These days, it feels harder than ever to find stillness. The world around us is noisy, divided, and often overwhelming. We’re constantly bombarded with headlines and responsibilities, and it’s easy to overlook the idea that wonder itself is a human need. 

I am remembering a line in All the Beauty in the World, by Patrick Bringley, a beautifully written book that explores art, memory, and the practice of really seeing. It reminds me not only of why we seek art but also why I create it.

“I think that sometimes we need permission to stop and adore, and a work of art grants us that.”

I love this idea—that art can give us a kind of pause, a reason to slow down and experience admiration without guilt or hurry. In a world that constantly pushes us to be productive, to move quickly, and to check endless things off our lists, we often forget that wonder itself is valuable. A work of art says, “Stop. Be still. Look. Feel.” It reminds us that slowing down is not indulgent but necessary, that paying attention to beauty is as essential as any other human need.

The truth is, the world is hurting and sharply divided in so many ways right now. We see world and national conflicts on the news, anger in conversations, and discord within our own communities. All of us need—and many of us are actively seeking—sanctuary, or at the very least a moment of respite from the noise. For some people that sanctuary comes through nature, for others through music or prayer, and for many of us it arrives through art. I do believe that art can, and often should, carry revolution within it. It has always been a catalyst for change—a mirror to injustice, a spark that stirs collective movement, a way of waking us up when we would rather look away. But there are also times when what we most need is not a battle cry, but a salve. Sometimes, stillness and adoration are the very medicine we crave, and art can be that balm when words and arguments cannot.

As a creator, I experience this truth in my own process. My paintings are built from my happiest memories—the garden flowers my mother tended, the giant aloe plants I admired in Greece, the landscapes that surrounded my youth. Each plant I choose carries its own story, its own layer of memory and meaning. For me, making art is its own act of adoration. It is a practice of gratitude and attention, a way of lingering with something until I can honor it fully. Each collage, each layer of paper and paint, is a deliberate slowing down, an act of devotion to beauty and to the women and places that shaped me. Even in difficult times, especially in difficult times, I find that honoring beauty becomes a form of resistance, a quiet insistence that joy and memory are worth preserving.

Bringley’s words also remind me that we don’t need to be inside the walls of a museum to feel this kind of permission. Art doesn’t have to hang under glass or carry a famous signature to move us deeply. Some of the most powerful pieces I’ve ever encountered weren’t world-renowned works but simple ones—paintings on a kitchen wall, a quilt pieced by hand, a sketch offered by a loved one. These humble works carry the same weight of memory and devotion, and they can stir joy, reverence, or hope every bit as much as something housed in a marble hall. Adoration is not about prestige—it’s about presence.

At its heart, art invites us to notice. To pause. To adore. And in doing so, it gives us something we rarely allow ourselves: permission. Permission to be still, permission to feel, permission to connect with what matters most.

What works of art have moved you? Was it something you encountered in a museum, or something closer to home—a piece made by someone you know, or a creation that carries memory within it? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.

And if my work has ever given you that moment to pause and adore, you can explore more of my available pieces in my Xanadu Studios tab through Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale.

—Laurie

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