Bowl 29: Ravi & Vinayak

Walking by displays of ancient bowls from Asia and the Near East

I notice two young boys and their mom,

sketchbooks open,

capturing the graceful gesture of Islamic arches in careful pencil strokes.

Later, in the hushed silence of the Buddha room,

I find them again . . . 

One brother drawing the peaceful, dark, Japanese Buddha -- one I have often been drawn to myself.

The other, the golden-hued Buddha in the center, seated on an enormous lotus flower.

They are so small next to these huge seated figures,

 yet their focus and concentration bring the scale somehow into balance.

And when we begin talking I find they are delightful as well . . . 

They love to do art they tell me, and their mom makes art too!

They are excited about the bowl and pose for me in several different ways.

It's a happy and easy exchange.

Later, as I gaze on bowls from China, Korea, and Japan

I reflect on the ancient stream of artists

reaching back at least 37,000 years to the caves at El Castillo,

and on how the urge to make art continues in these young brothers.

I feel gratitude for our human impulse to make something of beauty,

something of use, 

something that reflects the joys and sorrows of our lives.

I think about those people from so long ago and wonder

 if they ever had an inkling that the work of their hands, and hearts, and minds 

would survive through so many generations

to inspire me and my young friends to do the same.