i never cease to be amazed, when walking around my city, by the surprising displays of art i encounter. they can be found in places of all kinds, and in every form imaginable.  i’m always struck by the time and care that people have taken to express themselves, to share their creative spirits, and to put their visions out there, to be met with a smile or scorn, making our space somehow the better for it, and to open random strangers’ minds and eyes to new experiences. these beauties and the people who create them, from the simple to the sublime, all for the sake of self-expression and the joy of knowing others may cross paths with them , are treasures, each in their own distinct way. 

a rabbit peeks out from a front yard filled with vine and picket fence

 

a wall covered in gum, once painted over, and coming to life once again with new color,

ever-evolving with the contributions of passers-by

 

a sidewalk, redrawn with chalk each day, into a new design, by a mother, purely for the delight of others

 

 

a pink balloon, placed by a child, to make her tree more beautiful, in hope the fairies will come

 

a mural on an underpass, painted by a teen who i have known to be a gifted artist since he was in pre-school

and has no idea how talented he really is

 

a dead tree stump given a second chance at beauty with the addition of color and life

 

 

  poetry painted on an alley ceiling  – look to the stars for inspiration

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The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.  Oscar Wilde

An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.  Charles Bukowski