From the Editor
The Gift of Expression
by Rosa Jimenez
Early this summer I and 2,675 other art-seekers climbed aboard Artrain, a traveling art exhibit that rolled into Walla Walla for three days. The exhibit, a national nonprofit arts program, travels by train to smaller communities around the nation.
I confess I didn’t go for the noble reason of expanding my cultural world. My reason was simple. The kids needed a diversion, and the summer heat ruled out a trip to the park.
Even now I can’t express the awe and mystery I sensed through what I saw in the three rail cars. The exhibit, “Artistry of Space,” featured artworks from nasa and the National Air and Space Museum art collections. I was captivated by portraits of astronauts and depictions of space. I read this quote on one exhibit wall: “Why do we create art? Surely one reason is that it enables us to communicate our understanding of events in ways that cannot be otherwise expressed.”
This quote has often come to mind while working on this Westwind. In this issue we feature people who express themselves not only through visual art, but also through music and poetry.
I admire people with these talents. They help us see what we may never personally experience and perhaps never expect to.
This issue is a tribute to them—and to the many people, perhaps you, who make our lives more meaningful with these gifts.
