The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Space For Rant W h o is an artist anyway? W h o decides when the word "artist" is used? Are we all artists? Read on. -by Michelle Arts Alive will make this space available each issue for people working in the arts to express themselves -- or rant -- about arts related issues. Call Gloria Loree at Arts Alive (984-9537) for details. Binklex take my definition further. What about the parent who makes his child a box of macaroni & cheese? He is. after all. creating a meal--does that make him an artist? I say, " N o . " He is just following the recipe. But i f he were to add some parsley flakes and a few scoops of tuna to the macaroni, he would be considered an artist because he is altering the norm and changing the regular. He is presenting the food in a new form. We are all capable of being artists, even the parents preparing a meal for their children. A l l we need to do is create. Some of the best creations these days are produced by artists under five feet tall. These artists have little or no sense o f colour, nor do they necessarily pay attention to proportion, line or depth. They may depict a field of sunflowers as two yellow blobs, a big blue streak and several red-orange dots. They produce work based on what they see and feel, not what is "right." They create from the heart. These artists are children. Children are the epitome of what an artist is because they have few limitations, plus they create what they feel insides versus creating for political statement or Michelle Binkley is a freelance writer living in North Vancouver. creating to get good grades in art class. Children exude raw creativity which many adult artists have forgotten. A s children we have an endless supply of creative energy which is welcomed in the classroom and in the home. Our masterpieces are attached to the fridge with magnets, or taped to the kitchen cupboards. If we are lucky, a few of our creations w i l l be kept in a shoe box or crammed into a big manila envelope for future scrutiny. A n d i f we are particularly lucky, we have parents who encourage our interest in art past the age of ten. We, as adults, need to get back in touch with that raw creativity. We need to view art as creating anything, not just as painting a picture or carving a sculpture. We need not think in terms o f colour, texture and form, but in terms of emotion, feeling and sensitivity. Push yourself to expand your limitations--cross over the lines o f social confinements. Create art which is good for you and not for the sole enjoyment o f the "the other guy". We are all artists in our own right, regardless of what career path we choose. I suppose that is why defining "artist" is so difficult. The word is unique to each person it describes. We are all born with our own creative veins. We may, or may not, choose to develop and nurture our creativity as we grow older. But as l o n g as we create and c h a l l e n g e the artistic l i m i t a t i o n s we experience as adults, o u r c r e a t i v i t y w i l l surface. A n d we can a l l be artists.~ word "artist"? A friend asked me this question the other day and I realized how difficult it was to answer when I give a definition. I was dismayed when I went to the trusty Websters Dictionary and read, "artist: a person who practices one o f the fine arts, especially a painter or a sculptor." If the dictionary definition is true, then my last eight years of working in the arts have led me to all the wrong The artwork below is by a young artist, Sean Langeoijk. Sean sold this piece while exhibiting his work on the steps of the North Vancouver District Hall conclusions about what an artist is. To me, an artist is one who creates. Painters, sculptors, photographers, writers, dancers--these are all good examples of what we recognize as artists in today's society. But let's Wh hat is the definition of the