The unusual activity of the people on the street might cause a second glance, but there are so many instances that I wouldn’t be able to keep walking forward. I filter them out and continue on my errands. But I slowed my pace at the man pouring water from a plastic water bottle onto a folded newspaper that was creased and shaped like a long, narrow, flat brush. Hmmmmm Then I watched briefly, no eye contact, as he made marks on the vacant storefront window. The dust and grime was thick but as he drew his marks revealed the shiny glass. When I walked home down the same street, he was gone but had left his marks on the glass. Interlocking patterns of lines and curves, that hovered somewhere between graffiti and the Book of Kells.

 

I thought immediately of why I told myself I couldn’t draw or paint in my small city apartment. Not enough room, too messy, can’t leave my work out, lots of excuses when here was the example. Make art, make music, and make friends where you are. Use the tools available, make due, make hay, and put something into the world that wasn’t there before.

 

The next big rain, or a window washer will remove the art. The impermanence is what made this so special. My sense of wonder was heightened by the fact that it will be gone and that is what makes each day so special. The poet Billy Collins reminds us, “Only the perishable can be beautiful, which is why we are unmoved by artificial flowers”