I'm roasting enormous beets, and by the time I've unwrapped them from their foil pouches, my hands, the counter, and even the kitchen floor is covered with beet juice.
I don't clean it up right away. Something about this particular stain enchants; it's so deeply red--almost purple-black--except when smeared to the lightest pink. I carefully pour the juice from the pouches into a cup.
It occurs to me that it's either a mess or. . . or. . . it's art.
We're going to paint with this beet juice.
There we sit, painting on canvas landscapes made from beet juice.
We turn the stain to paint, and I know I've tapped into some real, true thing. That's how it is with art. We take the deep stain in our own hearts, and we pour it out on a landscape. We make beauty of it for the world to see.
This is either a mess, or it's art. Today we chose the art.
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I combined my beets with vinegar and sugar to make a delicious beet salad. What's your favorite thing to do with beets?