Creating Art out of Experience


I had a friend in Kansas who was homeschooled.  She was immensely talented and I remember how she used to show me her creations.  It shocked me that this scholar of a bucolic farm childhood would write so fervently about death, and draw gruesome images with such a keen eye for detail.  Allison would assure me that she wasn't depressed or sadistic, that instead, she handled her human dark side through artistic expression.  I didn't understand her feelings but I was moved to terror by her work.

In the weeks after my trip, my blog has fallen silent.  It is not because I didn't think about the Holocaust and its ramifications.  Rather, I was moved to terror by real life, and I needed to find a structure to support myself so that I could use my experience to help people.  Images of twisted eyeglasses and mountains of hair don't disappear from a mind's eye.   I wanted to be like my old friend and use my talents to cope with humanity's dark side.    What can I do to take this knowledge and move people to action?

It took nightmares and hours with my left hand doodling out melodies on the piano. That minor sixth keeps calling out a yearning plea: "Hear me! Hear me!"  I'm not ready to compose a song yet.  For this movie, I had to use someone else's music.   I'm not ready to write a story yet, or even a poem.  This is not for want of trying.

 I'm also very aware that my words may affect other people, and I have to choose what message I need to share that will help.  Yes, I am angry.  But that will not rehumanize people whose lives were taken in this horrific time.  Yes, I am scared.  But that will not protect people who are at risk today.

Therefore, this little movie is the first creative way I have found to share what I have learned.  I will use it in presentations and I am sure I will find fault with it because it has that contradiction of being both raw (emotion) and polished (need for a helpful message).

I hope it makes some impact, not moving you to terror but to action:  remember Roman Kent's eleventh commandment.  Thou Shalt not be a Bystander.

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