This post is by guest author, Lorraine Catania.  This article has been edited and published with the author's permission. You should submit an article and share your views as a guest author by clicking here.  We've promoted this post to feature status because it provides great value to the FineArtViews community.  If you want your blog posts listed in the FineArtViews newsletter with the possibility of being republished to our 16,000+ subscribers,consider blogging withFASO Artist Websites.  This author's views are entirely his/her own and may not always reflect the views of BoldBrush, Inc.

I've been reluctant to share the following story because of its personal nature.  But because we artists work so much in isolation, I think that sometimes we may forget the joy our art brings to others.  So here goes.

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Recently, I opened my studio to the public. 

One day I was feeling a bit low because I hadn't had many visitors that day.  Then a woman came in.  She seemed to be walking a bit off balance so I took care to be sure that she didn't miss any steps.  Because we had the studio to ourselves, we had the opportunity to talk.  As it turns out, she had been fighting brain cancer for 7 years, and this was after her doctors said she had less than 6 months to live.  She told me her attitude was that no one was going to tell her how much time she had.  Obviously, a fighter! 

I let her wander around for awhile to view my art.  Then she said,"This is good! Looking at all this beautiful art."  And she smiled at me. It seems she had been disappointed because she was supposed to go for a walk with some friends but then they couldn't go. It was so touching to realize that her visit to my studio had given her joy and helped to ease her disappointment. 

It no longer mattered that I had had so few visitors that day.  It made me incredibly happy to have had my studio open at the moment this woman needed something. I thank her for that!

So, yes, sometimes I forget.  But I've been reminded of the incredible power of art.

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Editor's Notes:

1.  Sharing Art Enriches Life (SM)

2.  You can view Lorraine's original post here.