Several years ago, designing a header for my then new website, I was looking for a quote that would somehow reflect and summarize my attitude toward art. I was looking for a credo of sorts. And I found it. It was said by Gustave Flaubert in the 19th century: “I am an obscure and patient pearl-fisherman who dives into the deepest waters and comes up with empty hands and a blue face. Some fatal attraction draws me down into the abysses of thought, down into those innermost recesses which never cease to fascinate the strong. I shall spend my life gazing at the ocean of art, where others voyage or fight; and from time to time, I’ll entertain myself by diving for those green and yellow shells that nobody will want. So, I shall keep them for myself and cover the walls of my hut with them.” I was amazed by the metaphor. One could not be more accurate at defining what I felt about art and the role of an artist.
