Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Words for everyone to live by. Written by Nashville designer, Amanda Burdge



I recently had the pleasure of visiting Cheekwood, a beautiful historic estate in Nashville. "The history and origin of Cheekwood are intimately interwoven with the growth of Nashville, the Maxwell House coffee brand and the Cheeks, one of the city's early entrepreneurial families."
 If you ever visit Nashville it is a must see. They are currently showcasing the beautiful and aw inspiring art of Dale Chihuly:
After visiting I was so inspired by Chihuly's unorthodox vision, and creativity. A true "out-of-the-box" thinker. I could not believe the way this garden estate had been transformed. Then I ran across Erica Goldsen's valedictorian speech from June, and it gave me hope that true art and creativity will not be stifled with such visionaries coming into our future! Dale is a thinker, a dreamer, and an explorer, just like Erica.
Erica's words:

".....And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.
We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren’t we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.
We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.
Erica goldsen
Coxsackie-athens high school 2010 graduating class valedictorian speech
Comment: The following speech was delivered by top of the class student Erica Goldson during the graduation ceremony at Coxsackie-Athens High School on June 25, 2010

I

"Dale Chihuly is most frequently lauded for revolutionizing the studio glass movement by expanding its original premise of the solitary artist working in a studio environment to encompass the notion of collaborative teams and a division of labor within the creative process. However, Chihuly's contribution extends well beyond the boundaries both of this movement and even the field of glass: his achievements have influenced contemporary art in general. Chihuly’s practice of using teams has led to the development of complex, multipart sculptures of dramatic beauty that place him in the leadership role of moving blown glass out of the confines of the small, precious object and into the realm of large-scale contemporary sculpture.

Chihuly’s spectacular creations are found in more than 200 museums worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Garden exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the New York Botanical Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.  For more information about Dale Chihuly and his art, please visit 
www.chihuly.com. " Cheekwood 


Continue to be inspired, free thinkers, and refuse to conform. We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special!



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18 comments:

  1. Unbelievable!
    Teresa (Splendid Sass)

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  2. Thanks for the pep talk, Amanda! haha. This is actually well-timed - I am taking my daughter tomorrow to audition (show her portfolio) for a magnet school here that caters to kids with artistic talent. Wish us luck.

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  3. so true! the system doesn't necessarily push individuality, free thinking, and passion, but it's up to us to make sure we're not helping to pull the wool over our own eyes!

    had a small catastrophe this afternoon, but i'll ring you tomorrow for some deets.

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  4. How timely as I recently came upon Chihuly's work a few weeks ago while searching the internet for something else. I was fascinated. So wonderful you were able to view his creations in person. They are really beautiful.

    Jane T.

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  5. Ahh - love Chihuly, this is a gorgeous feast-for-eyes! Thanks for sharing - and also for those inspirational words :)

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  6. That is stunning...Thank you so much for sharing:)

    Ps: I am having a really great GIVEAWAY today…hint?(something you can wear) so please join in !!!!

    Kisses and see you soon...you have a beautiful blog!!!

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  7. Touche!! Love the words...

    XOXO
    Kiki

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  8. Great sentiments, Amanda. I remember visiting Cheekwood years ago when I was a teenager.

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  9. Chihuly's works just amaze me with the creativity and outside approach to art...truly gorgeous, all of it.

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  10. Wow, these are amazing! Such creative work. It is very inspiring!

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  11. "We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force." that is so true! I feel that way about my job a lot of times lol. such an inspirational post!

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  12. Extremely thought provoking and very timely for me right now. I remember when Chihuly was on exhibit in Atlanta at the Botanical Gardens. I could get anyone to go with me, but was so glad that in the end I went alone. Such a talent. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. Thanks for the pictures. Love to look at Chihuly's work! When I was in Vegas last year, I had trouble not drooling every time I walked through the lobby of my hotel. :)

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  14. Wonderful words! So very inspiring, especially coming from an artist. Well said.

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  15. I love Nashville! We almost moved there. My husband wants to retire in TN (long time until that happens)! Beautiful place and obviously beautiful blogs come out of there too :)

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  16. I was in Nashville last month!!
    Your blog is beautiful!




    LOVE!

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