THE VINTAGE MAN

The Vintage Man

The difference between a good artist and a great one
is
The novice will often lay down his tool
Or brush
Then pick up an invisible club
On the mind's table
And helplessly smash the easels and
Jade.
Whereas the vintage man
No longer hurts himself or anyone
And keeps on
Sculpting
Light.

By HAFIZ
1367 A.D.
This poem was written 600 years before I was born, and while i'm not proclaiming that I am a great artist,I was moved by these words that I connect with in such a powerful way. Especially the part where the vintage man keeps on sculpting light. Electricity was not discovered for hundreds of years, and neon was even farther away, so sculpting light meant something very different to HAFIZ. But to me, it has the original meaning, plus it describes my passion for the vintage neon signs that I love. Back in college, a friend of mine used to say that she was not an artist, no one living is an artist. From the moment we are born, until the very moment we die, we are not artists, we are art students.
These two passages help me at times of doubt and trouble. Maybe they will help you too.