JA Lens

“I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn't impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.”

Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.

“Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.”

Very few people possess true artistic ability.  It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort.  If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass. 

A good portrait reveals something about its subject beyond the immediate appearance of the photograph. It includes layers of meaning and depth that portray the person as a whole, not just the superficial initial impression. Great portraits give us an idea of who the person really is, beyond what they’re trying to outwardly depict.

Truly fertile Music, the only kind that will move us, that we shall truly appreciate, will be a Music conducive to Dream, which banishes all reason and analysis. One must not wish first to understand and then to feel. Art does not tolerate Reason.

Dance is a natural and oldest form of human communication. It's therapeutic in giving the individual a way of expression without the use of words. In a group, dance also acts as a way to express important elements of a people or culture. For children, it also helps with developing coordination, rhythm, and timing; it also taps into the brain's ability to coordinate movement with sound. Turn on some music with a strong beat and you will see a tiny toddler who can only stand with support in their playpen start to bounce and sway to the rhythm.

Treat dance like a frivolous "activity" and you are robbing the human spirit of part of its soul. We can no more live without dance than we could live without stories, music or the visual arts.

The arts, both performing and visual, are part of our humanity. They are what makes us human.  Different from the sciences, which are predictable and governed by laws of nature, the arts provide us a variety of ways to express ourselves.  We can express our feelings and our opinions through the various arts. 

What is a poet? An unhappy person who conceals profound anguish in his heart but whose lips are so formed that as sighs and cries pass over them they sound like beautiful music.

They are languages that all people speak that cut across racial, cultural, social, educational, and economic barriers and enhance cultural appreciation and awareness.
They integrate body, mind, and spirit.
They provide opportunities for self-expression, bringing the inner world into the outer world of concrete reality.
They are an opportunity to experience processes from beginning to end.
They develop both independence and collaboration.
They provide immediate feedback and opportunities for reflection.
They make it possible to use personal strengths in meaningful ways and to bridge into understanding sometimes difficult abstractions through these strengths.
They merge the learning of process and content.
They improve academic achievement -- enhancing test scores, attitudes, social skills, critical and creative thinking.
They exercise and develop higher order thinking skills including analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and "problem-finding."
They provide the means for every student to learn.
Adapted from "Why the arts are important?"

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty
because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because
they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do
that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So
they don’t have lots of dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solution without a broad perspective on the
problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”

"The arts are not a frill. The arts are a response to our individuality and our nature, and help to shape our identity.
What is there that can transcend deep difference and stubborn divisions? The arts. They have a wonderful
universality. Art has the potential to unify. It can speak in many languages without a translator. The arts do not
discriminate. The arts can lift us up."

Culture refers to the pattern of human activity and the symbols, which give significance to this activity. Culture is represented through the art, literature, costumes, customs and traditions of a community. Different cultures exist in different parts of the world. The natural environment greatly affects the lifestyle of the people of that region, thus shaping their culture. The diversity in the cultures around the world is also a result of the mindsets of people inhabiting different regions of the world. Why is culture important? Let us try to find out.

The cultural values of a community give it an identity of its own. A community gains a character and a personality of its own, because of the culture of its people. Culture is shared by the members of a community. It is learned and passed from the older generations to the newer ones. For an effective transfer of culture from one generation to another, it has to be translated into symbols. Language, art and religion serve as the symbolic means of transfer of cultural values between generations.

Culture is a bond that ties the people of a region or community together. It is that one common bond, which brings the people of a community together. The customs and traditions that the people of a community follow, the festivals they celebrate, the kind of clothing they wear, the food they eat, and most importantly, the cultural values they adhere to, bind them together.

Culture is seen as a system of social control, wherein people shape their standards and behavior. The cultural values form the founding principles of one's life. They influence one's principles and philosophies of life. They influence one's way of living and thus impact social life. 

The importance of culture lies in the fact that it is a link between people and their value systems. By Manali Oak    

“Typography is to literature as musical performance is to composition: an essential act of interpretation, full of endless opportunities for insight or obtuseness.”

Please allow me to have the courage to live in this moment.
So I can be a vessel for You to flow through.
Let me face the fear of the unknown.
Let me face the fear of being wrong.
Let me face the fear of looking weird, different, unique, odd.
Let me face the fear of Being my Self.
Please give me strength to surrender and be the vessel in which Creativity is expressed.
Let me have the courage to live Life creatively.
No longer placing myself in boxes, prisons, and categories.
But living as the free Spirit that I AM.
No longer ignoring the voice of my heart.
Please allow me to express my Self in everything I do.
To paint Life with my unique colors, my unique expression of You.
To no longer veil the passion, Love, and Light that I AM.
To no longer try to fit in.
But to simply BE.
Let me let go of needing to be right or good.
Please allow me to realize that there is no good or bad, right or wrong in Love.
Let me have fun and be free in this moment.
To not be attached to the result.
To enjoy the process of creating.
To let go of fear, guilt, control, and perfectionism.
To realize that the goal is in the Creative journey.
Let me laugh and play and unleash the innocent, joyful, fun child in me.
Let me nurture my inner child and inner artist.
Let me see Life through my Artist eyes where everything is beautiful and amazing.
Let me give myself permission to be my Self-no matter what.
Allow me to step out of the way and listen.
To be able to listen for guidance and melt all blocks in this Love.
To allow you to do the expressing, writing, talking, painting, drawing, singing, and so on.
Through the vessel I have opened for You with gratitude and honor.
Please allow me to use my intuition and use that to unleash this Creative flow.
Remind me that Creativity is truly a Gift from You-the ultimate Creator.
That Creativity comes as natural to me as breathing, being, loving.
Because in reality I AM..You.

- Written by Love expressed through the vessel of Jennifer