The only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked.

My first love used to tell me that and I must admit that he would ask some very stupid questions. That being said, every discovery that has been made was because someone asked what another thought was a dumb question. “Why is the sky blue?” “Why is water wet?” “Why don’t we fall up?”

Questions lead us to bigger answers that send us in larger directions and unlock new horizons such as; outer space, fluid dynamics, defying gravity. All of those questions have sent us down rabbit holes where we have redefined our existence and the limits of our world. Because of questions, we look beyond the limits of the known and seek with our imagination what might lay beyond the wall of the known dimensions. Things that were thought to be fantasy in the 50’s and 60’s are now reality or even outdated technology.

I can’t say that as an artist that I am pushing technological boundaries but I am trying to understand why I can’t do something with one medium and what I might be able to do if I push a few rules when I ask, “Why not?” Artists ask questions like that and we also watch when children do things that we have been taught we shouldn’t do at all. Artists find children fascinating because they don’t always know what they aren’t supposed to do. They haven’t been taught the rules or will even question them.

My family was having dinner at a friend’s house and their young daughter was talking about her young friends sandwich. He put things like potato chips, peanut butter, jelly and pickles on it. My mother looked at the little girl and asked, “Dill or sweet?” Conversation stumbled to a stop around the table and the little girl answered, “sweet.” Mom tried to rejoin the conversation but of course it had been derailed at that point. She looked at the baffled friends and said, “It makes a difference.” The thing that caught most adults off guard was that my mother had actually been paying attention.

The lesson here with the blog is this; Pay attention and ask the question. Push the boundaries and find out, Why not? You might be able to answer the why not but also figure out the “How to” at the same time. Good luck!