Every once in awhile, you come across an artist whose art reflects all that they are. A person who can communicate to the world a simple truth that sounds like it was made for you and you alone. An artist who says with her music what you have always wanted to find to say yourself.
It was a moment of serendipitous magic making me hyper aware of taking in every detail. My writing partner Henry Graf and I were sitting in a bar in Ft. Wayne, IN, at midnight, having a late dinner made up of greasy burgers and bar chips. We had just finished a signing event on our More Than a Story tour through the upper midwest. As we sat, reeling from a deep conversation about music and art, spirituality, muses, and inspiration with a friend in the business, a young woman stopped at our table squealing her delight at discovering us at the witching hour.
This lovely creature stood there in a fashionably unique hand stitched dress dotted with hidden details. Her unruly curly hair was swept to the side and her hands punctuated her words. I was enraptured with her from the moment I met her. At first glance you might dismiss this delightful person, but as soon as you start talking to her, you realize she carries with her a wealth of knowledge learned from her travels and her music education she earned from Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne.
I walked away that night with her music in my hand in exchange for my book, (I for sure got the better end of that deal). Her music quickly became the soundtrack to my hours spent driving and working in the kitchen and even late at night while writing. My infatuation wouldn’t be sated, so Gatherhaus took a detour on our summer trip in 2014 and met up with the Ms. Hope Arthur to discover what makes her come alive and where she discovers her muse that never seems to be in short supply.
The eclectic and unique nature of Hope’s music is as evident in the woman herself. Her specialized choice of clothing is evidence of a girl who has gone through a spiritual process of discovering herself outside of social expectations. She is true to herself through and through and in that quest has found her voice and lyrics that speak a universal truth because of her vulnerable honesty.
She brought us into her home where she played her newest musical addition to the “Seven Deadly Sins” performance from the Ft. Wayne Ballet. She was hired to write and compose the music to which dancers would use their bodies bringing these interrupted truths to life. Standing in her music room listening to the light and sweetness of her voice paired with the quick and multidimensional chords I was swept away in her storytelling. We stood in a room erupted with color and musical instruments. Even her piano is a testament that visual and listening art go hand in hand.
For Hope her musical compositions was a way for her to discover herself outside of traditional expectation. She took the time to do the work to find her voice inside and among all those that have gone before her. When so many are trying to fit in during High School, that is when Hope realized that if she couldn’t be true to herself, then it wasn’t worth it. Playing music for almost 10 years now, she has taken her orchestra to a whole new level in these last two years. She not only creates roughly 20 parts to her music for almost that many different instruments, she sees the critical need for visual beauty as well. She stages and choreographs and costumes her performers. This one rare lovely woman, creates a show stopping experience that transcends you to her own magical world that she visualized and built from the ground up.
It was such an honor to meet Hope Arthur. I was inspired by her to keep fighting for my own personal truth and live that out in a way that reflects what I find that is good and real about myself. Here at Gatherhaus it is our privilege to discover these rare beauties in the mix of the mundane, because if we aren’t striving to be true to ourselves, than what is the point?
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