Not long ago a friend asked me why I make art. “Wouldn’t you rather do something worthwhile?” she enquired in all sincerity. Now this is a woman who is very practical, and contributes to our world in many beautiful ways. But to me her question sounded a little like Judas Iscariot, the disciple who ultimately betrayed Jesus, when he saw Jesus’s friend, Mary, pouring expensive ointment on the Master’s feet and drying them with her hair. He said, “Shouldn’t this ointment have been sold and the money given to the poor?” In other words, he thought Mary should have been doing something more “worthwhile.” Very understandable, isn’t it? Yet Jesus took Mary’s side. I do too. For me, making art is an act of worship, a pouring of ointment on the feet of Jesus.
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