Quendi, OOdad, you are so right about talent and the arts having no place among JWs. When I was DF'd I was working nights as a professional musician (with my JW siblings, no less). One of the elders said that no one could work in that job and still remain a faithful dub because of the environment. I replied that I could. He said, "well, I couldn't." Of course, he was a talentless old fart. Jealous, probably, too.
I have to say, though, that in my travels I came across some exceptions. In Mexico I went to a concert by a group of professional jazz musicians who were JWs and who played a couple of the kingdom songs with unique arrangements. In Hollywood, CA, I visited a congregation where the majority worked as professional musicians or artists of some type.
But for the most part, all my life I came up against opposition for my work as a musician.
Just remembered one of the neatest public talks I ever heard. It was given by a former opera singer elder. He used five songs from the songbook to illustrate his points, getting the whole congregation to sing them each time. He made us really think about the meaning of the lyrics and the role of music in the Bible, i.e. he described King David as an excellent musician. I was the pianist at the time, and I recall how everyone rolled their eyes when he introduced the next song and invited them to stand and sing.