I recently attended a "meet the artist" show featuring polymer clay artist Kathleen Dustin at a gallery in Albuquerque called The Wooden Cow. Kathleen has been working in polymer clay for twenty-five years, and you can see the lifetime of talent and the countless hours of dedication. I was awestruck by the beauty of her work. Because I do some work in polymer clay myself, I recognized the complexity in each piece, but at the same time I was floored by each piece's deceptive simplicity. It's no wonder she's world-renowned, that her limited-edition polymer clay purses and jewelry sell on Madison Avenue, and that she teaches workshops throughout the U.S. and Europe. She is the picture of the successful artist.
Yet, even Kathleen has questions about her role as an artist. After spending a day with friends in New York City and attending a fashion show during Fashion Week, they strolled Madison Avenue where she saw seven of her purses displayed in one of the shop windows. She says in one of her blog posts, "It seems trite to say it, but the whole Fashion Week experience was shallow. Is this what life is all about? To some people it is--paying attention to the latest must-haves. And actually I am quite ambivalent because this is the market I sell to." She goes on to say that though she feels uncomfortable about her work at times, she has a passion for what she's doing. She wonders if her conflicting feelings are a result of her Christian faith and Christian teachings about materialism.
But what is materialism, really?
If anyone would know, it would be King Solomon of "everything is vanity" fame. Solomon says, "As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep" (Ecclesiastes 5:11-12, NIV). Based on these words, it doesn't seem as if Solomon had much respect for indulgence in the arts. And yet Solomon later says, "Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him--for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God" (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, NIV).
























