It's typical to think of a "gift" as if it belongs to the person who received it. It's true that in this world when we receive a gift from someone, we treasure it, harbor it, protect it and do all things necessary to keep it and call it our own. However when a gift is received spiritually, suddenly that whole concept of calling a gift your own goes out the window. I truly believe that artistic expression of any form is a gift from God and it is meant to be shared with as many people as possible. Sometimes art can inspire, stir emotions, spark thought, provide healing, generate new interest, deliver a message and sometimes change the way we operate on a daily basis. As for me, I've been blessed with many artistic gifts that I've harbored and protected and kept for only myself, never realizing that I was created with these gifts because I would be the trusted vessel to share them and deliver them to people. To me, we are all vessels, exercising a gift that wasn't created by us but only discovered or uncovered by us. While gifts come in many different forms, artistic gifts only serve as a single piece of the puzzle. Just like each body part serves a purpose for efficient bodily function, so do our God given gifts. Each of us have a gift to share, and in order to achieve a goal it takes a variety of gifts to complete it. No one makes it far by themselves, so when people work together for a higher purpose, I call that A Blended Vessel.