This manuscript explores the interplay of the concepts of "thisness" and singularity with art making. It explores the particularity of the individual--person, object, animal, plant, place, event; the clarity and joyousness of "thisness" or specificity; the exquisite presence of now; and the relationship of these qualities to contemplation and art making. Theologian Philip Sheldrake, Thomas Merton, St. Francis of Assisi, art educators/artists Kenneth Beittel, Marilyn Zurmuehlen, and Frederick Franck and the stories of two artists with HIV/AIDS inform this enquiry. (Contains 38 notes.)