This week in my Creative Arts class (yes this is a real class, you should definitely switch to education), we spoke about the illustrator Eric Carle.
You may think you don’t know who he is, but you probably do. He wrote everyone’s favorite book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” Anyway, Eric Carle illustrates using a technique called collage, which is the process of grouping things together to make art.
In Carle’s case, he paints tissue paper, cuts it out into the shapes he wants, and then pastes it onto thicker paper.
The coolest thing about collage is that at the beginning stages it doesn’t look like much. It's a big mess, with lots of color thrown around everywhere. Without the right mindset, an artist would not be able to make anything out of it.
This discussion around collage got me thinking about perspective. To me, everything in life is about perspective. Everything anyone ever says, does or thinks is directly related to their perspective.
The reason there is so much discontent in the world is because there aren’t enough people willing to examine other's perspectives on life. Eric Carle is a famous illustrator because of his outlook on both art and life.
He sees things in a way that no one else does, and I relate to that. There is no other human on this earth that is exactly like me or thinks exactly like I do. I am a unique work of art just like that hungry caterpillar.
Being unique and having a unique perspective is a large part of the human experience that main stream media is trying to ruin. Coachella is happening right now. Everyone at Coachella either runs around naked with a flower crown or wears the most outlandish furs they can find.
A lot of people respect these festival-goers for their uniqueness, but I see conformity. There comes a point when everyone is trying to be unique in the same way so no one is their own anymore. There is nothing wrong with being inspired by other people, but there is a huge problem when you can’t even remember who you are because you're so wrapped up in being someone else.
Every time Carle recreates the caterpillar, it turns out differently. We are all caterpillars. We are all created differently to do different things.
Don’t forget your own unique perspective while respecting that of others. Never change who you are or want to be because someone else expects you to. Be you, all the time and in every single way.
You are a beautiful collage put together by a loving Creator to fulfill an incredible purpose. So go do it!
