THE MINERAL MUSE

No wind. No Waves. No clouds.

Only the whisper of the tide as it withdrew, stroking the shore,

a lazy drift of gulls overhead,

and tiny points of light

bubbling in the channel.

From The Wellfleet Whale by Stanley Kunitz)

Cape Cod’s beaches have long inspired artists, probably for as long as there have been people around to enjoy them. What is it about the nearly 560 miles of coastline that invites creativity? Color, texture, heat, life, nature. Between happy dogs, beach joggers, and laughing children, there lies inspiration – and sand is often at the root of it!

Pick up a handful and you have about 2 million grains running through your fingers. Think back a million years or so, and that handful will have been a part of a rock face perhaps many miles from the coast. Weathered and eroded by wind and water, the rock cracks and breaks, and as it rolls down river and stream it gets smaller and smaller as it goes, until arriving at the coast. The tiny rock particles are now sand. The journey carried on as the sand is pulled into the ocean and—along with everything else—is compressed, gradually turning back into rock. These are not transient in our minds, but permanent and fixed places of beauty and inspiration.

Now think of artists gaining inspiration from these grains of beach and sea, dissembling it into the imaginative impulse, and reassembling it into a work of art. Artists like Edward Hopper, Mary Oliver, Cynthia Packard, and Stanley Kunitz have all been inspired by Cape Cod’s beaches.

So the next time you are walking across a sandy beach, looking over one to the ocean, or just relaxing on one in the sun, ponder those centuries of books, photographs, songs, or paintings that are inspired by those tiny particles of rocks. Think about the miraculous link between the extraordinary process of nature that brought it to us, and art that we create in return.

HIGHLIGHT

The Cultural Center is honored to partner with William R Davis to raffle this incredible piece.

Stormy Evening at Highland Light

by William R. Davis

14″ X 16″ framed

valued at $5,800

Tickets are $20 each, or three for $50.

All proceeds will support the Center’s education programs both onsite and online.

The drawing will be held May 29, 2021. Ticket holders do not have to be present to win.

Call 508-394-7100 or drop by the Center today to get your tickets. Thank you and good luck!