From the eye of the artist, behold the splendor of the Earth.  The fabulous landscape, the brilliant colour, the diverse life forms.  All of the luxury of the world presented in a creative way, the impression of beauty by the skilled aptitude.  Skills in painting, skills in fabric, skills in woodworking, skills in colour, design, creativity.  The human mind aspires to create beauty, to achieve luxury, to behold and to be acknowledged for skills.  The  skill creates the beauty, the luxury.  The eye beholds the wonder of the earth and the skillful aptitude of the creative mind produces yet another inspired gift.  Be it craft, art, craftsmanship.

Mankind seeks dyes and paints from nature to reproduce the fabulous colour portrayed in his environment.  Adornment is essential.  Paint for faces, inks for tatoos

From time immortal, when the human was new, they communicated through art.  A hunting scene , a family group, a dwelling, a story.  History left behind for us to catch a view of the life of early man.  A man adapted to the land, to the gifts of the earth.  A man who was daring, skillful and adept at survival.  The human, who also knew leisure and how to devote their time to luxury.

A fabulous fur coat, a outfit made of skins. baskets made of reeds and sweet grass, headdresses  of feathers, baskets adorned with quills and moose hair tufted embroidery.  Lavish possessions from the earth.  The obvious life with all of this luxury comes from time.  A people who have plenty and who have time to devote to art.

http://www.native-languages.org/quillwork.htm

Since 800 BC the Huron people farmed.  No longer tied to nomadic lifestyles, mankind now has settlements, community, harvest and time.  Time for inventions, time to sew, time to play, time to make canoes.  They had time to enjoy being human and time to pursue all aptitudes.  Time to sing, make an instrument, devote to sport, worship and cherish.  Time to form a culture, a lifestyle, cook and create.

http://www.native-languages.org/totem.htm

The mind of the skilled cook becomes a chef, a skilled herbologist becomes medicine, a skilled sportsman becomes games, hunting and canoeing.  The people of the Americas were inspired by the landscape that surrounds them.  Great works of art depicting the wildlife they encountered.  Quillwork from porcupine quills that adorned baskets.  Later, beadwork became prevalent because it was easier to work with and more supple.  It could be incorporated into clothing, moccasins, purses, coats, headdresses and tools.  A simple small object with so much importance.  Beads replaced quills in some usage because it is more versatile.

What is art, but an expression of ourselves.  The artwork of our nations ancestors depicts a  human with time to enjoy the bountiful beauty of the Earth.

All of mankind pursues their aptitudes to the highest attainable level.  Ever into the past, the  highest attainable level  of thinking, for that brilliant human.  Ever into the future.   All across the world the human mind aspires to heights yet unaccomplished, feats dared but not tried.  The human pursues the dauntless challenge of courage.

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written by Dr. Louise Hayes

May 18,2013