radiation and chemo therapy, he found that he needed something to do to keep his mind active. He had wasted away to 130 pounds and lost all of his fat and most of his muscle mass. I admire him because he has been thinking about little projects he can do around the house.
By keeping to a strict activity and rest schedule, he has found that really he can do quite a few things. Not the big building projects that require strength to heft beams or operate big power tools, but artistic and engineering projects nonetheless. He has created barn doors to finish off a storage unit on the side of our house. He has engineered how to add a cement step on our back patio and had our son help him to the heavy lifting. Now he is planning other little projects as they pop into his head.
The quote from Matisse has been a wonderful inspiration for us both! What a great way to forge ahead -- change your style rather than be a prisoner to your health situation. That is good advice for all of us!
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