Shining Stars?

This was last week's cover on our weekly creative rag. An intriguing headline. Don't just you know every one rushed to the feature article to see if their favorite artist was included?!!!

With an article titled "Fame in their future - 18 Augusta artists poised to make their mark on the world," the writer had a wealth of information which could be used. She settled for long descriptions about 9 artists and a mention of 9 more -- some are well-known, others are not; some are good, some are not; some deserve some recognition; some do not; some deserve respect, some do not; some have earned their reputations, some have not. I was in Very Good Company among the Un-Included.

As I skimmed the artists' information, I realized that this paragraph in her opening essay may be the most powerful one she has ever written. Most of her readers . . . and most of the artists. . . will miss it. She wrote

"The ability of artists to gain recognition and reputation is what puts money in their pocket, and thus art in the public eye. Materials are expensive and creating is time-consuming, but art is one of the many important things that help a community to thrive. It lifts us, inspires us, talks to us and sometimes shouts at us."

Stacey Hudson promises to illuminate more artists in the future. I'll be watching.