Mathematics is both a beautiful language and the simplest systematic discipline men ever created. The simplicity of mathematical concepts almost guarantees that the facts it establishes about those concepts will also be elemental. Despite this simplicity, most people complain about the difficulty of mastering the subject and shun the study of mathematics, despite its astonishing effectiveness in almost every walk of life. The paradox of this basically simple subject appearing difficult to learn can be explained easily. Some of the difficulties are superficial, such as the vocabulary. To denote the concepts abstracted from real objects and events, mathematicians use words that are unfamiliar to many people. However, no one would contend that the acquisition of a few new words should create a major obstacle. To understand mathematics, one needs to strip its underlying ideas of sophisticated and complex details, learn its objectives and uses, and understand the motivations of the men and women who created them and the genesis of its present concepts and structure. Creative activity--or re-creative activity in the case of a student--is the heart of mathematics. Using the arts is an effective way to teach mathematics at an introductory level, to entertain, to demystify, and to motivate students of all ages. Examples of math lessons involving the arts are discussed. (Contains 3 figures and 10 notes.)