Discovering new mediums and ways to express yourself

Winter seems to have brought with it a dual response from me these days.  There is days where you wake up to the bright shining sun, ready to conquer the day and full of a desire to discover the beauty outside…white crisp snow, flakes flying through the air, deep breaths bringing in a crisp jolt of extreme freshness…

At the same time as you delight in the picturesque view that lays outside, the cold makes you want to hibernate and huddle under blankets in front of the fireplace with a warm cup of tea…and do absolutely nothing!

Nothing does not exist for me right now however, but I would like to linger in that place some days…

Administration is an interesting part of running a business, I have found myself on the desk side of the art business for a number of months now between starting our charity, writing grant proposals, answering emails, connecting with people, learning how to Tweet, blog and be social, working on upcoming events, emailing contacts, meeting with potential partners to share visions and dreams…it is definitely a large part of business, but it is at times for me, excruciating…I get exhilarated by the conversations and connections, but dislike the desk work.  I’d rather be walking in a forest experiencing creation happening around me.

We just found out we did not get our first grant proposal, so we are in process of writing some more…never quit, just keep on going, but learn to do it better each time…I was very disappointed on one hand, but expected it on the other.  So many people have said, “you never get your first few proposals awarded…” so persistence is key…fortunately I have that if nothing else.

Working with the artists from the Art With A Heart Inc. Youth Project has been great.  It is always inspiring to see the youth have no fear to enter in with new mediums and ideas and create without hesitation…They inspire me to be creative at the very least, to fearlessly try new things.  The inspire me to be willing to fail in the process while opening new pathways of expression.  I hope that the youth begin to see their own value and worth, and how worthwhile it is for us to work with them and challenge them on to believe that they can do anything they set their minds, and hearts to.  If they persist and invest themselves, they will see results.  I had an artist tell me that once – Tim Packer…he said: “artists who stick to it will always find success because someone out there will like their work – the only thing that stops most artists from making it is sticking to it.”  Both my husband and I got a lot from that statement…persist, don’t quit, don’t back down, down allow the let downs do more than slow you down for a moment, then shake off the dust and begin again…

Have been painting some dragon fruit…work still in progress, maybe will finish later today.  Life is a balance between discovery and hibernation I think~

Intercession

Just came across an article about a woman who connected with a painting that she saw at an Oncology clinic during a surgery…it reminded me of a connection I made a few years ago with a woman going through treatments for breast cancer.

A few friends and myself had been dropping food off for this woman and her family and I felt prompted to give or “loan” a painting to her.  I brought it with me and offered it, and it led to a much deeper conversation.  The woman hung it on her wall at the end of her bed, and she said every morning she would look at it and it would help her to meditate or pray about her situation and it brought her comfort.  I offered her to keep the painting, or when it was all over, to take another painting in its place instead, knowing that there could be many negative feelings attached to it.  She agreed at the end of the process that she would rather get another piece in its place. 

She said that painting gave her hope every time she looked at it and knew that others were lifting her up and carrying her through this very difficult time. 

Sometimes we create for ourselves, sometimes we just create…sometimes what we create changes the lives of others and we don’t even know it.

This statement resonated with me instantly…and I agree that at times, education interferes and stifles our natural creativity.  I am reminded of that song by Harry Chapin.  Some teachers really are “real” teachers, where others are not, and this is an example.  Education has to be at it’s best, beneficial to the individual and help them flourish.  I have friends who were raised in a house of artists, and their work is so great and so flowing, I believe they were also home schooled…and it made all the difference in the world.

Flowers are Red
by Harry Chapin

The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. What you doin’ young man
I’m paintin’ flowers he said
She said… It’s not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There’s a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You’ve got to show concern for everyone else
For you’re not the only oneAnd she said…
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seenBut the little boy said…
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every oneWell the teacher said.. You’re sassy
There’s ways that things should be
And you’ll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me…..And she said…
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seenBut the little boy said…
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every oneThe teacher put him in a corner
She said.. It’s for your own good..
And you won’t come out ’til you get it right
And are responding like you should
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said.. and he saidFlowers are red, green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seenTime went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin’
She said…Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let’s use every oneBut that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said.. and he saidFlowers are red, green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen.Layout, design, images, and user-contributed text are © Copyright 1996-2009 HarryChapin.com: The Harry Chapin Archive.
“Oh, if a man tried to take his time on earth and prove before he died what one man’s life 

Chasing the salmon swimming upstream

Wow, it is hard to believe how fast a year comes and goes…I remember this exact weekend last year when we did the OAA Fall Art Festival and Art With A Heart Inc. made their first appearance on the art scene…

I guess some years are all art, and some years are building the framework for that.  I have painted many bodies and faces as Sunflower the Clown, but have hardly touched a canvas of any kind…yet for two years before this one, I felt like I was painting non-stop.  Our house has been under renovation since last December, and we are on the final leg of it (I hope).  The grand finale of it being a sunroom dedicated to being a teaching and working studio…it should be in mid-October…I can’t wait.  I am hoping to be up and running for full time classes in January, but likely will try to run some workshops in November (God willing that all things come together in time).

I am taking a plein air trip up north in early October, and hope to paint for 4 days…I am very excited and hope to bring a friend with me to paint with me too…I feel like I am so full of inspiration of various kinds right now that I am going to have to paint for months to get it all out…maybe even years…we will see…’painting just as fast as I can’

If I get some inspiring work done, I will post some pictures.  I should also have some army helmets done this week!

Talk to you soon!

Sheri

I think the sensitivity of artists forces them to separate and to reflect.  The barrage of information perhaps overwhelming when you naturally like to observe, dissect, analyze, understand what you see.  I think if I did not pull back, I would not be able to cope because there is just too much information. 

However, there is also an appreciation that accepts things the way they are an sees beauty in all things.  That beauty may be a sense or feeling, or it might be a certain line or the way light reflects, or it could be the story that you see in the eyes of the one you are keenly observing.  Appreciating the life that has been led, appreciating what has brought them to that place. 

Like a changing garden, seasons and years bring growth, hibernation, pruning, blossoming, division, new growth, mutation, possibility, harshness, death, overwork, over pruning, overgrowth, weeds, unprotected tender shoots never reaching potential, old things needing to be cut down, disease, pestilence, water, dehydration…a constantly changing barrage of days that bring both good and bad, growth and death.  Still, that garden continues to live in most instances, but I guess even then it has been with the help of a caring gardener helping it along. 

The job of the artist in every situation is the recording of those things, both inward and out that are observed, reflected on, expressed, not forgotten, not hidden, but in a vulnerable place, often bared for the world to see, somewhat like a mirror, reflecting back little pieces of each of us so that we too reflect, pause, appreciate, remember…feel.