By Christie Ann Reynolds

I had no idea what to write about this week. I could have touched on the tragedy of the girl killed by police or tended to the never-ending debates between presidential candidates. I could have gone on about pollution, gun control or murderers. But I decided, with the encouragement of someone who asked why I always wrote about something negative or sad, to find something to write about that made me smile. Well, a description about Lily Yeh made me smile.

The quote about her goes like this: Describing Lily Yeh as a sculptor is a bit like describing the Sahara desert as dry. While technically true, it ignores the scope of the situation. Ms. Yeh’s sculpture shop is the city itself; its residents are her workshop.

Without even knowing Lily Yeh yourself, one could form an idea of what type of person she was by that description. I thought about how true the description of people like Yeh was. The fact of the matter is that many of people go, “beyond the scope of the situation.” Many of our parents, professors and soldiers in Iraq are continually traveling beyond the scope of their lives to make improvements. Whether the improvements are large-that someone ate today or was given the chance to live, or small-an embrace or the gift of recognition-the facilitators deserve appreciation.

I was always encouraged as a young girl to make the world a better place. So naturally, Yeh appealed to me. I have always admired those that strived to make even the smallest of difference in the space they were given; especially if that space wasn’t the most prized. Instead of ignoring the entrapment of the dilapidated neighborhoods of north Philadelphia, Yeh has painted murals where run down brick buildings were covered in graffiti. Instead of the hollow belly of an alley, one will find sculptures that according to Yeh, “…cuts through racial, class, geographic, and ethnic separations to directly connect to the hearts, minds, and emotions of people.” She has inspired the neighborhood to get involved in the restoration and pride of their community.

In 1989, Lily Yeh began her creative endeavor with The Village of Arts and Humanities as part of a quest to inspire leadership within art. She believes both leadership and art could not exist without the other. Educational programs sprang up as Yeh has partnered with local schools to inspire and ignite the creative imagination of children. Even a playground has been constructed by the Village for the neighborhood children to have their own space. Yeh describes her art as, “inclusive, participatory, and collaborative.”

Through her work she, “focuses on reconnecting what is broken, healing what is wounded, and making the invisible visible.” As a result of this focus, Yeh spent time in Kenya turning part of a garbage heap into a place of beauty. An empty church courtyard was transformed with sculptures and murals in a span of three months. The Village plans to set up more connections in Ecuador, Ghana and other locations along the Ivory Coast in hopes of reaping the same results.

I wonder if more people would enjoy and recognize the visually beautiful aspects of the world if we all owned kaleidoscopes and had to walk around looking through them for an hour each day. Everything would be art if you already didn’t think so. Maybe we’d notice the Lily Yeh’s more often. Art stimulates the mind. It is thought provoking, sad, inspirational and even emotional-it can scream; cry, laugh and it can run. It is a release. Artwork often conveys aspects of the human condition that cannot be expressed by words, music or dance. This is because there is something mysterious and alluring about the visual arts. One always asks themselves: “How did they do that?” Some artwork is so breathtaking and detailed it is confused with actually being a photograph of an object. Other artwork, by Salvador Dali for example, evokes the superstitions, oddities and complexities of thought without ever making you ask why or how it is happening. It’s just accepted. I think this is partly what Lily Yeh means about how leadership and art are one entity.

Sometimes art is decisive and other times it is superficially questionable-as in, why is Mona Lisa smiling? However, all art can be said to make a statement about life. Perhaps, your life decides what statement you will make about art. Either way, art takes control. It takes a stance. Art moves emotions and changes lives as the moon controls the tide- it ignores the scope of the situation.