Physical Space—Mind Space—Heart Space
 Artists move into that kind of openness to begin the creative process, which offers everyone a place where they are free to explore the spaces of their hearts and minds. In today’s world, organizations and businesses are even exploring new ways to understand the physical spaces and environments that can stimulate in their employees the same kind of open mind and heart experienced by artists. The artistic process is a way of focusing attention and for teaching the skill of paying attention. With physical, mind, and heart “legroom,” you can become more vulnerable and open for the unexpected; and with those three aspects in place, you find yourself willing to take a risk.
The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.
~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 Many artists throughout history have deliberately tried to focus our attention on the qualities of creative spaces in their works of art. A famous example of this kind of experience can be found in a composition by John Cage called 4’33”. It’s a three-movement work for piano in which the performer is instructed to produce no intentional sounds for four minutes and 33 seconds. The work requires the audience to sit quietly, listening to the ambient sounds of the physical space of the recital hall.
Simon Beck draws attention to the vastness and beauty of physical space in his larger than life snow sculptures. His truly unique creations are shaped by the varying and sometimes challenging conditions of the environment. Van Gogh explored the outside world in his painting The Sower (shown above) as he struggled with his innermost self. And Andy Warhol explored the concept of space in and around the images he painted.
When I look at things, I always see the space they occupy.
I always want the space to reappear, to make a comeback,
because it’s lost space when there’s something in it.
~ Andy Warhol
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